Belgium has a wealth of indoor climbing and bouldering gyms in all five provinces, plus a number of classic gyms that have climbing walls. With cold, short days drawing near, it’s a good time to head inside to get your blood pumping doing this hugely addictive and surprisingly popular sport.
Why it’s so popular
Rock climbing doesn’t just rely upon brute strength, which is why the sport – indoors and out – is becoming more and more appealing to women. In fact, the more climbers use their minds and think creatively, the better they are. The best rock climbers look like ballet dancers, moving slowly but fluidly. It’s inspiring to watch a graceful ascent of a difficult climb.
The first outdoor climbing walls were developed in the UK in the 1960s, but the concept of an indoor wall with removable resin holds, which is now common worldwide, is in fact a Belgian invention, developed in 1986. The first public indoor climbing gym in the country, Terres Neuves, opened in 1987 in Brussels.
Much like a puzzle, a climber has to use his or her body to figure out a solution: switch feet, lean in another direction or simply practice a move until it becomes easier, and suddenly an unreachable grip is possible. In Flanders alone, there are nearly 9,600 members of climbing gyms, of whom more than 3,000 are women and a few hundred under the age of 12.
Indoor climbing also offers an excellent challenge. It’s a psychological thrill to figure out how to climb a route, and the physical aspect is equally satisfying. From toes to fingertips, climbing is a total body work out – one of the biggest calorie burners a gym can offer, at 600-900 calories an hour.
How it works
Rock climbing has its roots in mountaineering, where people had to get from point A to point B for a reason, not for a thrill. Mountaineering became a sport in the late 1800s, when people began to scale mountains for the challenge. This evolved into what it is today – free climbing, which is using the rock itself to climb up, putting one’s hands and feet anywhere to propel yourself upwards. Any gear, like ropes, chalk and harnesses are used for safety, not as a means to ease the difficulty of the climb.
Rock climbing is based on following a certain path called a route – like a roadmap for the hands and feet. This path is graded for difficulty. Climbing up the back of one mountain could be a slow, steady ascent that a child could do, while climbing the same mountain on a different route can easily mean difficult and dangerous passages only a skilled climber could handle. Outdoor routes are often marked at the base of the climb with a colour or number to indicate degree of difficulty. But actual handholds and precise directions are based on the climber’s instincts.
Indoor climbing routes are easier to see, as the entire path is marked in a single colour. Each country has its own method of grading; in Belgium, routes are graded using numbers starting from one and running up to nine. From level one to four, it’s pretty easy, with one being a walk in the park that gives beginners the confidence they need.
A climb rated four is still beginning level – not too much strength is needed, but it incorporates more height. After that, the grades start to get interesting. Once you get to five, you are climbing at a decent level, and instead of jumping along to six and seven, the levels start differentiating: 5a, 5b, 5c, then 6a, 6b, etc. Sometimes, routes even explain it further with a plus or minus, so, for instance, a 5c+ is a difficult 5c, and a 6b- is an easy 6b. This all might sound like gibberish, but, trust me, when you get your first 6a, you’ll be ecstatic!
Getting Started
A great way to begin climbing is to go to a gym that has indoor climbing and take some lessons on the basics. A number of gyms offer free lessons but charge for equipment rental, while others offer complete beginner packages. First, you learn how to read a route, how to use the ropes to spot the other climber (called “belaying”) and how to trust your feet. Wall climbing requires a partner and focuses on agility, flexibility and endurance. Don’t let fear of heights stop you; it can be overcome with practice.
The equipment you’ll be given includes a harness, which goes around your legs and waist, special grippy shoes, chalk for your hands to work against the sweat, a rope for safety and a belay device, which controls the rope and climbers. Eventually, you will discover your own preferences and climbing level – and aim higher. Improvement comes surprisingly fast.
Bouldering
An alternative to both indoor and outdoor climbing is bouldering – climbing up and over big rocks. However, because there is a shorter distance to climb (a boulder is a lot smaller than a whole mountain), the routes tend to be more difficult and based on short bursts of energy and strength, rather than on endurance. But since bouldering is closer to the ground, it’s less intimidating that outdoor rock climbing. Plus, you don’t need a partner to belay you, and you don’t need any equipment – just the right shoes!
Belgium is lucky for two reasons:
◊ the Ardennes, especially around Namur, is packed with some great outdoor climbing routes, such as Freyr, a well-known Belgium limestone crag with nearly 600 routes.
◊ it’s a relatively quick drive to Fontainebleau, south of Paris, where you find some of the best bouldering in the world.
Outdoor climbing is less easy than indoor climbing to try out, of course, since you need to have and know how to use the equipment. But after you’ve tested indoor climbing, you’ll find climbing friends and can organise a group excursion. The BelClimb website lists a number of clubs to get you climbing outside and also spots for indoor climbing.
This weekend (23-25 October), head to Bleau, a bouldering gym in Ghent that is hosting a competition, with the top 50 climbing on Sunday. Watching is free, and it’s a great way to see how the sport is done well.
Klimzaal Hungaria in Leuven has great beginner lessons, where you meet for 90 minutes every Friday for five weeks. It’s a very reasonable €45 (plus €13 extra each week for equipment), and the next round begins on 22 October.
New Rock in Brussels offer one-on-one lessons for about €35 an hour.
Flanders Today is a 
-8°C / -2°C
