Bouldering is a form of rock climbing that does not utilize protective equipment like ropes, harnesses and carabiners to ascend the wall. Instead, bouldering walls are much shorter (max of 4.8m) from the floor and climbers can fall safety onto crash mats (30cm foam / sponge padding) that will cushion your fall.
The objective will be to scale a variety of routes, also known as problems or routes and also because these routes are typically shorter (due to the wall height as well), it’s a lot of fun and really gets your adrenaline pumping. These factors results in bouldering being known to be extremely fun and social. It also helps to build confidence, technique, and is a great form of exercise.
Some common lingos that you will probably hear around the gym:
– Problem: Challenge or the route that is normally marked out by holds in the same colour, with a difficulty tag in our gym going from 01 to 10.
– Beta: The solution or set of body sequences/movements that allow the climber to complete the problem.
– Send: Completing the routes, done so by placing both hands in a controlled manner on the end hold of the problem.
– Flash: Solving the problem in the first attempt.