An Introduction to Climbing and Bouldering
If you are new to climbing then bouldering is a fun and accessible route into the sport. It is also fantastic training for climbing of all varieties or simply a great way to keep fit.
Bouldering is a variation of climbing where the climber does not use ropes but rather safegaurds a fall with a mat. Outside these mats are portable lumps of foam carried from boulder to boulder whilst indoors these are placed in situ. Usually bouldering takes place to a height of 4 or 5 metres from where it is still safe to jump off.
The great thing about bouldering is that its low danger scenario allows the climber to concentrate on the real skills of climbing; the technique, strength, balance and fitness required to ascend difficult climbs. Usually these climbs are referred to as 'boulder problems', or simply 'problems', this refers to the fact that climbing them is not always straight forward and finding the right holds and sequence to climb it can take anything from seconds to days!
Indoor bouldering walls mimic outside rock with a series of bolt-on holds which are colour coded for particular problems and can be changed regularly to maintain interest. The skills required to go to an indoor bouldering wall like Climb Newcastle for the first time are minimal; a common sense awareness of safety and the ability to land on your feet are all that are needed, making bouldering a very accessible sport to try. In contrast the range of skills required to become good at bouldering make it extremely addictive and something you will want to go back and do again and again.
