Did you know that climbing is the latest addition to the Olympics? The sport will make its debut in Tokyo next year. Officially called Sport Climbing, three disciplines will be featured—lead climbing, speed climbing and bouldering (read more here). On that note, there’s a new bouldering gym in town; in The School, Jaya One, Petaling Jaya to be exact.
Bump Bouldering is the largest of its kind in Malaysia. If you’re unfamiliar, the sport is an offshoot of rock climbing and is performed without the use of harnesses and ropes. We made our way there to check out what Bump has to offer. For this edition of Buro Tries, we climbed and hung on for our lives (literally). Watch the video above to find out how we did before proceeding below for our thoughts.
RACHEL AU, editor
Rock climbing was hard—I tried it many years ago and somehow couldn’t find the strength to “pull” myself up. Also, my fear of heights could have been a major factor. Unlike rock climbing, bouldering is essentially the same minus the safety harnesses. That should be worse for me, right? Not really because Bump’s climbing walls aren’t so tall that it’s dizzying. During the “orientation”, Zhao had us climb up the easiest wall in the gym and taught us the right way to jump off the wall at the end of the descent. Once I overcame that, there was more courage to try the rest. My only gripe was that, for someone like me who has a fear of heights, there weren’t enough Level One (difficulty level: one dot) walls for me to attempt. The other girls “promoted” themselves rather quickly to the more difficult walls, so fret not, you’d be able to challenge most of the climbing walls there too.
Rating: 5/5
LOH WEI YEEN, beauty editor
Bouldering is one of those underrated activities that you never knew could cause all your dormant muscles to be sore the next day. I’d only tried rock climbing so the thought of scaling a wall sans rope and harness was a little daunting. But after completing it, I have to say that bouldering requires a lot of technique, finesse, and understanding your own body—it’s really not just about “climbing” up the wall. We learned about balance, using our hands and feet to our best advantage (so that we wouldn’t fall, obviously) and basically puzzle-solving to find out the (right) next move to make. My sore back and arm muscles the day after are a testament that I *tried* my very best—even if it means hanging around the easiest routes. #noshame
Rating: 4/5
TAN SU FEN, contributing writer
It has been a long while since my last climb, what better way to get back into it than trying out the latest bouldering gym in town? What I really liked about Bump—aside from the huge space it encompasses, read: more climbing routes!—was how each route was marked with its difficulty level at the bottom, so we could readily pick out routes that were more suited to our capabilities. The extra neutral holds to make the climb-downs easier (and safer) are a nice touch too. It is not uncommon for people to spend hours on end or even the whole day at climbing gyms, and Bump’s bright, inviting space with an in-house café makes the experience all that more comfortable.
Rating: 5/5
RONN TAN, editorial assistant
“Am I really doing this?” I asked myself prior to my first contact with the wall. I’ve climbed before—an actual rocky hill in Pangkor Island, Perak. No ropes, no harnesses. Just me and some prayers. Bouldering should not be that difficult, right? After all, I had guidance from Zhao, and my fellow supporters to cheer me on. Truth be told, while it was fun and exhilarating, the experience wasn’t that easy either. I had to be honest with myself; going from I don’t exercise to Spiderman-ing on walls isn’t really ideal. Oh, the fatigue! Even though my body reacted badly the next day (with aches all over), I enjoyed Bump’s spaciousness and its indoor cafe—the smoothie bowl is amazing! Will I do this again? Yes, but maybe stick to the Level One this time. #HaveFunButLoveYourself
Rating: 4.5/5
Bump Bouldering is located in The School, Jaya One. For more information, visit this website.
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