Your age, like your PB, is but a number. Yet often it feels that as one increases, the other is condemned to fall. MH tracked down five veteran athletes for whom advancing years represent an age of opportunity
THE EXPEDITION LEADER
Chris Bonington – 82
“I’m writing a book,” Sir Chris Bonington sighs. “What I should be doing is spending a few hours climbing each day. Instead I’m sitting at a desk, which is the worst thing for you.” If days at the keyboard are taking their toll on the British mountaineer, the signs are subtle; Sir Chris is in good nick, his eyes shining, sinewy arms straining as he demonstrates climbing techniques. And, at 82, he has the kind of poise many men half his age would envy.
A former army mountaineering instructor with an SAS soldier for a father, adventure has always been on Bonington’s agenda. In 1958 he was a member of the party that made the first British ascent of the South West Pillar of the daunting Aiguille du Dru, part of the Mont Blanc massif. Today MH has coaxed Sir Chris away from the tamer environs of his Lake District home to a West London photography studio. But, were he unencumbered by press duties, he’d most likely be found halfway up a craggy rock face with one of a local group of climbers. “I tend to ring through the phone list and find someone I can persuade to come out,” he says. “Most days we’ll do a climb then have a pint.”
This story is from the January - February 2017 edition of Men's Health UK.
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This story is from the January - February 2017 edition of Men's Health UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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