Questions about bouldering

[ingo]

This is a really daft post, but I kind of need some gentle hand-holding.

I've been indoor climbing twice, with a partner, harness & ropes. I enjoyed it a lot, and there's one particularly tricksy looking climb I want to do--there are no holds! You're climbing inside a walled-up triangular shape and have to brace your back against the wall behind you so you can 'walk' up the wall in front! My friend could not complete it when he tried! I am DYING to try it! I am a leggy person, rather than an arm person, and it reminds me an awful lot of the way I used to climb up door frames and the like when I was a kid.

BUT that's not the point of this post.

I really want to go more regularly, but the trouble is that I can't just up and go climbing when the fancy takes me because I don't always have a partner available. I would like to go right now, but there is nobody to belay for me and due to anxiety issues, I'm not up to asking total strangers.

But! The climbing gym near me has a BOULDERING CAVE. Apart from sounding awesome, this could be the answer to my problems. Except I have this little Thing about trying new things on my own in public where people can see me. I need to plan every new expedition with military precision or it's a no-go.

So, here are some stupid questions about bouldering:

1) When you go bouldering, do you just... turn up and start climbing? I'm really used to the harness and rope combination so find the thought of going without a bit intimidating.

2) I wear glasses. Am I likely to break them if I fall? If I take them off, I won't be able to see clearly enough to plan a route in advance.

3) Are you able to do it solo, or is the gym going to turn me away for being on my bill?

4) If you are comfortable doing so, please describe your first ever bouldering experience in EXCRUCIATING step-by-step detail!

5) Does anyone else want to turn their entire house into their own private rock climbing gym? Or is that just me?

Comments

[holyschist]

It has been years since I went bouldering or climbing, and I was not an expert by any means. However, I am an expert at Not Breaking My Glasses, and like you, not wearing them is not really an option!

2) At the heights from which you would be falling, presumably onto mats, I would be impressed if you managed to break your glasses. Modern glasses are very durable (I've dropped mine on concrete and other hard surfaces many, many times. They get a little scratched. Sometimes the frames get a bit wonky and have to be adjusted. I have never broken a pair.). Hopefully you would not actually fall on your face (ow), and if you're concerned about your glasses falling off and breaking from the drop, or from you falling on them, you could wear a cord or one of the floaty things sold for water sports. I'm not sure I would bother unless you often have problems with your glasses falling off; I know mine have stayed on through much bouncier activities than falling off a climbing wall.

As far as 1) and 3) goes, this may vary by gym, but the gyms I used to climb at, you just showed up and went for it.

[ingo]

This is reassuring, thank you. I think I'm just a bit paranoid about the specs since they did get bashed by the belaying rope on the way down from one of the roped climbs.

[holyschist]

I don't think it's terribly likely that you'll have problems with bouldering.

[0jack]

Zero experience bouldering, heaps of experience with agoraphobia and anxiety. In case you don't get enough help here, and if your anxiety is up to it, you might have some luck emailing the gym? I find that I can do that because then they don't know who I am. Also, if you have the cash, would you consider taking some lessons? Then an instructor would hold the ropes for you, and I trust people whose jobs are on the line more than strangers. A group lesson can also be a way to meet people, but it took me a while to get up to those kinds of things.

Good luck, though!

PS: This is not a daft post. Taking constructive action to get out and do what you want to do instead of staying home, in spite of anxiety, is an amazing skill. Too many of us lose it, and it's so hard to recover. So. Not daft! More like inspiring.

[rydra_wong]

PS: This is not a daft post. Taking constructive action to get out and do what you want to do instead of staying home, in spite of anxiety, is an amazing skill. Too many of us lose it, and it's so hard to recover. So. Not daft! More like inspiring.

THIS.

As I may have mentioned somewhere, I had to get a friend to come with me in order to step through the door of a climbing wall and have a look for the first time. Whatever hand-holding you need, it's not daft.

[ingo]

Thank you. The gym doesn't have an email address (I checked) but I have talked my partner into coming along with me on Saturday - that way I can ease into it and will eventually be comfortable with going alone. So there won't be TWELVE MONTHS in between climbing sessions this time, hopefully. *cough*

[rydra_wong]

I have talked my partner into coming along with me on Saturday - that way I can ease into it and will eventually be comfortable with going alone.

That sounds like an excellent plan.

[cofax7]

My boss has a private climbing wall in his garage. People do it all the time.

I recommend going to the bouldering wall at a time when it's likely to be quiet: morning on the weekend, or mid-day on a weekday. And do some traversing: just go sideways. This is very good for technique, and not scary at all and doesn't need a spotter because you're just a foot or so off the floor.

As for your other questions, bouldering does have its own culture, and that can vary from gym to gym. I would suggest just going to the gym and hanging around and watching the boulderers. Bouldering is great if you don't have a partner, but people are happy to give you beta on problems, or spot if you ask them to. And if you don't go very high you don't really need a spot.

In general, basic politeness will make a big difference: don't hop on a route in front of someone who's been waiting for it. If someone's on the wall don't start climbing if your route might interfere with theirs. Don't hog a route if it looks like someone else is waiting for it.

I hope that helps. Bouldering is very cool! I hope you enjoy it!

[tevere]

I'm new to bouldering -- I've only been going for about a month -- so I still remember my first time in vivid detail! I went on a busy weeknight with a couple of friends, which I don't really recommend as a first experience-- like someone said above, perhaps pick a quiet time. At my gym the quiet times are early afternoon or Friday/Sat/Sunday. The thing with it being busy is that there's often heaps of people standing around waiting for routes, or staring hard at routes to figure out a way to tackle them, or just standing around waiting for their arms to recover. If you're anything like me, having to climb in front of an impromptu audience of 10 random people (especially groups of young guys) is somewhat offputting. People also tend to offer advice if it looks like you're struggling. This can be helpful, and a good way to meet people-- but again, if you're not super-sociable, or perhaps if you'd prefer to figure out routes on your own, it can be something to get used to.

My gym is very comfortable with people coming on their own. It also provides shoes, which are pretty much the only equipment you need (I bring my own, though, as they're a much better fit). I still don't have my own chalk, but so far I'm doing okay without it. I've seen people rock up just off the street and start climbing in jeans, so pretty much anything goes.

I haven't had any problems with glasses falling off-- you're not falling from very high, and the falls tend to be more controlled (more of a case of "hm, my arms are getting tired-- I might jump down now" rather than from slipping and tumbling off the wall). And I haven't really ever needed a spotter, since I'm not doing tricky overhangs or anything like that.

The first time I went I was totally self-conscious about climbing the super-easy routes over and over (and getting stuck on bits other people could easily finish), but nobody cared at all-- there were heaps of other beginners there, and often even really good people climb the easy routes as a warm-up or to practice technique.

Hope you go and have a good time!

[miss_s_b]

What other people have said; though I second the idea of emailing the wall and asking what the etiquette is.

[jumpuphigh]

5) Does anyone else want to turn their entire house into their own private rock climbing gym?

All the time. I just watched a film about some professional climbers and one of them had turned his entire attic into a bouldering cave. I think turning a barn into a climbing space would be awesome.

[rydra_wong]

I've resisted the urge so far, but I have a doorway that has now acquired rock rings, a Jungle Gym, a fingerboard, and a poster from the one bouldering comp I've done. So I'm definitely leaning in that direction. *g*

[rydra_wong]

What they all said.

Initially, definitely go when it's quieter -- you could phone the gym and ask when their quietest times tend to be. That's what I did, and it really makes a difference (I still almost never go when it's crowded).

If you've got shoes and a chalkbag (or can rent them from the gym), then you can just turn up and start climbing in the bouldering cave. It shouldn't be any problem being on your own.

cofax7's recommendation to do lots of traversing to begin with is good; I'd add that it's helpful to practice jumping off from moderate heights a few times. It really helps to get comfortable with your ability to jump or fall (getting "stuck" on the wall and feeling that you can't get down is no fun at all).

The basic deal with falling is that you want to land on both feet evenly, then let your legs crumple to absorb the impact. Injuries tend to come from landing unevenly and twisting something, and that's as likely to happen with short awkward falls as it is from high ones (up to normal bouldering height).

Etiquette-wise: the big rule no-one's mentioned yet is DON'T WALK UNDER ANYONE WHO'S CLIMBING. Though that's not a question of politeness, it's a question of not having them fall on you. *g*.

[rydra_wong]

You're climbing inside a walled-up triangular shape and have to brace your back against the wall behind you so you can 'walk' up the wall in front!

I LOVE THAT. It's called "chimneying" or "back-and-foot-ing". One of my favourite techniques ever, and once you know it, you'll find you can apply it in a lot of situations where you're climbing between two walls or in a corner of some kind.

It's a sub-category of "bridging" (or "stemming" in the US), which covers pretty much anything where you're using counter-pressure to support yourself across a gap -- so that can mean back-and-foot, or having a foot on each wall, or having your hands on one wall and your feet on the other. It's marvellous because you can use the wall itself as a hold, and also often get yourself a rest: bridging positions are often very stable without much effort. *g*

[juliet]

I love bridging too, although have never yet really done the back-and-foot thing.

(Having said that, I once had my feet slip on a slightly-too-wide bridge (foot on each wall), and *ouch* that was not nice for my groin! Although it was fine 5 min later & hasn't put me off :) )

Bouldering: you can totally go all by yourself! Solo bouldering is the only climbing I've been doing for the last several months, because it means I can go when I want to & not have to round up anyone else. Another advantage is that 30 min of bouldering feels like the climbing equivalent of about 90 min of top-roped climbing, b/c you can (assuming it's sufficiently not-busy) spend the whole time climbing rather than half of it belaying PLUS the swap-over faffage time. Although you can of course take rests when you want to (be careful not to sit under the wall where someone might fall on you).

I wear glasses. I have never knocked them or had them fall off whilst climbing. I used to worry about banging them into a hold & scratching them, but the only time I've come anywhere close to that was an awkward fall when top-roping (I swung forward as the rope caught me). I can't imagine many situations in which you'd fall on your face, so your glasses should be fine even if you do fall. (I've always fallen backwards; I guess you could fall sideways if you were lunging for a hold or something? Glasses should be fine either way.) If you've been wearing them whilst doing roped climbing, you'll be fine.

Just turn-up-and-go is about it (though I can understand feeling a bit nervous about it!). Look for a nice easy route to start with, or try traversing. (I found easy routes less intimidating, because they're labelled & therefore Obviously I Can Climb That. I do a lot more traversing & other messing around now, but initially it was reassuring to be doing a thing-the-wall-says-you-should.) I don't know what numbering system you're familiar with -- bouldering uses a different number system from roped climbing. The gym I go to uses V grades, and V0 is the most straightforward routes.

Agreed with rydra_wong's advice to try deliberately falling from different heights, and to aim to land evenly and then collapse your legs. I usually land then immediately send myself over backwards. Bouldering gyms have nice soft(ish) mats on the floor to break your fall. I am still nervous about falling and am much more likely to go for a difficult move when close to the floor, but have never actually hurt myself.

My first ever bouldering was when I took lessons at a different place, but the first time I went to my current place, I went in, said to the person at the desk that I wanted to come for a single session, & paid. You'll probably also have to sign something accepting that climbing is dangerous & that you won't sue them if you hurt yourself. I noticed a keyboard behind the desk & asked for a locker key (both gyms I've been to swap your house keys or a credit card for a locker key, then swap back when you leave). Stashed kit into locker, changed into climbing shoes (most places will rent you if you don't already have your own). The place I go to has a back area, so I went through there because I felt a bit nervous climbing near the front desk. Had a look around at the walls, then found a V0 and gave it a go. After which I was into Climbing Brain and it was all fine :)

IME people at climbing gyms are all v friendly if you need help. I've never climbed anything for which I've needed a spotter, but I've occasionally been given helpful advice when struggling on a route!

um... think that's it. Good luck! And asking questions is good :)

[such_heights]

I'm about to go bouldering for the first time this afternoon - thanks a lot for posting this!

[rydra_wong]

\o/ Have a great time!

ETA: And tell us all about how it went!

[ingo]

I hope you had a good time!