I started climbing recently, specifically bouldering (yes I will do the rope some day, but not today). I remember the very first day I decided to get back into it after a break since college. I was pretty scared to get more than a few feet off the ground.
In bouldering the difficulties are rated (subjectively by the route-setter) from V0 -> V12+. V0 is essentially the easiest, with some places using a VB (V-Beginner) route for the ones that are essentially just a ladder on a wall. I knew this from watching some YouTube videos, but did not know what the colored tape or any of that stuff meant.
You can see more infomation in this table from Wikipedia, here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_(climbing)#Comparison_bouldering
So, during a fit of anxiety and existentialism I left my job early for the day by saying I was sick and forced myself to sign up for a climbing gym as I had been thinking about it for some time (see my earlier post about climbing mountains 1). I had just regular gym shoes and no idea what I was doing, apart from just getting on the wall.
But I went. I went and started climbing what seemed doable to me. It turns out this was the children’s area I had chosen but that is okay, my ego healed. Regardless, I knew I was going to be hooked after just a little while at the gym.
It has been about two months, maybe a bit longer, since I started going several times per week. I have now moved on up and can climb V2s and some V3s which now puts me in the overlapping areas of beginner and intermediate.
One area I have spent a lot of my time is the splatter wall. A splatter wall is a wall that is almost entirely filled up with holds, with no actual routes defined. The purpose is for you to push yourself just a little bit beyond your current comfort zone by self-deciding a route that is a tad above what you normally can do.
There are several reasons I have spent some time at this specific wall. One, for practice (duh). Two, I can fail here without failing on a route that others may consider easy. Now nobody is dogging on your at the gym for failing a route, we were all total noobs at some point. But the practice wall is meant for trying hard, so you do.
What these photos do not do justice, however, is how steep of an angle the splatter wall is. It may be hard to tell in these photographs, but the top portions of the wall are angled towards you. The right hand side of this splatter wall has a very steep top portion, greater than 45 degrees. This means you have to use a lot more upper-body strength to stay on the wall as opposed to just a normal vertical wall. This added challenge also makes climbing a similar set of holds on a flatter wall easier down the road. It is just a great workout all around.
As for my legs (since we do not skip leg day) I do either the exercise bicycle with the resistance cranked up, or just hike/walk with a weighted backpack. Hiking uphill consistently will get you strong.
Overall I am enjoying my new sport. I might be as brave as some of the other “rock” climbers, but I do intend to do more mountaineering so starting where I did seems right.