Bouldering at Seven Bays

I love trying out new workouts or fitness routines, even if that means putting myself out of my comfort zone. I frequently walk by Seven Bays Bouldering, and am amazed by what these boulderers are capable of climbing. For those of you who’ve never heard of bouldering, it’s a form of rock climbing that doesn’t use any ropes or harnesses. You can go bouldering out in nature using real rocks, or you can visit a bouldering gym (which have plush mats as a safety net).

I gathered a friend who I thought would be up to the challenge, and showed up ready to get climbing (or so we thought). When we arrived at Seven Bays Bouldering on a busy Thursday night, we were overwhelmed by how many people were in the gym. Because not everyone can climb at the same time, there groups of people standing around and watching the climbers. We didn’t have a clue how bouldering works and were petrified of making fools of ourselves in front of all these experts. We were standing around contemplating our next move, when we saw a poster for their beginner bouldering classes offered on Sunday mornings. We both decided that would be a much better solution, and took off for the night to grab a drink and relax.

Luckily, we’re both the kind of girls that stick to our word and a few weeks later we were in the gym bright and early on a Sunday morning. The beginner class was $40 CAD (plus tax), and included a 90 minute lesson, a pass for the week, as well as shoe and chalk rental for the week. The front desk instructed us on how to choose our shoes (they should feel a bit tight) and gave us a bag of chalk so we could keep our hands dry throughout the lesson.

There were about 10 of us newbies in the class, so the instructor started out by talking about the basic safety rules. He then explained that there are various paths on the walls, all denoted by colour. For example, if you wanted try out something easier, you would start with a white rock and follow them all the way up to the top. Everyone in the class took turns starting on some of the easier paths, with the instructor giving us tips on where to move next. It seemed like the people in my class had no trouble getting to the top, which made me even more anxious. I surprised myself, and was able to get to the top after some coaching and encouragement.

After we were all comfortable, we went out on our own (or in smaller groups) to get some more climbing experience. Our instructor stayed close by to make sure that we were staying safe and to give us any pointers. Despite my initial thoughts, everyone at the gym was very encouraging and welcoming. People were more than happy to give us demonstrations or recommend hand positioning.

After an hour and a half of climbing, we were absolutely exhausted and called it quits for the day. We did come back a few days later (after our muscle aches wore off) to get our money’s worth with the free trial week. Although I didn’t renew to a monthly pass, I’d highly recommend trying out bouldering. The people at Seven Bays were obviously so passionate about the sport, and there was such a community environment in the gym.

If you’re looking for other unique fitness studios in Halifax, check out my blog post on aerial silks.