When you're afraid of heights, climbing seems like the very last thing you'd want to do. To be honest, it still scares me now. For the first 15 minutes of bouldering or rock climbing I feel tense and afraid, panicking as I climb higher and higher, in the knowledge that I still have to make it down afterwards before my feet are firmly back on the ground. However after that initial fear, I'm in love.
Bouldering, is basically rock climbing but without the harness. You climb different routes (often colour coded to signify varying difficulty levels) and it helps in practicing your skill and increasing your strength and agility. You might think.... wait, climbing without a harness? Surely that can't be safe? And to be honest, it is still dangerous.
However, bouldering walls are never anywhere near as high as those used for rock climbing, and the floors are always cushioned and soft incase of falls. Of course, if you're at the top of the wall and you fall off, it is still going to hurt a bit, but the idea is that once you reach the top of a route you climb back down the wall in a controlled way before reaching the ground again.
Once you get of that initial worry, it is so much fun and a great allover body workout!
So, if you want to try out something new and have an adventurous side, then bouldering may just be for you!
I go to Birmingham Bouldering Centre and its just awesome there!
Tanith
xx
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