Bouldering session at Flashpoint in Park Tawe, Swansea, Friday November 29th, 18:00. If you are late, I/we will be in the climbing area. This is our second session.
It is a great club with super friendly people and nice staff. It's a cool place to hang out, they have food and drinks if needed as well as toilets and showers.
All day/evening climbing session and rental of shoes is £17.50, they open till 22:00. It's about £10.00 if you have your own climbing shoes. You might need to buy chalk, but it is cheap, I will bring some too. Don't wear jeans or restrictive clothing. Joggers are ok, shorts are better, with a comfortable t-shirt. Gym wear is best as it can get sweaty!
To give people an idea of what bouldering is, it is climbing without ropes, using coloured hand and feet holds, with climbing shoes. There are lots of different grades of 'routes', from 0/1 to 10 from easiest to hardest. This is different to climbing which is where you would normally be 'belayed', or in other words supported by someone feeding rope from the ground. There are no ropes. There is always a risk of injury with bouldering or climbing, you should stretch and warm up and respect your limits. Indoor bouldering is arguably safer, as it is clearly graded and there is a large crash mat underneath all routes.
But, please bear in mind if you fall from the high holds and land badly, you could get hurt. The beginner's routes are designed to be easier to manage, slips and falls are less likely. This also depends on your experience, so don't push yourself too far. You have to also down climb to a safe level when you want come down, using the easier down climb holds. I'm not an instructor, I just have experience, you do this at your own risk. You will have to sign a waiver at the front desk and watch a short safety video.
That at least should give you an idea of what it is about. If you just wanted to watch or look around, the staff are normally ok with that.
Bouldering is good fun and decent exercise! It can be a great confidence booster. It is nice to have people around to spot from the ground and chat with. Everyone is welcome.
Dogs are also aloud in, just in case you are allergic or don't like them!
Maybe this will drum up some interest as a monthly or more frequent meet up over the winter?
See ya there!
