The Boulderhaus Heidelberg

Tucked back behind the old Mark Twain Village of now abandoned, but soon to be student housing, former military barracks, is a group of warehouses.  Two or three times a week you can find Rio in one (and lately I am even there once a week)--the one with a door labeled "The Boulderhaus"  where the climbing rope company next door has set up an indoor bouldering gym.

It's a really nice place to work on those climbing skills (and climbing is about the most fun way to get a full body workout that I know of).  Everything is set up for "bouldering" (for those of you who do not climb, this means not going very high and not needing any ropes or harnesses) which means you can spend a lot more time on the wall and a lot less time waiting around for a turn.  Yay for that.

I was able to snap some photos of the set up on a quiet Monday afternoon:

There are 50 or more routes available, and they are changed fairly often (you will notice two sections down for changing in the middle photo)--so there is always a challenge at every level.  It is a fun, casual place that also does special events like the Friday night glow in the dark climb and tournament last week--in which they cranked up the music, turned off the lights and set up 25 routes that had to be completed in order to compete in the finals.  That was a fun evening.  Rio climbed with a friend, and Dave and I and the friend's parents enjoyed watching some of the very skilled climbers while we had some drinks.  

Having grown up in and around  Boulder, Colorado, I appreciate the name because, while I know they refer to Bouldering, it also has very much the vibe of my hometown.  There is definitely a hippy, outdoorsy culture going on in the Boulderhaus.  Young parents bring their toddlers and leave them to climb on the kiddie wall at the back of the room (no photos--there were some little ones there and I didn't want to put them online without asking their parents), hairstyles and clothing styles look like they could be on Pearl Street Mall as easily as anywhere, and the furnishings remind me of an old highschool hang out, Penny Lane Coffee Shop (which is, sadly, no more).  Here are a couple of shots of the seating area and snack bar:

All in all, we find the Boulderhaus to be a really pleasant place to spend some time and get some exercise.  If you ever find yourself in Heidelberg on one of our many rainy days and are looking for an indoor activity, I would recommend this as a very fun thing to do locally.

--Hadley