Bouldering Basics

Bouldering

Bouldering is the most free form of free climbing, requiring the least amount of expense, equipment, or experience. Simply find a boulder or small rock outcropping and climb to the top. In past eras, climbers looked at boulders or small crags as merely practice for longer alpine mountain routes. But then John Gill, Jim Holloway, and several other climbers with phenomenal gymnastic strength came along and began to boulder at the exclusion of other types of climbing. Their intense focus on pushing the limits of difficulty through enhanced training, the use of chalk (which Gill brought to the sport of climbing from gymnastics), and extraordinary amounts of attention devoted to routes with only a few short, but extremely difficult, moves had caught the eyes of other climbers. In fact, much of the progress in terms of physical difficulty in traditional climbing has its foundations in techniques and strengths first developed with difficult boulder problems in mind.

While a climber can boulder alone with little more than a pair of climbing shoes and perhaps a chalk bag, there are a few pieces of gear that will make bouldering a much more pleasant, and safe, experience.

Gear List

Climbing Shoes –There are many styles and types of climbing shoes available on the market today. All feature sticky rubber that increases the climber’s friction with the rock. A beginner should aim for a versatile shoe that is recommended for gym climbing, rope climbing, and bouldering. This will often be in the form of a traditional lace-up shoe that should be one half-size smaller than the climber’s street shoe size. This is to allow for greater feel and to accommodate the natural stretch that all climbing shoes experience over time. Velcro shoes tend to be designed with bouldering in mind. These shoes often have a more aggressive shape and are less comfortable when worn for longer periods of time as in rope climbing. The benefit of the Velcro is that it allows a boulderer to quickly take off and put back on his or her shoes between different boulder problems or attempts. This keeps the sticky rubber clean and prolongs the life of the rubber soles. Slipper style shoes are also generally intended for bouldering. Check with different manufacturers for specific details and remember to find a shoe that is snug but well fitting. If your shoes aren’t comfortable or overly pinch your toes or feet your footwork will suffer and therefore so will your progress.

Chalk Bag - A simple chalk bag is all that is needed to keep the hands dry and improve grip on the rock. They come with either waist loops or loops to clip carabiners into, or both. This is a matter of preference. The bag should also have a drawstring at the top to limit spillage. Chalk is sold as a bag of loose chalk or in chalk socks that are akin to a pitcher’s rosin bag. Most climbers prefer to purchase a chalk sock that is refillable, and then purchase the cheaper loose chalk to refill the sock as it runs low. The chalk sock also has the benefit of preventing spillage.

Crash Pad – Crash pads are essentially mattresses or pads placed underneath a boulder problem to cushion a climber’s fall. Because all falls in bouldering are ground falls, the crash pad is almost essential to protect the climber’s joints and to help guard against more serious injuries such as broken bones or sprained ankles. If bouldering several hours a week without a crash pad, you will soon find stiff knees and bruised feet and ankles will start to impede your process. Crash pads come in all shapes, sizes, and prices. Make sure the crash pad you purchase is of reasonable thickness and is not too soft (to prevent ankles from twisting, etc). Many crash pads today come with backpack straps sewn onto them. This is a huge benefit if having to hike for even a short distance to the boulders.

Carpet Square – If the crash pad you choose to purchase does not include a rough section for wiping clean the soles of your climbing shoes, a small square of carpet can supplement the boulder climbers’ tool kit. This is especially useful in areas that tend to stay damp or muddy for long periods of time.

Brushes – Bouldering brushes are used to clean mud or excess chalk off of holds. Do not use wire or metal brushes as they can mar or damage the rock. It is best to use a medium stiff nylon bristle brush. It is also not acceptable to use brushes for ‘gardening’ or removing lichen or moss from boulders. If the boulder hasn’t been cleaned by preceding parties it is best to find problems already cleaned or those naturally free of vegetation. If a problem is worthy of ‘development’ then it is because the problem is pushing the grade or standard and thus outside the scope of this text.

Tips for Bouldering

1. Do not climb any higher than a height at which you’d be willing to jump or fall from (usually 10 – 12 feet maximum.) As you gain experience and knowledge or your personal abilities and limits, you can begin to make decisions about what you are capable of. It is best in the early goings however to err on the side of caution and to keep your bouldering limited to short but hard problems.
2. Never climb up anything without first walking around the boulder to ensure there is a safe and manageable descent option. Do not get yourself marooned!
3. If you decide to boulder alone, climb only vertically above your crash pad or traverse low to the ground. If the route winds its way diagonally up the rock or features unsafe landing options then save it for a day when a spotter is there with you to slide the crash pad under you as you climb and to guide you safely away from any rocks, tree roots, or other impediment that is keeping the landing from being perfectly flat and soft.
4. When falling, keep your knees bent and aim for the center of your crash pad. Try to land feet first at all times. Relaxing your body helps to avoid serious injuries.

Tips on Spotting

1. Give your partner your complete and unbroken attention.
2. Keep your arms and hands up with your elbows slightly bent.
3. Focus on the climber’s waist rather than their arms or legs.
4. The goal is to steer the climber towards the center of the crash pad and away from any rocks or other hazards.
5. If the climber is falling backwards (for example off of an overhanging route), it is especially important to protect the climbers head and neck with cupped hands.
6. Do NOT try to catch the climber outright as a fall from even 10 feet could cause you serious injury if the climber lands on you.
7. Try your best to anticipate the direction of potential falls while the climber is climbing. This will not always be intuitive and knowledge of fall direction will develop with experience. Read the route as the climber climbs and move the pad and your body position accordingly. If the route is going diagonally up and right for example, move the pad along with your feet as you move laterally to the right staying ahead of the climber’s path as he or she is likely to swing further to the right in the event of a fall.

Bouldering Techniques

1. Take turns with your spotter when working on a boulder problem. The shared information or ‘beta’ is a great way to surpass your own creativity or insight.
2. Sequencing is a great method used for developing the moves necessary to complete a difficult boulder problem. To sequence a problem, climb up past certain difficulties on an easier part of the rock and work individual sections until you develop the coordination and muscle memory necessary to do each sequence separately. Once achieved, piece it all together and do the entire problem continuously. Careful though, some climbers consider this cheating. That said, if bouldering in the gym where such considerations carry less heft, this can be a great way to learn and develop new techniques.
3. To get the most out of available boulders, try to do eliminates or add a sit start to a problem. To do an eliminate problem, pick and choose holds that the climber may use to gain the top, eliminating jugs or other holds to increase difficulty. Sit starts can also greatly increase the difficulty of a given route.

Boulder Difficulty Ratings

Famous climber and boulderer, John “Vermin” Sherman, who began his climbing career at Indian Rock in the Berkeley hills (area covered later in this text) developed the V scale as an alternative to the Yosemite Decimal System (‘YDS’ scale) typically used to rate the difficulty of climbs in the United States. A comparison chart is provided below.

V Scale for Bouldering => Yosemite Decimal System (YDS)
V0 5.10a/b
V0+ 5.10c/d
V1 5.11a/b
V2 5.11b/c
V3 5.11c/d
V4 5.12a/b
V5 5.12b/c
V6 5.12c/d
V7 5.13a/b
V8 5.13b/c
V9 5.13c/d
V10 5.14a
V11 5.14b
V12 5.14c
V13 5.14d
V14 5.15a

Important note on ratings: I would encourage beginners to spend as little time thinking about ratings as possible. Many climbers get caught up in the numbers portion of the sport in which climbing the next higher grade becomes such as distraction as to cause the climber to forget why he or she took up climbing in the first place. Many people begin climbing because it provides a sense of accomplishment that is not monetary or entirely measureable in nature. Comparing oneself to others based on these rather vague rating systems or obsessing over ratings can quickly lead to frustration, feelings of inadequacy, or an unhealthy spirit of competition. Let ratings be your guide to those areas and problems which provide you with the best opportunity for an enjoyable experience and not as a way to measure yourself against others. It is also important to note that many climbs with lower ratings are more pleasurable and aesthetically pleasing than some of the hardest and most contrived problems or routes. My best advice is to go out and find routes or problems that inspire you or peak your curiosity and pour your energy into successfully accomplishing those climbs.