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Bouldering is a form of rock climbing that is performed without the use of ropes or harnesses. While it can be done without any equipment whatsoever, most climbers use climbing shoes to help secure footholds and bouldering mats to prevent injuries from falls. Bouldering can be done outdoors on real rocks or indoors on artificial surfaces.

The sport originated as a method of training for roped climbs and mountaineering. Throughout the 1900s, bouldering evolved into a separate discipline. Individual problems are assigned ratings based on their difficulty. There have been many different rating systems used throughout the history of the sport, but modern problems usually use either the V-scale or the Fontainebleau scale.

Overview
;Bouldering is a form of rock climbing in which the climber attempts to reach the top of a boulder, usually from ground level or a specified start position. No ropes are used to protect or aid the climber, unlike lead climbing and top rope climbing. Most bouldering problems measure less than 10 m from ground to top. This makes the sport significantly safer than free solo climbing, which is also performed without ropes, but with no upper limit on the height of the climb.

Indoor bouldering
;Indoor bouldering walls&lt;/nowiki&gt; are constructed with wooden panels, polymer cement panels, concrete shells, or precast molds of actual rock walls. Holds, usually made of plastic, are then bolted onto the wall to create problems. The walls often feature steep overhanging surfaces, forcing the climber to employ highly technical movements while supporting much of their weight with their upper body strength.



;Climbing gyms often feature multiple problems within the same section of wall. Routesetters designate the intended route for a particular problem by placing colored tape next to each hold—for example, holds with red tape would indicate one bouldering problem, while green tape would be used to set off a different problem in the same area.

Competitions
The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) employs an indoor format that breaks the competition into three rounds: qualifications, semi-finals, and finals. The rounds feature different sets of four or five boulder problems, and each competitor has a fixed amount of time to attempt each problem. At the end of each round, competitors are ranked by the number of completed problems, with ties settled by the total number of attempts taken to solve the problems.

*There are several other formats used for bouldering competitions. Some competitions give climbers a fixed number of attempts at each problem with a timed rest period in between each attempt, unlike the IFSC format, in which competitors can use their allotted time however they choose. In an open-format competition, all climbers compete simultaneously, and are given a fixed amount of time to complete as many problems as possible. More points are awarded for more difficult problems, while points are deducted for multiple attempts on the same problem.

*::In 2012, the IFSC submitted a proposal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to include lead climbing in the 2020 Summer Olympics. The proposal was later revised to an "overall" competition, which would feature bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing. In May 2013, the IOC announced that climbing would not be added to the 2020 Olympic program.

History

 * *Rock climbing first emerged as a sport in the mid-1800s. Early records describe climbers engaging in what is now referred to as bouldering, not as a separate discipline, but as a form of training for larger ascents. In the early 20th century, the Fontainebleau area of France established itself as a prominent climbing area, where some of the first dedicated bleausards (or "boulderers") emerged. The specialized rock climbing shoe was invented by one such athlete, Pierre Allain.

&lt;/nowiki&gt;*In the 1960s, the sport was pushed forward by American mathematician John Gill, who contributed several important innovations. Gill's previous athletic pursuit was gymnastics, a sport which had an established scale of difficulty for particular movements and body positions. He applied this idea to bouldering, which shifted the focus from reaching a summit to navigating a specific sequence of holds. Gill developed a closed-ended rating system: B1 problems were as difficult as the most challenging roped routes of the time, B2 problems were more difficult, and B3 problems were those that had only been completed once.

Gill introduced chalk as a method of keeping the climber's hands dry. He also emphasized the importance of strength training to complement technical skill. Neither of these practices had been popular among climbers, but as Gill's ability level and influence grew, his ideas became the norm.

Two important training tools emerged in the 1980s: Bouldering mats and artificial climbing walls. The former, also referred to as "crash pads", prevented injuries from falling, and enabled boulderers to climb in areas that would have been too dangerous to attempt otherwise. Indoor climbing walls helped spread the sport to areas without outdoor climbing, and allowed serious climbers to train year-round regardless of weather conditions.

As the sport grew in popularity, new bouldering areas were developed throughout Europe and the United States, and more athletes began participating in bouldering competitions. The visibility of the sport greatly increased in the early 2000s, as YouTube videos and climbing blogs helped climbers around the world to quickly learn techniques and find hard problems.

Equipment
Unlike other climbing sports, bouldering can be performed safely and effectively with very little equipment, an aspect which makes the discipline highly appealing to many climbers. Bouldering pioneer John Sherman asserted that "The only gear really needed to go bouldering is boulders". Others suggest the use of climbing shoes and a chalkbag as the bare minimum, while more experienced boulderers typically bring multiple pairs of shoes, chalk, brushes, crash pads, and a skincare kit.



Of the aforementioned equipment, climbing shoes have the most direct impact on performance. Besides protecting the climber's feet from rough surfaces, climbing shoes are designed to help the climber secure and maintain footholds. Climbing shoes typically fit much tighter than other athletic footwear, and often curl the toes downwards to enable precise footwork. They are manufactured in a variety of different styles in order to perform well in different situations; stiffer shoes, for example, provide better protection for the ankle, while thinner shoes provide greater flexibility and sensitivity.

Most boulderers use gymnastics chalk on their hands to absorb sweat. It is stored in a small chalkbag which can be tied around the waist, allowing the climber to reapply chalk during the climb. Brushes are used to remove excess chalk and other debris from boulders in between climbs; they are often attached to the end of a stick, pipe, or other straight object in order to reach higher holds. Crash pads, also referred to as bouldering mats, are foam cushions placed on the ground to protect climbers from falls.

Technique
As with other forms of climbing, bouldering technique is largely centered around proper footwork. Leg muscles are significantly stronger than arm muscles; as such, proficient boulderers use their arms primarily to maintain balance and body positioning, relying on their legs to push them up the boulder. Boulderers also keep their arms straight whenever possible, allowing their bones to support their body weight rather than their muscles.

Bouldering movements are described as either "static" or "dynamic". Static movements are those that are performed slowly, with the climber's position controlled by maintaining contact on the boulder with the other three limbs. Dynamic movements use the climber's momentum to reach holds that would be difficult or impossible to secure statically, with an increased risk of falling if the movement is not performed accurately.

Grading


Bouldering problems are assigned numerical difficulty ratings by routesetters and climbers. The two most widely-used rating systems are the V-scale and the Fontainebleau system.

The V-scale, which originated in the United States, is an open-ended rating system with higher numbers indicating a higher degree of difficulty. The V1 rating indicates that a problem can be completed by a novice climber in good physical condition after several attempts. The scale begins at V0, and as of 2013, the highest V rating that has been assigned to a bouldering problem is V16.

The Fontainebleau scale follows a similar system, with each numerical grade divided into three ratings with the letters a, b, and c. For example, Fontainebleau 7a roughly corresponds with V7, while Fontainebleau 7c is equivalent to V10. In both systems, grades are further differentiated by appending "+" to indicate a small increase in difficulty. Despite this level of specificity, ratings of individual problems are often controversial, as ability level is not the only factor that affects how difficult a problem will be for a particular climber. Height, arm length, flexibility, and other body characteristics can also be relevant.