We’re climbing the walls, quite literally
NEED a new lockdown hobby? Bored of Joe Wicks’s workouts and endless gardening? You could join those for whom climbing the walls has taken on a whole new meaning.
Climbing enthusiasts have set up DIY walls and obstacle courses in their homes and garages as part of a new “home bouldering” craze.
Makeshift climbing centres have been springing up in people’s living rooms, garages and cellars, made from everyday items such as Jenga blocks and wooden pallets.
Some are even practising on the exterior of their houses as they come up with unique ways to hone their skills and keep fit during lockdown.
The results are being shared on social media with “home bouldering” videos taking the internet by storm.
Professional and amateur climbers can be seen scaling the walls and moving from room to room, and even upstairs, without touching the ground.
Participants believe the trend could now rival previous web crazes as it bids to become the new planking, ice bucket challenge or Harlem shake.
Engineer Zak Aston, 29, of Littledean in Gloucestershire, has been taking to the exterior of his home to practise his climbing before posting his exploits on Instagram.
He said: “I think this craze has taken off because climbers are a pretty eccentric bunch. We are always looking for something new to scratch the itch.
Andy Hemsted, 70, from Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, scaled two flights of stairs in his home, without touching the floor, 26 times to raise over £1,000 for Oxfam.
The grandfather-of-three believes climbers will always be looking for things to clamber up and the lockdown has enhanced their imagination.
He said: “I’ve climbed in the Dolomites and Snowdonia, but the banister will have to do for the time being. Houses always have different bits and pieces you can hang off.”
Daniel James, 29, from Gloucestershire, has been posting Instagram videos of his climbing wall after transforming his parents’ cellar into a gym. He said: “It cost just under £100. On climbing holds you can spend as much as you want. People spend thousands and thousands on their walls.”