The Climbing Hangar Liverpool: Review

The Climbing Hangar Liverpool is a community friendly bouldering centre which encourages everyone to come and embrace the sport, it’s is a great place for anyone looking to try something new, get more active or step up your fitness game and challenge yourself to scale increasingly challenging routes up the walls.

We were invited down to try the venue and learn all about the benefits of Bouldering with an introductory session with one of The Climbing Hangars’ instructors. Having never tried climbing/bouldering before we started out with a verbal induction, followed by an hour long session where we tested our skills on the different levels of bouldering.

The Climbing Hangar Liverpool: What to expect

Before tackling the walls we learnt all about the grading system for bouldering. Grading systems are relative, so it can be difficult to know where to start if you’ve never climbed before. Also known as ‘bouldering ratings’, there are two main grading levels / scales which are the Font Scale and the V Scale – the Climbing Hangar use the V Scale with colour coding and numbers indicating difficulty.

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For our first session we stuck to the Greens, Oranges and Blues, which are all at the ‘easier’ end of the scale – but were still really difficult! If you’ve never tried bouldering or indoor climbing before, basically what you have to do is climb up the wall whilst only touching the one colour, so if you’ve chosen Orange, then you need to get to the top of the wall without touching any other colour than orange. Once we had a bit of practice we tackled some of the more difficult circuits, including this blue one which goes in a loop around the wall, I couldn’t get past the half waypoint but Phil managed to complete it!

It’s easy to pick up, as a beginner, but extremely challenging to truly master. Perhaps that is why the sport continues to prove so popular. We found it really addictive once we got going and we didn’t want to leave without completing the circuits – we will definitely be going back!

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Unlike other forms of climbing, bouldering is performed without the use of ropes or harnesses, since routes tend to be lower. But what they lack in sheer vertical height, they make up for in the variety of movement. Boulders offer many fun challenges which require different climbing moves.

Below we have listed some of the many benefits we learnt about during are first session at The Climbing Hangar Liverpool….

The benefits of Bouldering:

Bouldering requires a combination of balance, strength, intuition and technical skills to climb different routes to the top of the climbing wall. The benefits of bouldering are huge with the sport renowned for its full body workout, however, it is the mental and social benefits that are encouraging greater numbers of people to try their hand at bouldering and it’s no surprise that the popularity of the sport both outdoors and indoors, has soared in recent years.

Meet like-minded people

Because you spend much of your time on the ground figuring out the best way to tackle your route, you’ll find a lot more collaboration and discussion among climbers. The social nature of bouldering can help to foster a more inclusive environment, by bringing together communities of diverse groups who all share the same passion.

Climbing: It’s for anyone

Part of boulderings’ appeal is how all participants climb alongside each other on the same wall, no matter their skill levels.

Climbing walls are developed using different coloured holds with routes, commonly known as sets, signifying the different difficulty levels of the route up the wall. This unique aspect allows experienced climbers and first timers the opportunity to climb alongside one another.

Can climbing help to improve your mental wellbeing?

A key element of bouldering is problem solving, as climbers must find the most energy efficient route up the wall. It is the mental distraction that makes bouldering an excellent stress reliever for those wanting to escape the challenges of everyday life or personal troubles. It helps calm the mind by focusing on what is in front of you.  

Can climbing help to increase your strength and fitness?

Bouldering is a full-body workout, with those who climb regularly able to quickly improve their upper body, back and core strength. Bouldering is a fun way to increase your fitness. With multiple muscles working at the same time, bouldering is a dynamic challenge that asks your body to grow and adapt to continually overcome the ever-changing sets that you come across when taking part in bouldering.     

Founder of The Climbing Hangar, Ged Macdomhnaill, summarises: “In creating The Climbing Hangar, we wanted it to become a place that the whole community could experience something fun together, while also promoting the mental, physical and social benefits that the sport can offer to people of all ages and abilities.”

The Climbing Hangar, which currently has sites based in Liverpool, Plymouth, London, and a fourth opening in Swansea this Spring, has launched the Bolder Together campaign to showcase the diverse and inclusive nature of the sport. Check out the video below.