| In rock climbing, the discipline of bouldering has grown | | | | anguished howls of the owner will be of scant solace |
| massively in importance over the last 15 years or so. | | | | to the boulderer, who will be free to continue an |
| Of course, some rock climbers have always | | | | unimpeded descent. |
| bouldered; witness the sepia photographs of august | | | | I find that the best way to spot a boulderer is to |
| Victorian gentlemen competing on boulders in | | | | close my fingers together, tuck my thumb beside |
| England's Lake District and North Wales' Snowdonia. | | | | them and cup my hands slightly. This way, a falling |
| And bouldering is an activity which certainly pre-dates | | | | boulderer will land on my cupped hands, not on my |
| climbing with ropes. What young child doesn't want to | | | | splayed out fingers. There's far less chance of |
| clamber over rocks, lurching from handhold to | | | | damage to my fingers (they're already damaged |
| handhold, transposed with joy? | | | | enough, thank you!) And cupped hands are a far |
| In the world of rock climbing, bouldering has | | | | better instrument for diverting a fall. |
| undoubtedly benefited from two relatively recent | | | | Actually, that past point is massively important. |
| innovations - bouldering mats and spotters. With | | | | You're not necessarily trying to stop a fall (which will |
| bouldering mats, all you have to do is position them | | | | often only be a metre or so), you're trying to avoid |
| correctly underneath the boulder problem. (Although | | | | the fall having dangerous consequences by landing on |
| please be careful - a lot of people have fallen off, | | | | something nasty or just landing badly. Most of the |
| missed the edges of bouldering mats and still | | | | time, you're simply aiming to guide a falling boulderer |
| managed to hurt themselves.) However, with | | | | back to a place of almost total safety - i.e. the |
| spotting, I've lost count of the number of | | | | bouldering mat. |
| photographs I've seen featuring world-class climbers | | | | The last thing any rock climber wants are broken |
| with armies of concerned spotters underneath, who | | | | fingers. If you break your nose, well, that's not very |
| are - pardon my bluntness - doing it all wrong. | | | | nice but, pain permitting, you can still climb. If you |
| Almost 100% of rock climbing spotters have their | | | | break your fingers though, climbing becomes pretty |
| fingers separated, outstretched and splayed. Should a | | | | tricky. So believe me, any tip which spares your |
| falling body land on such an outstretched finger, it | | | | fingers from danger is well worth checking out. |
| stands a good change of snapping like a twig. The | | | | |