Race to the crags

Annual Open International Bouldering Competition starts tomorrow in Navi Mumbai.

Head to Belapur tomorrow if you wish to rock-climb or just observe climbers participate in the Open International Bouldering Competition. Organised by non-profit organisation Girivihar for the past seven years and controlled by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), the three-day event will take place in CBD Belapur, that is home to Mumbai’s first methodically developed climbing crag with graded routes on natural rock. In bouldering, you don’t climb higher than 15 feet above the ground. Not much equipment is required either apart from crashpads, chalk bags and climbing shoes.

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“It’s the most favourite climbing sport across the world. The bouldering scene in India is changing rapidly after IMF introduced it in its yearly competitions,” says Gaurang Swarge, joint secretary of Girivihar. The competition will be conducted by Petzl, a mountaineering company based in France, and will see world-renowned climbers from the Petzl Climbing Team take part such as Micheal Fuselier, current French national champion and Florence Pinet, who is currently ranked number 16 in the IFSC (International Federation of Sport Climbing) World Rankings.