Time to compare and contrast.
Last Wednesday we did our usual rock climbing session, bouldering at Northern Rocks. Here's Miya doing a couple of new climbs:
Yesterday (Monday) we spent about five hours doing roped climbing at Birkenhead Pool and Leisure Centre. (We last went there back in February of 2019.)
Miya did a Grade 19 climb:
While I ran out of puff at the second to last hold,
and had to rest on the rope a bit before completing it.
Mulan completed Grade 15, and almost did Grade 16.
Which means that according to this chart Mulan is mid-intermediate while Miya and I are low-experienced. (In contrast, our bouldering levels suggest Mulan is mid-experienced, I am high-experienced and Miya is low-expert.)
And the verdict?
While I enjoy both bouldering and roped climbing, for now I prefer bouldering.
Why?
Personally, I found the higher wall of the roped climbs mostly challenging for my endurance fitness. For the grade level that I was at, each move by itself was relatively easy; I was reaching my limit mostly because my muscles got too pumped and stopped working. So, while it was a good challenge for the body, it wasn't as challenging for the brain.
In contrast, for me, bouldering is a mental challenge as much as a physical challenge. It's about problem solving and creativity. On the shorter wall there are fewer moves, but each move needs to be thought through to figure out how best to do it using one's unique body type and skills. That aha moment of finding the right trick to a move can be very satisfying.
So, while we definitely plan to do more roped climbing, we probably won't do it so regularly -- maybe just every several months or so.
Oh, and I've got to repost a pic of me with a few friends 25 years ago at Birkenhead climbing!
And see those ropes? They are doing absolutely nothing to protect us. This was a posed photo for a local newspaper, and we simply free climbed up with the ropes dangling off us. Scott and I were trusting Steve and Matt to not pull us off the wall!
