Saturday 26 November 2011

Redpoint

A couple of weeks ago, Ben did some climbing instructor training and we spent the day at the Redpoint Climbing Wall in Birmingham.


Like many climbing walls, it is housed in an old industrial building; not the prettiest of places. Inside though, it is a well used centre with a decided buzz of activity.

I was curious about the name, but I have since discovered that a redpoint describes when a route has been climbed cleanly after being worked on a top rope or with rests on the rope.


And I'm guessing that this red point was added to fit the theme :)


This room is mainly top roping for beginners.


At the end of the day, a route setter moved in to prepare for the competition scheduled for the following day.



Holds are bolted into the pre-drilled holes and changed often enough to keep the walls interesting, but not so often that climbers can't work a particular route during the course of a few visits.



There's almost always a shop attached somewhere.

Ben's verdict was that Redpoint was definitely worth a return visit and now that I know how to find it, I'm quite happy to go back again.

8 comments:

  1. What a beautiful interior. Love all the color holds especially the purple ones !
    I don't know the neighborhood but I like industrial !
    Great signage on the Red Point Wall.

    cheers, parsnip

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  2. I used to go to a similar place to watch my daughter - and I always ended up with a stiff neck and a woozy feeling from the vertigo!

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  3. I lived in a county here in Utah that has very unique rock formations in a canyon. Rock climbers came from all over the world to Maple Canyon. We just thought it was a cool place to camp:) TheRed Point looks fun for someone who loves to climb. I'd have to sit and watch....Rock On:)

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  4. Quite some thought and preparation has gone into constructing that "rock face". It must be a popular sport!

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  5. My husband spends much of his time in places like that .... we have two close by in Liverpool. Whenever we go away anywhere, there's always a trip to a CW involved. The best one I saw was in Amsterdam!
    have fun!
    xxx

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  6. Fascinating and I am sure marvellous practice for the real thing.

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  7. How interesting. One such climbing centre has just opened down the road in Brighouse and I have always wondered what it was like inside. Your post saves me the trouble of venturing inside the doors and for that a big thank you.

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  8. This looks like it would be funtastic! I'm a klutz but I'd give her a go.

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