30/07/2026
12 years to reach V12+. That's the headline from our data. But it's not the whole story. It never is, when it comes to data!
In one of our largest data sets, we asked climbers at every level: how long have you been climbing, and how long have you been training?
📆 Years climbing / years training:
V1-V4: 5.8 yrs climbing, 2.4 yrs training
V5-V7: 8.6 yrs climbing, 3.2 yrs training
V8-V11: 9.7 yrs climbing, 4.6 yrs training
V12+: 11.8 yrs climbing, 6.5 yrs training
The average V12+ climber has been on the wall for nearly 12 years, with 6.5 of those spent in structured training. However, as soon as we saw this number, we knew this had to be a bit more nuanced as not all climbers we train adhere to this pattern.
So we broke the data down by what age the climber had started climbing.
📆 Years to reach V12+ by age:
Age 20-24: 6.7 years
Age 25-29: 10.7 years
Age 30-34: 11.3 years
Age 35-39: 17.7 years
So the headline "12 years" figure is actually most relevant to your average 30-34yr old, meaning they’d started in their early 20s, mostly.
Not surprisingly, those in the dataset that started climbing in their teenage years achieved V12+ in just under 7 years of climbing. Mindblowing huh?!
However, if you started in your mid 20s you're looking at 15+ years. Yes, it’s slower, but it is still achievable.
Neither timeline is better or worse - they're just different. What matters is that every year of climbing and every year of structured training is a worthwhile investment.
The path is nearly always the same: climb consistently, train intentionally, give it time. We know this from our own experiences with thousands of climbers and pro athletes we’ve worked with over the last decade, but it’s nice to see it in the data as well.
⚠️ Big caveat - don’t forget this is averaged data!
Every climber is unique and as such, this kind of information should inform training decisions not in isolation, but in combination with quality sports science, sport-specific training experience and plenty of common sense.
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