Bouldering races up the wall of popular fitness

Bouldering is starting to take off in New Zealand and West Auckland is home to the largest bouldering gym in the Southern Hemisphere.

First Up went along to get a grip on the popular sport.

Boulder Co started three years ago and is in full swing at 7pm on a Wednesday night, with hundreds of climbers scaling the walls, or standing by encouraging others. In an office at the back of the gym, founder Adam Cauldwell says he fell in love with this kind of climbing in Christchurch 12 years ago.

"The joy of bouldering is it's a social sport. It's very, very social. It's as much about hanging out with your mates and trying to problem solve and climb as it is getting a really good workout."

For $25 a week, members can climb the walls, and use the fitness gym upstairs.

On a busy day, more than 600 people come through Boulder Co's doors. Adam says it is an eclectic mix, with some people spending a lot of time at the gym.

"We've coined the party room Boulder University. We've got people that come here during exams and just study all day, climb during their breaks and then go back to studying as a big group. We've got people that work here instead of working from home for their day jobs.

"It ranges from a quick half-hour session for your lunch break to an eight-hour day."

Bouldering is described as climbing made simple - with no ropes or harnesses.

The walls range in height - 4.5 metres at the tallest - with crash pads underneath to cushion falls. Climbs are graded 1-9, depending on their difficulty, and there is something for everyone.

"We guarantee that you'll be able to do Grade 1s. Regardless of your physical ability we'll get you up something. We go right up to 9s, which I don't touch with a bargepole."

Out on the walls, Tama is navigating a grade 4 climb.

He has only been bouldering for five months, but judging by his acrobats on the wall, Tama is a natural.

"It just it feels good! I never pictured myself wanting to climb, and then one day I just got invited. And then here I am, I just never left."

Tama dips his hands into his bag full of chalk, which helps with grip. He's covered in the stuff, like a baker covered in flour.

"All my flatmates are like, 'man, what's up with all this white stuff, bro? Where's that coming from?' The gym, man, I swear'," laughs Tama.

Nearby, Patricia is warming up her shoulders getting ready to climb. She has been bouldering for four years, and has a few battle scars.

"I'm pretty sure I took the country's whole ACC budget in the year I started climbing. I got quite a lot of injuries the first year I started just because I was still kind of like, you know, trying to see what I could do and pushing my limits. And sometimes pushing past them.

"I have taken a couple of nasty wipe-outs, dislocated my elbow at the climbing gym in 2021. But all I could think of was getting rehabbed so I could get back out there!"

On the other side of the gym, Jackson is sitting next to a wall with his friends. He has been bouldering for five years, and says it is not all about strength.

"There is so much more than just the physical part, it's super artistic. It can get very beautiful with movement and everything."

Around the corner is the under-18 wall, where lots of parents are climbing with their kids.

Dimitris is here with Victoria, his 7-year-old daughter. They come here three times a week, and every day in the school holidays.

The sport has been expanding in recent times, going from a hobby to being part of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Cauldwell says bouldering is growing both casually and competitively.

"The Olympics has helped, a lot of the movies that have come out around climbing, like Free Solo and those sort.

"Things have kind of built up popularity, but I think on its own merits it's kind of growing as it should because it's a really cool sport. Beauty, friends, incredibly social."

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.