Beginner Indoor Climbing Tips
I Just Started Indoor Climbing: Here Are the Answers to 7 Top Newbie Questions
3
On the bouldering wall, you'll notice letters and numbers and different coloured holds. At first, you can just grab and step onto whatever you want, but eventually, you'll want to challenge yourself and try the routes (or "problems") set up. These are marked by letter-number combinations on the wall that rate how hard a climb is, and you'll need to stick to only touching that one colour hold (like only blue ones as I'm doing in the photo).
For the bouldering wall, the routes are rated using the V-Scale, short for Vermin and named after a famous Hueco Tanks climber. Beginner boulderers should stick to routes graded with a VB (the B stands for basic or beginner), V0, V1, or V2.
For the walls where you are belayed, the routes are rated using YDS, which stands for the Yosemite Decimal System. Beginners should stick to routes between 5.2 and 5.9.
As you practice, you'll get stronger and improve your finger grip, shoulder strength, and leg strength. Just have fun and don't worry if it's hard at first. Everyone has to start somewhere!