What is Bouldering?

Bouldering is a form of low level climbing typically limited to a height of 4-5m to ensure safety and practised above thick foam matting to help prevent injury from falling.

Bouldering is suitable for all age groups and all abilities and offers an alternative all weather sporting activity that is exhilarating, challenging and motivating. Requiring very little specialist equipment and as physical as you want it to be, bouldering is the perfect antidote to the monotony of gyms.

No specialist equipment is required other than sticky rubber climbing shoes which allow a much higher level of grip and precision to be achieved than regular training shoes. Climbing shoes are available to hire and to purchase in all sizes at Big Rock Climbing Centre.

Although a bouldering wall is much shorter than a traditional roped climbing wall, bouldering provides a more intense challenge that focuses on short sequences of athletic movement and is a style of climbing that emphasises body dynamics, suppleness, power and strength.

Bouldering also provides a technical challenge that requires concentration and problem solving abilities combined with mental tenacity to succeed. Keep fit, tone up your muscles, meet new friends, exercise your brain… it’s the perfect antidote to boring gym regimes!

Bouldering at Big Rock

A bouldering climb is referred to as a ‘problem’ and each bouldering problem is colour coded to allow easy identification. The aim of bouldering is to climb a colour coded bouldering problem of your choice from bottom to top without falling off, using only the specific colour coded holds designated for use on that particular problem. Sounds easy?

The difficulty of ascending a problem (and hence the intensity of your bouldering workout) is dictated by the grade of the problem. Every bouldering problem is graded according to difficulty, allowing you to easily choose a problem that falls within your current ability and can be climbed quickly and easily, or to choose a particularly difficult problem that may require many attempt over hours, days or even weeks before success is achieved!

Big Rock has extensive bouldering facilites, all bounded by thick high impact absorption foam matting to allow participants to push their limits without fear of injury.

The bouldering at Big Rock caters for all abilities and there are hundreds of different colour coded bouldering problems spanning all levels of difficulty to choose from. Problems are changed regularly throughout the year, ensuring there is always a fresh challenge to undertake.

Difficulty Ratings

The bouldering problems at Big Rock Climbing Centre use a colour coded grading system, each colour designating a particular range of difficulty.

Pink + Black bouldering problems provide the easiest challenge and are designed to offer amenable climbing for novices whilst white problems should keep even the seasoned professionals scratching their heads and nursing aching muscles!