Climber Moira Pearson at the Kelowna Boulder Fields.
(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)
October 10, 2022 - 7:02 AM
Years ago, men and women would go into the woods, find a solid rock and figure out ways to climb it. They stumbled upon the boulder field and outdoor enthusiasts loved the challenge.
Nowadays, bouldering has been recognized as an Olympic sport. It debuted in 2021 as part of sport climbing in the summer Olympics in Japan.
READ MORE: Rock climbing's Olympic debut, and its growing popularity come with challenges
Loic Markley, director with the Okanagan Bouldering Society, said since it’s considered an Olympic sport, more people are interested in trying it. The Kelowna Boulder Fields, once a niche area for outdoor enthusiasts, has become a popular bouldering spot, attracting climbers from across the world to test their skills and endurance.
There’s even a book that’s been published on the boulder field called Okanagan Bouldering by climbing veteran Andy White. He mapped out nearly 2,000 different routes a person might take to get from one spot on a rock to another, many of which he discovered himself. Since its publication in 2019, the boulder field has exploded in popularity, Markley said.
The routes are given a number on the V scale with 0 being the easiest and up to and above 14, requiring serious strength. Crash pads are placed below but other than a good pair of climbing shoes and chalk, bouldering enthusiasts are kept on the rock with only their hands and feet.
With the V14 routes, some have only done them once and mapped the route but no one else has been able to confirm the grades, Markley said.
“We’ve had world-class climbers come here and try some of the problems and fail sometimes too, which speaks to the quality of this place as a climbing area,” he said.
From left to right: Climbers Kayla Chappell, Moira Pearson, Jonty Pearson and Loic Markley enjoy a day at the Kelowna Boulder Fields.
(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)
The bouldering society has roughly 150 members but there are a lot more climbers in the Okanagan, Markley said. “We’re trying to recruit and increase our numbers so we can be better advocates for the community.”
The climbing sport overall tends to attract people in their 20s, especially with new climbing gyms opening up but it’s a sport you can do pretty much your whole life, he said.
“It is a very technical sport, so you can climb at a very high level into your 40s and 50s if you train hard enough.”
Markley, a long-time climber who got into the sport when he was a teenager and was always climbing rocks and trees as a child, said he loves the technical aspect of it.
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“What I like about it is its combination of strength, flexibility, coordination and problem-solving. You’re trying to find a sequence of moves that will get you from the start to the end and when you’re pushing your limit… often most of the effort is figuring out the sequence,” he said.
A lot of engineers and those who love math and physics are drawn to the problem-solving aspect.
The society recently held its eighth Rock the Blocs, attracting roughly 200 people to compete and test their bouldering skills after three years of cancellations due to the pandemic and fires in the region.
It manages the climbing area along with Sites and Trails B.C. It’s also become a popular camping and hiking spot.
To learn about bouldering in the Okanagan, visit the society’s website.
Climbers Moira Pearson and Kayla Chappell help each other out as spotters.
(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)
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