Bouldering is a form of climbing where you don't use ropes or harnesses. This means that if you fall you will fall to the ground. As a result, people who boulder use crash pads. That way if you fall you will fall on the pad instead of the floor. Many people who boulder also use spotters. A spotter is someone who helps to make sure that you land on the pad. If you are falling they will help guide you, so that when you fall you don't land on you head or neck or off of the pad. You can boulder indoors, or outdoors. The boulders that you climb on when you are outside are usually less than 20 feet tall. Bouldering originated as a method of training for mountaineering and rope climbing. Climbers bouldered to practice specific moves at a safe distance from the ground. People also boulder to build stamina and increase finger strength. That may been done by doing a hard climb once, or an easier climb multiple times. Throughout the 1900s, bouldering became it's own type of climbing. Problems are graded based on their difficulty. Many different systems have been used throughout the history of the sport to grade climbs. When you climb indoors you will most likly see the V-scale used.
