Why I'm hooked on bouldering
I discovered bouldering recently, and I’m already a little addicted.
If you’ve never tried it: bouldering is climbing short walls, about four or five metres high, without ropes or harnesses. Thick mats catch you when you fall, and you will fall a lot. Each route is called a problem, and that name is perfect.
It’s a puzzle you solve with your whole body. Before you touch the wall, you stand there reading the holds and planning your moves. Then you try, fail, adjust and try again. As an engineer, it feels a lot like debugging, except the bug is my left foot.
It’s easy to start. You only need climbing shoes and some chalk, and most gyms rent the shoes. Beginner problems are genuinely doable, so you improve quickly, and that progress is addictive.
It’s social. People sit on the mats between attempts, share tips and cheer for strangers who finally finish a problem they’ve been stuck on.
It empties my head. I spend my days staring at code. On the wall, there’s no room to think about anything except the next hold.
See you on the mats.
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