I was able to sneak a peek at the new climbing wall at Pleasance on Saturday – one of the guys from the build company was kind enough to permit me inside and talk through the features. It’s a much taller space than I realized, perhaps not quite ten metres, but close enough, and the ceiling is one huge wooden cupola, so there’s plenty of natural light. There’s a good mix of slabs, overhangs, two cracks (one near a wall, for weaklings like myself who can’t manage without something to lean back on) and a very interesting flake, which will require changing direction at a couple of points.
There will also be a bouldering room (didn’t see that), all of which should encourage me to get climbing again, since it’s much more fun than doing weights in the gym next door. Hopefully the sports centre will have some route-setting people in-house (like, the climbing club) because with the limited wall space, changing the routes frequently is going to be important.
As an aside, it was weird being in a climbing space that didn’t smell of chalk and sweat. I’m sure it won’t last long.
