On Tuesday, 1 April, a group of boulder climbers gathered in the Alec Mullins Hall to compete in the second leg of an Eastern Cape five bouldering league.
On Tuesday, 1 April, a group of boulder climbers gathered in the Alec Mullins Hall to compete in the second leg of an Eastern Cape five bouldering league.
"There's a big bouldering group in Port Elizabeth, (and) East London and there's a great following here in Grahamstown. But nothing brings them together," Rhodes University student, David Harding said.
Harding established the five-phase wall climbing league because he wanted to connect climbers from across the province.
"We missed the National Bouldering League (NBL) in Durban a couple weeks ago, so I thought this would be a nice meeting place for interested climbers," he said.
Bouldering is a physically gruelling exercise. "I gym everyday I'm not training; just doing core work and working my muscles," said climber Ashton Dingle.
The bouldering association often take trips to cliff faces in various places and said their "dream spots" in the Eastern Cape included Alicedale and Fort Fordyce.
Most of the 35 participants present said they began bouldering and got into climbing for the enjoyment.
"There are great people to do it with and it's really relaxing," Dave Scott, who has been climbing for 10 years, said.
Rhodes student, Nkosinathi Nama mentioned that bouldering is, "fun. Exercise just happens to be the benefit."
The atmosphere at the meet was that of community, not competition.
Nelson Mandela Metropolis University students, Shelbi Steinbach and Catherine Hosking, drove to Grahamstown specifically for the evening event. "We're trying to get a bouldering wall at our 'varsity," Steinbach said.
The bouldering league will continue after the Rhodes vacation.
It is still open to all climbers interested in practising their skills and the entry fee is R20.
There are routes mapped for men and women.
Younger climbers are also encouraged to participate.
"You literally see – and feel – your progress," Steinbach said.
