Can you go bouldering on your own?
Yes. Bouldering needs no partner, no rope and no booking, so arriving alone is completely normal and a lot of our regulars do exactly that. You take the same safety induction as everyone else, climb at your own pace, and leave when you like. It is also one of the easier sports to meet people in, because everybody on the mats is working on the same problems.
Is it safe to climb by yourself?
Within a staffed gym, yes. Staff are on the floor, the walls are 3 to 4 metres over deep padded flooring, and the induction covers how to land. The one thing that genuinely needs other people is a rope, which is why bouldering suits climbing alone and rope climbing does not.
- There are 2 auto-belays if you want height without a partner - free with entry.
- Tell a staff member if anything feels wrong; that is what they are on the floor for.
Will I be in the way if I do not know what I am doing?
No. Everybody in the room was a first-timer once and the etiquette is simple: do not stand or walk underneath somebody who is on the wall, and do not start a problem somebody is already on. Your induction covers both.
- Look up before you cross the mats.
- The glossary on our site covers the vocabulary if you would rather arrive knowing it.
Do I need to book or sign up first?
No booking for individuals. Fill in the waiver online before you come and you will walk straight in; the in-gym induction form is signed on arrival after the safety run-through.
- Waiver: thehold.studio/waivers-code-of-conduct.
- Groups of 10 or more are the only ones that must book ahead.
When is it quietest?
Weekday mornings and early afternoons, roughly 8:30am to 2pm Monday to Friday. If walking into a busy room is the off-putting part, that is the window to pick.
- Open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 9pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 9pm.
- Those hours suit anyone working flexibly or homeschooling.
How do people end up climbing together?
By standing in front of the same problem. Sharing beta - how a sequence is done - is the normal currency of a bouldering gym, and asking somebody how they did a move is not an imposition.
- Beta is simply the method for climbing a problem.
- The cafe seating area is open to everyone, climbing or not.
First visit? Walk straight in.
No booking needed for you and a few mates. Fill in your waiver online, wear something comfortable, bring socks if you are hiring shoes. We will take it from there.