Bill Ramsey (65) does Ghost Meat (8b+)

Bill Ramsey, who did Nice is Nice (8c) at age 62, has sent Ghost Meat (8b+) in Mount Potosi. The 65-year-old began climbing in the mid-1970s with Alan Watts at Smith Rock. He later shifted his focus to academics, earning a PhD in philosophy, before returning to climbing in the early 1990s. (c) James Lucas

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind?
The name of the climb is Ghost Meat, put up by Andy Raether a little over ten years ago. Consensus is 8b+ after some hold breakage. It's a fairly short, steep and powerful climb up at the Clear Light Cave on Mt. Potosi that I had been trying since last September. It actually is not a very good climb for a senior citizen because it is bouldery with a powerful crux, but there are some other things about it that were attractive, like its convenience (the cliff is only about an hour and half from my house, including the hike).

There is a crux about 2/3rds up where you have to catch an undercling, and I came off that one move for nearly 3 months. I had tried this climb briefly a few years ago but could never do this crux so I gave up. But at the end of last summer I did a lot of weight lifting and training specifically for this climb, built a small replica of the crux in my garage, and went to work. As with the last 8b+ I did, I would train some in the morning before getting on the climb because I wanted to stay fit throughout the projecting process, and that paid off.

This year, as sort of an act of defiance for turning 65, I didn’t want to simply do a hard climb (for an old man), but to actually be a semi-respectable weekend warrior. So my goal was to do two 8b+’s and two 8b’s and various other routes in the 8a range. I’m now making good progress on my second 8b so that goal is about to be accomplished. I can’t express how grateful I am to be still playing this game and still having so much fun doing it after 50 years climbing. It helps that there’s a really great group of top level and psyched climbers living in Vegas right now, and they constantly inspire and provide support and motivation!

How does a normal climbing week look like?
A normal climbing week I usually get out two or three times. I have become the department chair so I need to spend more time on campus doing administrative work as well as teach, but my schedule is somewhat flexible and I try to get out during the week at least once, sometimes twice. Because of my age I find if I go hard, I need at least 2 rest days. Going hard means getting up at around 5, warming up and max-hang fingerboarding and stuff for 2 or 3 hours, going to the cliff and trying the project 3 or 4 times, and then maybe doing some Kilter Boarding in the evening. It varies.