The sport of indoor climbing in re-used industrial buildings on purpose-built "rock faces" was unknown to me until two of my grandchildren took up the activity. Like any doting grandparent I took photographs of them as they scampered up the "cliffs" and stepped into space to be lowered gently to the cushioned ground by the auto-belay. I was also minded to find out something about the strange shapes used for footholds and handholds.
Disappointingly none of them have unique names - all are described by existing words such as "jugs", "slopers", "pinches", "pockets", "smears" etc. As I've watched the climbers in recent months I've reflected how different this climbing is from the only climbing I ever did on limestone cliffs in the Yorkshire Dales.
The oddly shaped, colourful hand and foot holds have a pop-art sculptural quality to them that I find quite appealing.
photos © T. Boughen Camera: Sony DSC-RX100
