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Bouldering

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Image:Bouldering.jpg right|200px|thumb|Boulderer in Fontainebleau, France '''Bouldering''' is a form of climbing which is undertaken without a rope.

Description
'''Bouldering''' is undertaken without a rope and is normally limited in respect to the height the climber ascends the route so that any fall will not risk significant injury. This variation of climbing can be practiced on large boulders, at the base of larger rock faces/climbing routes, in indoor climbing centres, or even on manmade structures (see buildering). It was pioneered by the United Kingdom British in the 1880s, according to John Gill (climber) John Gill's [http://www128.pair.com/r3d4k7/ website]. For many years, bouldering was only practiced as training for climbing climbers. It was first pursued as a sport of its own during the 1950s by Mr. Gill, a former gymnast who found the movement of bouldering enjoyable. Typically bouldering is a more high impact sport focusing on individual moves rather than the endurance required in traditional climbing or sport climbing. Boulder routes are most commonly referred to as 'problems', because the nature of the climb is often short, curious, and much like problem solving. As in other types of climbing there are entire grade (bouldering) grading systems for bouldering alone. The most commonly used grading systems are the John Sherman V-grade system, beginning at V0 and increasing by integers to a current achievement of V15, and the Fontainebleau system which ranges from 1 to 8c+. Both scales are open-ended at the top, and thus the upper grade of these systems increases as boulderers ascend more difficult problems. To reduce the risk of injury after a fall, climbers rarely go higher than a few meters above the ground (anything over 7 meters is generally considered to be free-soloing although such climbs might also be termed high-ball bouldering problems). They may also put a crash pad/bouldering mat on the ground to break their fall and/or assign a spotting (climbing) spotter, a person standing on the ground to prevent the climber from landing badly. The spotter generally works to direct the climbers body toward the crashpad during a fall, while protecting the climber's head from hazards. The region around Fontainebleau near Paris is particularly famous for its beautiful and concentrated bouldering sites. Well known areas include Stanage (UK), Dover Island (Canada), Hueco Tanks (Texas), Castle Hill, New Zealand, and Bishop, California amongst climbing area others. Bouldering is continually gaining in popularity, partly as evidenced by the growth of bouldering areas in indoor climbing gyms and even entire climbing gyms dedicated to bouldering. Children are joining the sport now as well as adults. In fact, studies have found that when you start when you are young you have better climbing skills when you are older due to getting past disadvantages such as height and strength.

Gear
;Chalk :Boulderers use loose, powdered chalk on their hands as a drying agent while climbing. The chalk is stored in a small hand-sized pouch worn on the climber's lower back called a chalk bag. ;Pads :Boulderers commonly carry a mattress-like object called a crash pad. These are generally 50" x 40" x 3" foam pads with a heavy-duty fabric shell. Crash pads can be folded in half and worn like a backpack. It is opened and placed at the based of a boulder to cover irregularities in the landing and provide some cushion if the climber falls. Often a group of climbers will boulder together, each carrying his or her own crash pad. When using many crash pads together, the landing zones are larger and safer. A crash pad is not a substitute for a human spotter to protect a climber in a fall, and crash pads cannot eliminate all risk of injury. ;Ropes :Ropes are generally not used in bouldering. Occasionally, a top rope will be to practice a particularly high or dangerous boulder problem; however, many boulderers consider this to be poor form. ;Shoes :While shoes designed for technical climbing are not required to participate in bouldering, they can offer the climber a distinct advantage. ;Climbing Walls :* hand holds :
- http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Climbing_Hand_Holds How to make Climbing hand holds :
- http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Build_A_Climbing_Wall How to build a climbing wall

List of Bouldering Sites or Gyms

Lists by U.S. state:
*List of California bouldering sites *List of Indiana bouldering sites *List of New York bouldering sites *List of Pennsylvania bouldering sites *List of Rhode Island bouldering sites

External links

- Bouldering in Czech Republic
- Bouldering in the UK
- Bouldering in Devon, UK
- Bouldering in Ireland
- Bouldering in the Lake District, UK
- Bouldering in North Wales, UK
- Bouldering in the UK, Germany, the US, NZ and more...
- Bouldering in Scotland
- Bouldering in the US
- The largest outdoor bouldering contest in the world
- Bouldering In Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
- Bouldering in Italy - Melloblocco contest Category:Climbing cs:Bouldering de:Bouldern he:טיפוס בולדרינג nl:Boulder ja:ボルダリング no:Buldring pl:Bouldering ru:Боулдеринг sl:Balvansko plezanje

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