Bouldering: Preparing for Competition
| Jenni Waldrop : Campus Recreation Center Climbing Wall Specialist |
| March 14, 2008 |
Where can you find the only place on earth where men care more about $120 shoes than women?
Try a climbing wall.
Better yet: Try the University of Cincinnati's Campus Recreation Center Climbing Wall. The University is preparing to host its inaugural climbing competition…and it’s mere days away. If you were to step into the chalk-coated universe of the University’s climbing wall, you would find a sport called “bouldering”, a physically intensive sport that requires about as much mental devotion as calculus at 7:00 a.m. Bouldering is “free climbing in which technically difficult climbs are executed on small boulders or outcrops. Though often just a few feet long, boulder problems can involve extremely difficult sequences that may require multiple attempts and falls before completion,” according to Greg Child, author of Climbing: The Complete Reference.
 Essentially, rather than using every available rock (or “hold”) as a handle, boulderers climb predetermined “problems” which are holds that are labeled with a certain color. In order to complete or “send” a route, the boulderer can only use the holds labeled, and they must go from start to finish without falling.
The Stone Age
You’re staring up at a route. The finish is silently snubbing its onlookers, and you can’t help but wonder: how did we get here? Bouldering has a complex history that owes itself to a multiplicity
of countries and their climbers. The first known documentation of bouldering comes from Fontainebleau, France; according to John Gill, an American climber who developed the B1 to B3 boulder rating in the 1960s and 70s. It was 1874, Gill writes on his website, and French climbers were calling “scrambling about on boulders” a sport. They quickly gathered a following, and soon Parisian climbers began make pilgrimage to Fontainebleau to train before climbing the Alps. Meanwhile, in Great Britain gymnastic climber Oscar Eckenstein was earning notoriety for his one-armed pull ups, Gill’s website continues. Eckenstein completed problems even excellent climbers could not—and he became the sport’s first recognized “master”—causing the sport to evolve and develop into a serious pursuit. Today, both at UC and across the United States, climbers use something called the “V-scale” to rate the difficulty of a route. The scale was developed for bouldering in Hueco Tanks, TX, an important US bouldering area according to Climbing: The Complete Reference. Routes can be rated anywhere from V0 (easy) to V15 (virtually impossible), as defined by the W&L Outing Club website.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
For the time being, the University of Cincinnati’s climbing wall is a hurricane of colored tape, homeless holds, and bolts galore. Anticipating the climbing competition, the wall is rapidly filled with new routes and problems for the competitors that will be arriving Saturday.
“The bouldering competition is unique because it caters to beginning, intermediate, and advanced climbers. This competition is going to bring excitement to the wall—for both its staff and participants,” says Jim Jamriska, Assistant Director of Facility Operations.
The wall can accommodate up to 30 contestants for the upcoming competition, and half the spots have been reserved already. “I would like for people to just have fun, learn about our wall and test their skills. This is a great challenge for the staff and will be the blueprint for future competitions.” Jim claims.
The wall comes paired with a relaxed atmosphere that encourages amusement rather than rivalry, “People are there to socialize and improve their skills. Everyone is willing to help others complete problems or routes” Jim said. He offers a convincing case for beginners to give this daunting sport a try, “There is no question the 40 foot wall can be intimidating. Beginners should try the bouldering wall. It is only 10 feet high and a harness and rope are not required. The bouldering wall will help climbers become familiar with their body movements and more comfortable overall. After a few tries bouldering, the next challenge for beginners is top-rope climbing. Our trained staff will secure the climber in a harness and rope and give suggestions while the climber scales the 40 or 28 foot wall.
The competition is taking place Saturday, March 15thfrom 11a.m.-4p.m. Thanks to generous Sponsors; prizes for hopefuls include blister boards, chalk, T-shirts, chalk bags and more.
Glossary of Terms (in order of appearance)
Bouldering: free climbing in which technically difficult climbs are executed on small boulders or outcrops
Hold: a rock or handle on the wall that is used as a climbing aid
Problem: predetermined holds labeled with a certain color. Only the given color can be used to aid climbing.
Send: a climbing term that designates successful completion of a route
Route: an alternate term for a route
V-Scale: a rating system that helps a climber determine the difficulty of the given route/problem
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