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Bouldering is climbing without a rope on large boulders. Bouldering is a pursuit in its own right as well as being used for training by climbers — as pioneered by John Gill in the 1950s and 1960s. Bouldering can also take place indoors on climbing walls.
Typically bouldering is a more high impact sport focusing on individual moves rather than the endurance required in traditional climbing. As in other types of climbing there are entire grading systems for bouldering alone, the most commonly used are the Hueco system, ranging from V0- to V15, and the Fontainebleau system ranging from Font 2 to Font 8c.
To reduce the risk of injury after a fall, climbers rarely go higher than a few meters above the ground. They may also put a bouldering mat/pad on the ground to break their fall and/or assign a spotter, a person standing on the ground to prevent the climber from hitting his/her head on the ground.
The region around Fontainebleau near Paris is famous for its beautiful and diverse bouldering sites.
See also: grade (bouldering), climbing area
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