Rock Climbing at Brooklyn Boulders
Lesson review
I thought I’d give it a shot by coaxing my friends into a cool afternoon class. Strength in numbers, right?
The Intro to Climbing class was an awesome, humbling, and motivating experience for someone who hasn’t done much rock climbing. Sure, I’ve done rock walls at summer camp when I was a kid, but that seemed a distant memory as I was traversing my first 15 foot wall that day. Here are the full details from my lesson at Brooklyn Boulders!Live a Boulder Life
It’s where my adventurous friends go to work out, instead of going to a gym. Once we got going, the class was great.” – DavidMarcus – a Manhattan native who started rock climbing when he was 5 – was excellent. After asking about our general climbing experience, he walked us over to one of the (probably) 75 climbing walls in the grand facility and he explained how each wall route was labeled with a certain color and number. V0 was the easiest, V1 was harder, V2 was much harder, etc. The colors aligned with which rocks you were allowed to step on for each ascent.
Rock Climbing Requires Finger Biceps
The space is very efficient – almost every inch of flat surface is climbable.” – DavidI found that even though V1 and V2 were certainly challenging, our group of friends enjoyed the challenge, and constantly helped each other and recommend other walls to try and climb. At one point, an incredibly talented 4 year old came Spiderman-ing up and across the wall and impressed us all at his agility and experience! You could tell his mother, watching proudly nearby, was a big influence on his love for the sport.
Leaving the Nest
Although the check-in process was a bit disorganized, the overall experience was great.” – DavidI was worried at first that without Marcus there, we wouldn’t be able to get past the regulars. That was far from the case. Everyone was very nice and even helpful. The other climbers we met encouraged us to try different routes and gave us tips when we got stuck. Overall, I loved the experience and I would highly recommend to anyone that wants to try something new around the NYC area. Be prepared for a challenge, and remember to have fun!
Getting to Brooklyn Boulders | ||
---|---|---|
By train | Union Street – D, N, R, W | |
By bus |
Grab a Bite around Brooklyn Boulders | ||
---|---|---|
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que A perfect post-climb eatery, especially for groups. Protein for days, classic southern sides, and a fantastic beer list. |
Want to Advance your Climbing Skills?
We have quite a few climbers in our ranks at 57hours, which means we have years of expertise climbing in and around the city. If you’re comfortable on the wall, and are looking for more of a challenge, read our article on our favorite places to climb around NYC. If Brooklyn is a bit out of your way, check out our review of a intro class at Cliffs climbing gym in Long Island City, Queens.Header image by shootingbrooklyn via Flickr, CC BY 2.0