Bouldering League season is here and we have everything you need to get started! If it's your first time participating you should know that bouldering league is not just any community event - it's where teams climb together to score based on progress, not just prowess.

Whether you are brand new to climbing or have years of experience, you have an equal chance to win the ultimate title of Bouldering League Champion! The best part is, participants receive perks including:

• a Bouldering League shirt or tank
• entry in a raffle on finals night for a chance to win sweet swag
• to participate in 4 weeks of Bouldering League!
• to compete to win the title of Bouldering League champion and a coveted Bouldering League trophy!

To sign-up for Bouldering League or review more FAQs, check out our Bouldering League page.

If you are brand new to climbing, you can also check out our "Climbing 101: The Essentials" blog that will introduce bouldering grades, how to complete a route, climbing techniques, and more!

Scoring

Climbing for a Score

You will submit your scores once a week on the first day that you attempt the Bouldering League routes. Since you only get to earn points on the first day you climb the routes, be sure to leave it all on the wall that day!

You are welcome to come back and climb the Bouldering League routes again, they just won't count towards your score.

Earn points based on Handicap

While you can earn some points for completing routes below your handicap, most of your points are earned by completing routes at or above your handicap grade. Try to focus your energy on some of the more difficult routes since that's where you will score big time!

Flashing

Flashing means that you completed a route on your first attempt. Flashing a route will help you earn extra points!

Weighting

Bouldering League is all about rewarding progress. To reward progress, scores are weighted each week. This means that your score in Week 4 will count more towards your overall score than your score in Week 1. Here's an example of how weighting works (numbers may not be exact to what is used in scoring):

Week 1: score x 1

Week 2: score x 1.5

Week 3: score x 2

Week 4: score x 2.5

Individual Scores

Each week you will complete as many routes as you can in one session, and submit all of them for a score. However, only the top 5 scores earned will be used to calculate your total score of that week. Since you won't know which route will earn more points, be sure to submit them all!

If you aren't able to complete 5 routes that's okay. You may miss out on a few points but you can make up the points next week!

Team Scores

In your team of 4, only the 3 top scores each week are used for your total score. This is helpful if a teammate is unable to participate that week, or if someone is just having  a high-gravity week!

Whether you are new to the climbing community or thinking about trying it out, welcome! We are here to help get you started with some information and resources you might need as you start your climbing journey:

• How to Start Your First Climb
• What to Climb - Understanding Climbing Grades & Getting Mileage
• Introduction to Climbing Techniques
• How to Climb Free of Intimidations
• Shopping for Your Own Climbing Shoes

If you have more questions beyond what is included in this article, our staff is always available to help! You can also connect with the Community for more support on our community Facebook pages: SNA Community, LAX Community, Playa Vista Community.

Start Your First Climb

Around the gym you'll notice groups of holds going up the wall in the same color. Each set of same color holds makes up a route, which you'll climb from bottom to top. And this may seem straightforward, but there is actually a way to complete a route properly!

To start your route, you'll want to have both of your hands on the hold that is attached to the route tag. However, sometimes the route has a two handed start - meaning your hands can start on two different holds.

For two handed starts at Sender One, the rule is that you can use any holds attached to the route tag, OR below it. You know you have a two handed start when: you try to put both on one hold and it feels IMPOSSIBLE; you see another good hand hold below the route tag, or if you see chalk on another hold below the starting one - that means other climbers have been using it!

To finish your route, get both hands secured on the very top hold in the color you started on. When you can, use the down-climb (white or grey) holds to get lower to the floor before dropping down, your knees who will thank you later!

What to Climb

Understanding Climbing Grades

 Each boulder route in the gym will have a tag with a 'v' followed by a number. The number on this tag indicates the difficulty of the climb, with the lowest difficulty starting at v0. As a beginner, you'll want to find routes with a tag that show 'v0', 'v1', or 'v2'. Each gym has a learning corner where you will find multiple routes with these grades next to each other. This is the perfect place to start especially if it's your first time climbing. If you aren't sure where this learning corner is, just ask a staff member! Once you've climbed all these routes, you'll find even more lower difficulty grades scattered throughout the gym. 

Each top rope route will also have a tag with a number, and sometimes a letter. The lowest difficulty you'll find at the gym is a 5, and the routes will get more difficult as the numbers increase. Once you reach 10, you'll notice the tags start to include letters, such as '10a'. The letters range from 'a' to 'd', and indicate an increase in difficulty where a '10a' is less difficult than a '10d'. As a beginner, you'll likely start with grades 5-9, and some 10s if you're a natural.

Climbing Everything

During your first year of climbing it's helpful to focus on getting in  mileage - meaning go climb everything you can! This will help you build up strength, increase endurance, and introduce you to different styles of climbing. 

To get more mileage, warm-up by climbing up AND down routes. If heights don't suit you quite yet, that's okay too! You can get mileage in by traversing. Traversing is essentially sideways climbing. Simply pick a starting point on the wall and climb to the left or right, working your way across the wall as far as you can go. 

Introduction to Climbing Techniques

As you start to climb more difficult routes, it will require a bit more technique to continue climbing efficiently. Here are some techniques you'll start to use:

Flagging: Using your legs to provide balance on the wall. When reaching for a hold in one direction, move your leg on the opposite side of your body out in the other direction. For example, if you reach towards the right with your right hand, move your left leg out towards the left to maintain balance.

Straight Arms: Keep your arms straight whenever possible to conserve energy, and focus on using your legs for driving momentum rather than relying on your arms.

Smearing: Using the the ball of your foot to gain friction on the wall.  Sometimes there may not be a hold available when you need it, but the wall is always there for you!

Foot matching: Switching which foot is placed on a particular hold. You can do this efficiently by hovering one toe directly above the foot on the hold, and quickly replacing the hovering toe with the other. 

Heel Hooks: Placing the back of your heel on a hold for stability, or to drive momentum through by pulling on a hold with your heel to reach the next hand hold. 

Stemming: Pushing with your hands and/or feet against opposing walls or holds.

Closed Hips: Turning your hips in close to the wall. This helps improve your reach, improve stability, and helps conserve energy. 

These climbing techniques and more are taught in our Intro to Bouldering class (FREE for members & punch-pass holders!) and Foundations Series. Class availability may vary by location, sign-up below!

• Intro to Bouldering at Playa Vista
• Foundations Series at SNA
• Foundations Series at LAX

Climb Free of Intimidations

One of the best parts of climbing is becoming a part the community. While climbing can be intimidating at first, don't forget that each climber had to start their own journey at the beginning too. If you ever feel stuck on a climb, or need a little encouragement, don't be afraid to ask a fellow climber for help. Part of climbing is really just creative problem solving, and us climbers love to work together to find the solution, or as we call it the 'beta'.

Another intimidating factor may be approaching a route when there are a few other advanced climbers watching. But toss those fears aside because the climbers sitting there need to take breaks between attempts, and work on finding a beta (creative solution) to complete their route. By attempting a route near them, you are really just ensuring they get a much needed break, and they will most likely cheer you on!

Getting support from your community can help accelerate your progress, and of course you may make some friends along the way.

Shopping for Your Own Climbing Shoes

Investing in your own climbing shoes is worth it! Rental shoes will only get you so far as they have their limits as you progress into more difficult routes. Plus, no one else's feet have been in them which is the real benefit. 

How Your Climbing Shoes Should Fit

Climbing shoes will fit more snug than a regular pair of shoes. It's actually perfect if your climbing shoe is a little bit tight as this will help give you more control when climbing! However, you don't want them to be uncomfortable. If your toes are too crunched where there's a clear bump when you look at them, try a size up. Also keep in mind that you don't typically wear socks while climbing, so be sure to test your shoe size without socks on.

How to Shop for Climbing Shoes

For your first pair of climbing shoes, you'll want to look for shoes designed for beginner climbers. Look for climbing shoes with only a slight arch, and more rounded toes. These are designed for more comfort since you'll be wearing your shoes throughout your session, rather than competition style shoes that climbers will take off right after they attempt their route.

A good example beginner shoe is the 5.10 Kirigami Climbing Shoe shown on the left.

Where to Shop For Climbing Shoes

5.10 climbing shoes, including the Kirigami shoe above, can be found in the retail section of your Sender One home gym (may vary by gym). If it's not available your size we can always order it for you!

You can also find gently used shoes from multiple brands at discounted prices through REI.

Projecting is pouring your time and energy into the process of climbing something that is at or above your physical limit. It might take you days, weeks, months, or even years to complete. This year, lead the pitch by taking the project off the wall and create one for healthy climbing habits! 

Our staff members are projecting too, check out their 2022 projects below ↓

Example Goals

Fitness Finesse: Put your focus on your physical wellness including injury prevention and recovery.

Mental Might: Put your focus on overcoming mental blockers.

Construct a Community: Put your focus on building connections with others in the climbing community. 

Example Objectives

Example Schedule

Example Rewards

• Grab coffee or tea on the way home from the gym
• Treat yourself to a bath bomb and soak your sore muscles
• Buy yourself a new piece of merch to climb in
• Get a fun dessert on your next grocery trip
• Use your guest pass to spend quality time with a friend or family member
• Take an extra rest day 
• Tag Sender One on Instagram so we can cheer on your progress
• Give yourself a hand massage - those things are probably exhausted!
• Sleep-in an extra hour during your weekend

Staff 2022 Projects

This Holiday Season we want to provide you with the opportunity to give more than a gift, we want to help you create memories! Whether you are holiday shopping for kids, family, friends, or a significant other, -  whether it’s for the advanced climbers in your life or those just starting out - there’s something for everyone. 

Shop gear for new or advanced climbers to earn FREE Gift Cards, gift a climbing experience to kids or adults with our holiday bundles, or purchase a year of fun for the whole family in Sender City!

Once you've explored the gift options below, you can find detailed information about each holiday deal here. 

If you need a little help getting into the holiday spirit before you shop, we got just the thing for you - read below ↓

Find Your Climber: 

Adult Climbing Bundle

Share your passion for climbing with friends, family, your significant other, or start your own journey with an Intro to Climbing or Bouldering class, included with rentals and Sender One swag to look rockin’ on the wall. This adult holiday climbing bundle includes:

• Intro to Boulder or Intro to Climbing Class (may vary by location)
• Free Rentals with Class
• Sender One Hoodie
• Sender One T-Shirt

+ FREE Gift Box!

*T-Shirt will vary by gym location, and colors may vary. Gift Bundles can only be purchased in-person. The gift card special DOES apply to these bundles. Gift certificates are valid at any location, but offerings may not be available at certain locations.

Family Fun In Sender City

Give the gift of endless fun for the family this holiday with an annual Sender City pass for $315 (normally $359) and enjoy 360 days of climbing!

*Passes are available online or in person. Gift card special DOES NOT apply.

'Twas the Night Before Climbing

A Holiday tale of a routesetter's visit 

When what to those wondering eyes should arise,

But a bucket of holds each different in size.

Held by a climber so full of delight,

They knew right then, a routesetter’s in sight.

With talents far and wide his fellow ‘setters came,

 He belayed and he shouted instructions to set holds by name.

“Set Pinches, Set Mantels, Set Slopers and Crimps,

Set Pockets, Set Edges, Set Volumes and Foot Chips! 

To the top of the boulder, to the top of the wall,

Now set away, set away, set away all!”

He set all his routes, and to his team gave a nod,

And away they all went in their routesetters squad.

But I heard him exclaim as he went out of sight,

"Happy Climbing to all and to all...goodnight”"