Bouldering has taken over the SRWC in the last couple of weeks.
Bouldering is a form a rock climbing that is performed without the use of ropes or harnesses. Nathan Reynolds, a junior business management major from Kingwood, is the instructor for the Bouldering class offered Thursday nights at 8pm. The class is free and offered to any students who want to take it. In the class you learn about the basics of Bouldering.
Bouldering has a rating system that is used on different routes. You will typically start out as a VB, which is a beginner. From a VB you become a V0, which is the easiest; the last title is a V16. There are actually only a few boulders with this grade. On a boulder wall there are different color tapes meaning different paths you can take. In bouldering a specific path is called a problem because the climber has to use their wits as well as their strength to unlock the necessary movements to complete the climb. You start on the specified starting holds, use only the taped holds, and finish on the taped finish and you have completed that specific Boulder problem.
Brooks Mendenhall, ACU alum from Abilene said, “In many ways bouldering is the most accessible form of rock climbing because of how little background is necessary.” He is a supervisor at High Point Climbing and Fitness Riverside in Chattanooga Tennessee. SRWC allows you to check out equipment that use during the bouldering class or while you are alone on the wall.
Mendenhall said, “Climbing is my passion, my job, and my community. I would not have been introduced to climbing if it weren’t for the bouldering wall in the rec.” The boulder wall has brought a newfound community to the rec center. Many students have participated in Nathan Reynolds class and have found a new community.
