The Fredericton
BOULDERING CO-OP
Fredericton Bouldering Co-op (FBC) is a group of climbing enthusiasts, community leaders and professionals seeking to establish a permanent home for Fredericton climbers that can last for years to come.
We formed in 2017 in response to the greatest threat that an athletics group can face -- the loss of their facility. For many years the climbing community’s home has been the UNB Rock and Ice Climbing Club, housed in the Lady Beaverbrook Gymnasium on UNB campus. The building only has a few years left before being decommissioned and without a wall, the club, its climbers and its spirit are in very real danger of being lost.
FBC is working to build a new commercial wall in the city that will operate on its own terms and apart from UNB. The community is mature and motivation is high -- we have a chance not only to build a fantastic business, but to own it and operate on our own terms.
What is
BOULDERING?
Most people picture climbers as helmeted, harnessed daredevils who scale cliffs attached to ropes and climbing gear for safety. FBC has its roots in bouldering -- a branch of the sport that focuses on high intensity climbing on short routes (often literal boulders) with padded landings and human spotters instead of ropes. Whether they focus exclusively in bouldering or use the gym as an off-season training ground, climbers of all stripes enjoy the highly social aspect of bouldering and the rapid development of skills it provides.
There is an increasing trend toward bouldering-only facilities as opposed to mixed or rope-only facilities. The low height of walls in bouldering gyms are easier to fit into urban settings, and the type of climbing is less prone to serious injury, which in turn reduces liability for operators. Bouldering facilities can also operate with a relatively small square footage compared to rope gyms, making them an ideal choice for small cities like Fredericton.
