In the last post, I introduced Chris Graham, co-owner of Climb Newcastle and its two bouldering centres The Valley and The Pool. Today, you can learn more about bouldering itself and how to get into it in Newcastle.
“Bouldering is very different from rock climbing. There is very little equipment that you need,” explains Chris. Bouldering, as I explained in Tuesday’s post, is not the same as rock climbing. It basically is climbing without ropes and in the end, you jump off and land on crush mats. Chris tells me that bouldering became popular in the late 1990s when portable crush mats came about.
Getting into climbing at Climb Newcastle is very easy. “People who have climbed before at our own centres or elsewhere can sign a waiver and just start,” says Chris. “We run induction sessions for people who are new to the sport and they are very straight forward. They cover the basic safety information, the basic climbing information and that takes about 45 minutes. Basic things like bend your knees when you hit the ground, don’t climb above anyone, don’t walk underneath anyone. There is no equipment needed, we give a pair of shoes and that’s all that’s required, some loose-fitting clothing and off you go.”
The Pool in Byker, the first centre of Climb Newcastle, was initially opened to be used as a training facility, says Chris. “The climbing scene at that time was very small and we thought that it would appreciate this facility to go to. We quickly realised that bouldering is so easy to get into that it was becoming popular with people new to the sport.”
Over the course of the first several years of Climb Newcastle, they started to bring in a huge number of new climbers to the sport. After a few years, they reached the capacity of the centre in Byker. “So, we went looking for a new facility somewhere bigger where we could expand and grow. We found this place here in Ouseburn, which is a cool part of Newcastle, it’s a sort of vibrant place with lots of different activities going on. We found the perfect building at The Valley which is three to four times the size of the one in Byker where we could offer a wide range of climbing including for those who are new to the sport and for people who are well established.”
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