Today, I stepped into the world of bouldering for the very first time. My friend Tom invited me to join him at our local indoor climbing gym, and I figured—why not? I didn’t even know the difference between bouldering and rock climbing until today. Apparently, bouldering is a type of climbing done without ropes or harnesses, usually on shorter walls with thick mats to cushion your fall. In contrast, traditional rock climbing often involves top ropes, belay partners, and a lot more gear.
As soon as we arrived, I purchased a day pass and picked up a pair of rental shoes from the front desk. I gave the woman my size and she handed me some no-frills gray Velcro shoes. I slipped them on—and immediately felt like my feet had been trapped in a vise. I asked for a full size up. Still tight. That’s when I learned: climbing shoes are supposed to be tight. Painfully tight, apparently.
Shoes on and feet slightly squished, I made my way to the climbing area. A big sign caught my eye—it showed a color-coded chart explaining the difficulty of each route, ranked from V0 (beginner) to V11+ (absolute beast mode). I decided to stick with red-tagged V0 routes and scanned the wall for a good starting point.
For context, I’ve never rock climbed in my life. Unless watching a few TikTok videos counts. But I do hit the gym once or twice a week, so I figured I had a shot.
I stepped up to my first route, placed both hands on the starting holds, and began my ascent. The plastic grips felt solid in my hands, and my feet found the holds surprisingly easily. Wow, I thought, this is actually kind of easy. I moved from hold to hold, feeling confident—until I reached the top.
Suddenly, I made the mistake of looking down.
The floor felt miles away, even though I was only a few meters up. My heart skipped a beat, and I froze for a second. Panic crept in. I forced myself to take a deep breath, backed down a couple of steps, and then jumped to the landing pad below.
Adrenaline surged through me.
That was incredible.
For the next hour, I was hooked. I chased every V0 I could find, climbing each route with determination and shaky limbs. Every success felt like a mini victory. Eventually, my arms gave out and my grip strength was gone. I couldn’t even hang on to the wall anymore. My hands were sore, my body drained—but I was buzzing.
Today, I didn’t just try bouldering. I became a climber.
Bouldering Journey 