Bouldering has exploded in popularity over the past few years, partly due to the introduction of climbing in the 2020 Olympics. And, here at Rock and Rapid Adventures, we’re all for it!
We recently opened up our very own, state-of-the-art bouldering centre, set over 400sqm of awesome arches, islands, slab routes, kids’ routes and much more! We also have our own specialist training room, featuring a famous 45-degree ‘woody’ for those who want to progress their skills even further.
If you’re searching for the ultimate indoor bouldering in Devon, you’re in the right place! Our centre boasts over a thousand climbing holds from Euroholds, all regularly re-set to the highest of professional standards, in Font style, with a monthly comp circuit added in for good measure!
What is bouldering?
But what exactly IS bouldering? Put simply, bouldering is climbing at a lower height without ropes. However, there is much more to it than this – whilst bouldering may appear to be a stripped-back version of roped climbing, it actually requires its own unique technique to reach the highest level.
Bouldering is a fantastic sport for beginner climbers to get involved with, because it doesn’t require any specialist experience or equipment – you can just pop on a pair of rental climbing shoes and hit the walls! After a short induction session, you will have learnt all of the basic safety principles and techniques, and you can quickly begin developing your skills.
Many people will tell you that bouldering is more physically intensive than roped climbing. Boulder problems tend to be ‘short and powerful’ – but this doesn’t mean they can’t also be technically challenging. You will find lots of different styles of climbing in the bouldering centre, from arm-intensive overhangs to ‘crimpy’ routes on slabs that require careful balance.
How it Works
Our bouldering centre is set out in ‘Font style’. This is the grading system inspired by the famous bouldering hotspot of Fontainebleau Forest in France, where climbers flock year-round to hone their skills. In our bouldering centre, we use the colour-coded system, with five recommended routes set around the walls in different colours according to difficulty. The yellow route is perfect for beginners and provides a basis from which to progress to the orange, blue, red and black routes as your skills progress.
The routes are re-set regularly and a different competition circuit is added in each month so that you will always have a new, exciting and challenging experience when you visit us for a session!
Why try out bouldering?
There are so many reasons to try out bouldering. If you’re looking for a way to get fit or tone-up with a holistic, full-body workout, bouldering offers a great alternative to the gym. It’s a judgement-free zone full of other supportive climbers who will help you out with advice (or, as we call it, ‘beta’) – and it’s never boring. You don’t have to do repetition after repetition to build up your arm muscles in a bouldering cave; climbing does that for you, without you even noticing!
But it’s more than just a workout. Bouldering is an incredibly fun and engaging activity, which will give an adrenaline rush and a confidence boost to climbers of all abilities and ages. Come along with a group of friends and you can have a great laugh trying out different routes and encouraging each other along the way!
Want more info about bouldering at Rock and Rapid Adventures? Give us a call on 01769 309 003!
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As a family of five who like to try new things, I can’t recommend this enough. The staff member who helped us was top class. Friendly, accommodating and keen. Although, we were all at different levels of experience, some of us complete notices at climbing – we all managed to spend an enjoyable couple of hours.
Really good day out and cater for all levels of ability. As complete beginners we were a bit nervous to begin with but soon got up to speed. Very good value for money.
To arrange a weekend that is a bit different and feels special is becoming harder to do so it was refreshing ti find somewhere that was happy to listen to our thoughts and ideas and let us run with them. Had a fantastic weekend that combined indoor climbing, raft building challenged and a monster design and build task to product a melon flinging catapult in a morning on a budget of £100. All in a really good time had by all with very relaxed and friendly staff. Would recommend for arranging those vents that are a bit more specialised.
I have been climbing here on and off for almost 4 years now. I keep coming back. This is by far one of the most friendly, helpful and safe climbing centres I have ever been to. The staff are constantly on guard for any mishaps and are very approachable with any and all concerns Especially talking through hypothetical situations and scenarios. Their knowledge is current and at the highest level. Definitely a place to go, and keep going.
I started climbing here about a year ago and love the atmosphere and people I meet. Ladies might, on a Monday which is run by Simmo has become a weekly must. (the coffee is pretty awesome too.) Great instruction is given on technique including safety) plus games are put together to improve climbing ability. I bring my nieces here and they love it. It’s exercise without feeling like you’re i a gym. I can’t recommend it enough!
We visited this whole on our holiday on a rainy day, my son enjoyed it so much he wanted to go back so we did. Twice! The staff are super friendly and very knowledgable. We will no doubt be back next year!
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