Over Xmas we had to travel the country visiting family members. A lot of family members. However instead of the usual dread I took it upon myself to embark upon a climbing wall exploration bonanza!
After managing to climb Xmas Eve and Boxing Day a chocolate laden day off was called for on the 27th - the next afternoon I dragged myself out of my festive sugarcoma and scoured the internet to get a climbing hit. City bloc instantly appealed with the tagline Leeds first dedicated indoor bouldering centre as I was craving a hard climb until my hands are numb session with no ropes or harnesses to waste precious time. So me and The Boy grabbed our shoes, chalk bags and jumped in the car eager to explore unknown walls.
Location
Few things make me hate driving more than intercity one way systems, and oh boy does Leeds have one evil, lane changing monster of a one way system. Thankfully the drive was relatively short and thanks to modern technology we got there with minimal mistakes. City Bloc is situated in an industrial park and a sat nav should take you pretty much to the door.
Inside
CityBloc is based in The Works Skatepark which is phenomenally popular judging by how huge the queue was, thankfully someone shouted for climbers to come forward so we elbowed past throes of eager children and their BMXs to get to the front. Prices were pretty run of the mill £6.50 for a non member at off peak times saw no complaints from us. Once inside I was eager to try everything out, the wall is split into 2 sides; one is a taller flat pannelled wall and a nice beginners section and the other is a mass of interesting (evil) overhangs, angled slabs and a decent sized cave. Routes were placed in grade ranges according to colour which I prefer over individual grade markers.
snapshot of the two different walls
Routes
The route setting was varied, interesting and at times terrifying; lots of nice, high commitment moves that tested my nerve and my flying abilities. The Boy fell in love with a overhanging yellow sloper route that chewed him up and spit him off time after time and I worked a blue in the cave that rewarded me with a lovely flapper. We took a newbie along and they had plenty to climb and learn on, including a nice low level traverse that taught them body positioning and introduced different holds well. The only problem being that the popular holds need some TLC badly, on some slabs the colours were indistinguishable and it caused a few mistakes that had to be backtracked halfway up a problem. It was incredibly frustrating at times to see the neglect as drew away from the otherwise great setting.
Coffee time
As a caffeine addict nothing beats a great cup of coffee when you've been climbing hard and can barely hold the mug, so we trudged our weary bodies upstairs to the cafe. It has been designed to cater towards the many kids that come to the skatepark, with a shop tucked away in the corner, lots of comfy looking couches, squishy beanbags scattered around and a tv with live coverage from the park. We felt a bit like chalk covered aliens who were intruding on their space, but nevertheless I ordered a caramel latte and eyed up a beanbag with relish. The coffee was disappointing (no froth!) and looking around the place was a bit messy; cups that hadn't been collected, dirty plates etc, I guess the problem here was it lacked that great climbers atmosphere that you get at dedicated centres.
Becoming one with the beanbag
Overall
CityBloc is a great place to visit, the interesting routes and varied slabs make it a worthwhile trip if you're in the area. Although at times it can feel like a youth club I have nothing but respect for The Works for giving kids a great place to hang out. A little bit more attention needed on the upkeep of the holds and it would make the experience all the better, still I climbed until my hands were raw and gripping the steering wheel was a challenge so they're doing something right!
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