Climbing

Here’s my journey of eating chalk.

Summer 2026

My amazing friend Chloe not only inspired me to build this site, but also introduced me to climbing.

I started bouldering in June 2026, at Austin Bouldering Project - Springdale. I find it really fascinating because it requires problem solving and involves a lot of techniques. Working on a difficult problem and finally sending it is always very exciting. Plus it builds my upper body strength in a more engaging way, I think, while hitting the gym feels repetitive and a little boring. If I’m going to the gym again, it’s probably because I want to work on my body strength so I can send harder routes.

From May 31, 2026 to Aug 22, I climbed 31 days:

Here are some routes I sent at ABP:

At ABP, green problems are V1–V3, purple problems are V2–V4, and orange problems are V3–V5. I’m pretty happy with my progress as a beginner. One area I need to work on is footwork. I found myself adjusting my feet too much. Feet are supposed to be placed in a precise and controlled way. Also, I haven’t been using my hips and my legs enough.

On my last day in Austin, I took a Bouldering I class at ABP because I wanted to see what it was like. Honestly, my biggest takeaway was probably learning how to warm up properly before a climbing session. I can’t remember the names of all the warm-ups, but here’s a checklist of the body parts to warm up:

• neck
• shoulders (shrugging)
• small and big arm circles
• elbow circles
• wrist circles
• fingers (tendon glides and finger flicks)
• wide stance toe touches
• hips
• knees
• ankles
• toes

I’m also glad my hands have developed enough calluses that I probably don’t need to tape my palms anymore to prevent flappers (update: this is not true—I got three new flappers in one session at Crux Houston).

Fall 2026

After my amazing summer, I went back to Houston. I tried Momentum Indoor Climbing Silver Street, but I didn’t like it as much as ABP. I wasn’t used to the mats at Momentum, some of the routes were not well-maintained, and the passes/memberships were pricey compared to ABP. Plus, I really missed the jugs at ABP, though that is a skill issue.

I had to take some time off because I hurt my left shoulder doing too many gastons on the same problem during my last two days at ABP. After a two-week break, I tried Crux Climbing Center Houston on opening day. Everything was brand new, so I liked it more than Momentum (update: it’s too small and has way less routes compared to Momentum). I still felt more comfortable at ABP though. And the problem with a new climbing gym is that all the holds and walls are still like sandpaper, and my fingertips really hurt.

In fact, I started to feel like the holds and walls at Crux Houston were too rough on my skin to the point where I’d have to stop because my hands hurt, not because I was tired. So I decided to go back to Momentum. I got more comfortable with the routes at Momentum, and finally started to send a good amount of V3s.

Here are some routes I sent at Momentum/Crux:

Top-roping

I tried top-roping for the first time at Climb Capuchin with Rice Outdoor Programs and Education (ROPE). I also learned how to belay there. Belay communication is important. Some common commands:

• Climber: “On belay?” (Is the rope system set up? Are you ready to belay me?)
• Belayer: “Belay on.” (Yes, it’s safe to climb.)
• Climber: “Climbing.” (About to leave the ground.)
• Belayer: “Climb on.” (Go ahead, I’m ready for you to climb.)
• Climber: “Take.” (Can you pull in all slack and hold my weight? I need to rest.)
• Belayer: “Take on.” (Rope is tight, you can put your weight on the harness.)
• Climber: “Lower me.” (Can you lower me down?)
• Belayer: “Lowering.” (Yes, I’ll keep feeding the rope through the device.)

I realized that top-roping is much safer than bouldering, but not as fun. I like that bouldering problems are shorter and focus more on technique than stamina.

The bouldering problems at Climb Capuchin are very hard. A V1 there could easily be a V3 at other gyms.

Boulderfest

I also went back to ABP and did my first ever bouldering competition at Boulderfest. I feel like for community participants it was really just about pushing yourself to the limit and seeing how far you could go. You also got to learn from a whole bunch of skilled climbers.

There were three categories for community rounds: recreational, intermediate, and advanced, each with 30 problems. The goal was to send as many problems in your category as possible in 3 hours. I switched half-way from recreational to intermediate because I found recreational way too easy. I ended up sending 10/30 routes. It wasn’t very good in the category, but the whole point was to challenge myself, so I’m happy with how it turned out.

My climbing calendar for Fall 2026: