Bouldering Competition

Had a very late night last night, (after returning from the Gorge Walk), stripping all the holds off the bouldering wall - and then putting them all back on again! 

Believe it or not, there's a surprising amount of thought and effort that goes into setting a good boulder problem! I was getting the climbing wall ready for an annual student climbing competition the next day, so the pressure was on to get it right. They had to be hard enough to provide good challenges, but not so hard that no one could get off the ground. And most of all, with pleasing moves and body positions.

In the end (at 10pm and after 3 drill battery changes!), I was very pleased with my creations. Then, after a few hours of sleep, I was back for the competition itself, which was brilliant fun and thankfully, worth all the effort! It was a gorgeous sunny day, so we had the big doors open allowing the sunlight to flood the room. Each team had an hour to complete as many of the climbs as possible, with bonus points available if they got to the top on their first go. With the sun out and a cheering crowd on the lawn outside, there was an excitable, friendly and festival feel to the day.