Monthly Adventure #1 - Bouldering

Dating apps suck, I work from home, and I want to go on fun activities, so I am planning monthly adventures for myself.

Monthly Adventures #1: Bouldering 101 at Upper Limits

Bouldering is climbing without ropes, with a thick squishy pad to fall on. The walls are straight, sloping towards you, or sloping away from you. There are handholds and toe-holds attached to the wall, these get changed on a regular basis and each coloured route has a difficulty, starting at V0.

My intro was for one hour, and included the rental shoes and chalk (to help you grip onto the handholds). I wore workout leggings so I'd be able to move easily.

I had a hard time getting past the first handhold on a sloped route, so my instructor, S, took me to a straight section of wall and talked me through how to fall, how to climb, showing me better ways of moving on the wall. I was the only person he was teaching, so I got a great intro to the sport.

I finished two courses, meaning I climbed to the top and got both hands on the "finish" handhold. Falling off the wall was terrifying because I didn't trust the squishy mat. I thought falling was the hardest part, right after not being able to get from one handhold to the next. Near the end S had me do some practice falls.

Afterwards I was exhausted, and my hands felt like they had been sandpapered! The next day they were still a bit sensitive to hot water. I can also feel an ache in my lats and shoulders.