A low-altitude solution is available for those who wish to try rock climbing, but are afraid of serious heights. The catch? No harness.

The new rock climbing gym Active Climbing, located on Barber Street, offers the full range of options any seasoned climber could expect.

An Active Climbing client hits the rock wall on a Tuesday afternoon. Bouldering, as opposed to rock climbing, uses no safety harnesses. Photo by: Lily Price

Since its opening last April, the focus has shifted from traditional climbing to bouldering. As opposed to the mental image typically associated with rock climbing, bouldering is done on climbing structures only reaching 10 to 15 feet off the ground.

The participant climbs routes called “problems” without the support rope or a belay system.

Bouldering problems are lower and shorter than typical top rope climbing, but require more power and finesse, according to David Ward, a 23-year-old graduate student from Alpharetta who has been climbing for almost two years.

The owner and founder of Active Climbing, Adrian Prelipceanu, thinks bouldering has become a trend because it is so social.

“It brings everybody together,” he said. “It’s a little bit more aggressive so it’s a little more spectacular.”

When bouldering, others sit and wait their turn, while watching and encouraging each other.

“It’s something where you can be happy for other people,” said new climber Brie Galbreath, 21, a wildlife major from Savannah.

Self-described as a non-athlete, Galbreath would recommend the sport to anyone.

“You grow fast, it’s rewarding,” she said. “I’d only been once, and was pumped to come back.”

In the main climbing room there are opportunities for climbers of all skill levels. The wall increases in difficultly from left to right, and the atmosphere is relaxed and casual.
There is also a “children’s” room, but plenty of students were scattered throughout that room as well.

“It’s a welcoming environment willing to teach people who are new,” Ward said. “The guys that work there are pretty solid, it’s a cool place to hang out with friends, listen to music and get a good workout.”

When opening a gym in Athens, Prelipceanu hoped to draw interest from the student population. In this spirit, there are weekly all-inclusive specials including “Ladies nights” on Mondays and “Student nights” on Wednesdays.

On these nights, $8 covers the climb and all the necessary equipment.

While Prelipceanu’s intention is not to compete with, or replace the climbing facilities offered at the Ramsey center, he believes that his gym is available for those wishing to take climbing to the next level.

The walls are stripped and new routes put in place every two months, so the gym becomes unfamiliar and is consistently challenging to a frequent climber.

This offers a great workout, as climbing combines many muscle groups along with power and balance. According to Prelipceanu, his love for the sport clouds his view of fitness.

“For me, I’m so hooked to it, I don’t see anything else,” he said. “The way I see it, it’s like a virus. It gets in your blood and from there, there’s no way you can cure that.”

He agrees that traditional gyms can be effective, but explains that the body quickly adapts to the same motions, which can get boring.

“Climbing is fun, you will exercise without even knowing it,” he said. “Here, you know, you kind of lose track of time.”