Disclaimer: I am a newbie at bouldering, and so I am not familiar with the jargon/techniques.
There comes a time in life when one thinks to herself, “The gym is boring.” Treadmills? Been there. Ellipticals? Done that. All the gym classes? Too routine. As humans, our adventurous sides keep us constantly in need of exploring the unknown; we feel the need to seek out some sort of new activity to keep the adrenaline going, especially when it comes to physical activities. Our bodies are smart: through repetition, muscle memory is formed, and we become accustomed to the task. Zumba is no longer as tiring, running isn’t destroying your lungs like before, and you don’t seem to be feeling as much of a challenge anymore.
That’s exactly what happened to me. While I still love Cardio Kicks, Step Aerobics and Zumba, and continue to hate running with the same vigor despite my improving endurance, I felt the need to try something new. I wanted to shock my body, and work some of the different muscle groups. And I wanted something that had low time constraint. Enter my friend, Sally, who introduced me to bouldering the other day by taking me to the Lowell Basement.
Bouldering is a whole lot harder than it sounds, and certainly a lot more nuanced. It’s one of those things that can be metaphorized into some life lesson, like every other element in the world that we humans have encountered. Rock climbing takes strength, technique, and a certain amount of planning; no single element will lead you to success. But first things first. You have to sign a waiver. (Ooh, is the adrenaline starting yet?) While it is fun and challenging, there are obviously certain dangers and risks in bouldering. Your sweaty hands could slip from their hold, somebody could fall on you, you might step on a loose rock. Bouldering is like rock climbing, but with pads below to break your fall instead of a rope/harness to secure you. And while all of the above are very unlikely, they could happen, so practicing mindfulness and vigilance is very important.
Now for the philosophical part. One of the first things to learn is not how to climb, but how to fall. That’s right. When all else fails, you should know your Plan B. Because things are bound to go awry, and even if they don’t on the way, all things must come to an end. The worst part is, it’s easier to climb up than come down, so backing out of a mission is harder than it seems. The rock climbing walls are about twenty feet high, and it is absolutely safe to jump from there, as long as you land properly, but climbing down a ways before doing so is just as acceptable.
The falling is hard. Ideal landing position is sort of standing up, with bent knees to absorb the shock. If necessary, rolling back to the ground is absolutely fine as well. It sounds pretty simple on paper, but in practice it is not; these guidelines violate a lot of our instincts. We like to crouch forward and scrunch ourselves up when we land, and try to shield the fall with our hands, but putting out your arms could result in some pretty bad injuries. The fall should be straight down, with a kind of neutral body form, which will facilitate the later landing, but we like to know where we’re landing, and we will instinctively twist or turn to survey the area. Having your body not in line with itself is more likely to result in injuries.
The levels of difficulty vary, from V0 (for novices like me) to V10 for the bouldering fiends. But at the end of the day, everybody has to take a fall. So put on a pair of the bouldering shoes, dust your hands with chalk, and get ready to climb!