There’s a climbing wall near me and I was wondering what the deal with bouldering is? Can I just rock up, hire some shoes and try it? How longs a typical session? 30 minutes or just until bored/knackered?

Thanks

Pretty well turn up and try – might depend on the wall’s rules so check that. As for session length to begin with you’ll get knackered before getting bored. Might be worth having some pointers on technique if you haven’t done any climbing before.

Climbing centre I use (depot in leeds) won’t let you just rock up and climb unless there is a member to sign you in.

When I first started I did an induction as a first session (costs a couple of quid more than a standard session) and that gave me membership and also some pointers on what’s what.

As Whitestone says, you’ll be knackered pretty quickly to start with, fingers and forearms in particular. I go with my daughter a couple of times a week and typically we’re there for a couple of hours.

Some good intro stuff here

https://www.theclimbingdepot.co.uk/leeds/about/get-into-bouldering

Where are you based mrsheen?

I’m a pretty terrible indoor boulderer…..I absolutely love it though, me and my gf are just getting back into it after a year off as she injured her back skiing!

As mentioned above, most walls won’t just let you turn up unsupervised, but almost all that I’ve seen offer an induction session which will give you all the safety info (it’s just common sense really!) and some technique pointers too.

Most inductions will get you started on technique but I guarantee you will ache the next day. All over. Best advice is to stick to the biggest holds to start with and not try to pull too hard on the small stuff, as you can injure yourself.

Which wall?

Given your username, am I allowed to make a joke about polished holds?

All walls I’ve been too run the same rules. You will need to fill in a form – can usually do on line before you go – takes 5 mins or so. Then you can climb supervised by a member or sign up to an induction – they tend to run them regularly and pretty much on request. Induction 45-60 minutes and you can carry on climbing afterwards.

Once inducted you pay once and can climb all day – come and go as you please.

Generally it’s much better to climb with others as you can help each other with beta (reading he problems) and taking it in turns really helps avoid getting knackered.

Indoors, I boulder mainly at the Climbing Lab in Kirkstall and the Depot in Pudsey. Both are really social and people happy to help and work on problems together.

It’s really addictive!

A great way to boulder is with a climbing partner who has completely different strengths to you. So if you are tall, with balance, but lacking upper body strength (a bit like me 🙂 ), then find a partner who is 5 foot nothing but can do 20 one arm pull ups. You will find yourselves constantly trying to find problems the other can’t do and as such will push your own technique to the limit.

Or one who will heckle you relentlessly when you can’t do a move.

Went to Boulder at Preston last night for the first time in ages. Oh my poor soft hands! Good fun though. Challenging

Oh my poor soft hands!

I know what you mean. When climbing was my main sport the skin on my fingers was so thick that I’d struggle to pick a pencil up from a table.

Thanks all.

NY nearest wall would be Stockport which is meant to be a good one. I might try one weekday when its hopefully quieter.

Or one who will heckle you relentlessly when you can’t do a move.

This would be me.

It was actually my mate who I met bouldering that got me into mountain biking, so there you go. At my local wall its just a case of rock up, watch an induction video, sign your life away…and crack on, as others have said its a great social environment, basically its a big playground, where you can jump around like an idiot. Great when the weather is sucking and can’t face biking.

Get yourself along, its addictive fun and amazing how quick you will progress when the technique start to come..its exercise that doesnt seem like it.

Awesome Walls in Stockport is pretty good. If you get the bouldering bug, then try out the Depot in Old Trafford, which is more or less entirely bouldering.

It’s not so much the size of the wall though, as the quality of the problem setting that makes or breaks it.

It’s ace. There’ll be some form of induction & safety lecture, but that’s all you need. Like cycling, you don’t have to be good to have a really fine time.

lots of slow warming up is my advice, it is really easy to blow yourself out in minutes if you over do it and when that happens you may as well go home. I remember an epic session in at wirksworth – tried to pull off a 6b i’d been thinking about all day straight away. Arms were completely pumped and I was on my home 5 minutes after lacing my climbing shoes up

As above, much better with a group of friends, especially if someone is good at setting or spotting problems. I used to regularly climb with a girl who was great at setting problems, then it was fun and interesting. I’m hopeless at stringing together moves and problems, so when farting about on my own I find it a bit shit.

Thanks all.

NY nearest wall would be Stockport which is meant to be a good one. I might try one weekday when its hopefully quieter.

There is a great little place in Macclesfield called SubStation. I take my son there most Tuesdays. I can’t climb at the moment because my knee is a bit wrecked. If you fancy trying there I can meet you most evenings and happy to spot you / give crap advice.