You may have scaled the Tennessee Wall and conquered the boulders of Stone Fort. Perhaps you’ve even traveled out to Colorado or to a hidden cave deep in the heart of South America to test your climbing limits. But have you mastered a table?
Table bouldering is garnering a lot of attention at climbing events and even on YouTube as a party game or just a great ab workout. It works exactly how it sounds: take a sturdy table and climb on and around it. However, it’s not nearly as easy as it sounds. Not even close.
“It’s core and it’s technique and it’s quick, efficient movement,” says Kurt Smith, a Salewa representative who visits Chattanooga a few times a year and usually brings along his custom-made-for-bouldering Salewa table. “You’re doing a lot of the same techniques as when you’re rock climbing-like any good boulder problem, it requires strategy, technique and focus.”
It started as a German drinking game among climbing buddies, says Smith. The scene is easy to imagine: maybe the weather was unfit for taking to the crags so the climbers took to the pubs instead. After a few pints, that sturdy table looked as good as any boulder problem. Thus, table bouldering was born.
Bouldering tables like Smith’s Salewa table aren’t easy to come by, nor are they cheap. Whenever Smith brings his bouldering table out at an event, complete with a sturdy base and attachable crash pads, wary-looking climbers circle up and try to plan out their strategy. Compared to the cliffs and peaks found in the Tennessee Valley, a table-merely 3 feet tall-seems like a joke, but even experienced climbers find themselves shaking with the sheer abdominal exertion it takes to keep their feet off the ground. “I guarantee you will be sore tomorrow,” Smith says.