Bouldering is climbing without a rope on large boulders to a height no higher than that from which a fall causes significant bodily harm. It was pioneered by the British in the 1880s, according to John Gill's website. For many years, bouldering was only practiced as training for climbers. It was first pursued as a sport of its own during the 1950s by Mr. Gill, a former gymnast who found the movement of bouldering enjoyable. Bouldering can also take place indoors on climbing walls.
Typically bouldering is a more high impact sport focusing on individual moves rather than the endurance required in traditional climbing. Boulder routes are most commonly referred to as 'problems', because the nature of the climb is often short, curious, and much like problem solving. As in other types of climbing there are entire grading systems for bouldering alone. The most commonly used grading systems are the Hueco system, beginning at V0 and increasing by integers to a current limit of V15 and the Fontainebleau system, which ranges from 4 to 8c. The upper grade of these systems increases as boulderers ascend more difficult problems.
To reduce the risk of injury after a fall, climbers rarely go higher than a few meters above the ground (anything over 7 meters is generally considered to be free-soloing although such climbs might also be termed high-ball bouldering problems). They may also put a crash pad/bouldering mat on the ground to break their fall and/or assign a spotter, a person standing on the ground to prevent the climber from landing badly. The spotter generally works to direct the climbers body toward the crashpad during a fall, while protecting the climber's head from hazards.
The region around Fontainebleau near Paris is particularly famous for its beautiful and diverse bouldering sites. Well known areas include Stanage (UK), Hueco Tanks (Texas), Castle Hill, New Zealand, and Bishop, California amongst othhttp://www.webarticles.com/Recreation/Climbing/Bouldering
