Two of the strongest climbers I know started in their late 30s. I'm 39, and I suspect my hardest routes are still ahead of me. You'll get out of it what you put in, regardless of when you start. I'd recommend taking off from work tonight and heading straight for the nearest climbing gym to give it a shot.
Oh, and one nice thing about climbing is that the better you get at it the less it hurts to fall. So sure if you fell off a beginner route with lots of ledges to hit it would certainly hurt. Fortunately you don't do that too often. Once you get past the beginner stage, routes tend to get steeper and less featured. As in, less stuff to run into when you come off.
I spent the better part of October pitching off routes on the Greek island of Kalymnos and never hit anything but air. The routes there overhang up to 45 degrees, so there's simply not anything to hit, and therefore hardly any real consequence to a fall.
Oh, and one nice thing about climbing is that the better you get at it the less it hurts to fall. So sure if you fell off a beginner route with lots of ledges to hit it would certainly hurt. Fortunately you don't do that too often. Once you get past the beginner stage, routes tend to get steeper and less featured. As in, less stuff to run into when you come off.
I spent the better part of October pitching off routes on the Greek island of Kalymnos and never hit anything but air. The routes there overhang up to 45 degrees, so there's simply not anything to hit, and therefore hardly any real consequence to a fall.