🌏 中文版
Gym problems are colour-coded: holds of one colour make a problem, the start holds are taped, and the last hold says TOP. Outside, the rock has none of that. You stand in front of a three-metre boulder with a photo on your phone showing a few lines and "V3 (sds)", and you still don't know which hold to start on.
This is post 1 of the Outdoor Bouldering series. Post 0 covered laying pads and spotting. This one covers two things: reading a topo and keeping crag etiquette. They belong together because both answer one question: when you arrive at rock someone else developed and someone else looks after, how do you climb it by the rules and leave it so the next person can climb it too?
Basic V grades are in Climbing for Beginners and roped grades in How to Read Climbing Grades and Protection Ratings. This post covers only what's specific to bouldering topos; developing new areas, cleaning and naming problems are out of scope.
Everything here comes from local guidebooks and advocacy groups: climber consensus, not research. Where a suggestion is mine, I say so.
Four things to find on a topo
How to Climb's beginner guide to topos says a line on a bouldering topo usually marks the start, the finish and the key holds. It also warns that a topo is a guide, not a guarantee: weather, season and rock condition all change.
On a bouldering topo, look for these four things in order:
- Which boulder. Match the shape in the photo, nearby trees or terrain to the rock in front of you. Taiwan's first bouldering guidebook compiled parking, coordinates and boulder maps, and the second promises to cover everything "from parking the car to standing in front of the boulder" (see the second book's crowdfunding page, in Chinese), precisely because finding the boulder is the first hurdle.
- The start holds. Hong Kong's bouldering guidebook author explains that where a problem has defined start holds, the topo marks them with white circles; if neither topo nor description says anything, you're free to grab whatever you can reach and go.
- How to start. Check whether the name or description includes sds (sit start). More on this below.
- The finish. Does it end at a final hold, or do you top out over the lip? On a top-out problem, plan the way down first. Post 0 noted that a fall from the top out can land you far from the start.
Before your next trip: pick a problem on Mountain Project or in a guidebook and write one line each in your phone for its start holds, start position, finish and descent.
Starting rules: standing, sitting, and extra pads
Nothing written: start standing
Bleau.info's ethics page gives the Fontainebleau convention: unless stated otherwise, every problem starts standing on the ground, not on a stone or a crash pad, and not with a jump. The standing start is the "normal" version; a sit start is a variant with assis added to the name.
sds written: bottom leaves last
Hong Kong's guidebook author wrote a whole section titled "No Sit, No Send": if the name includes (sds) or the description says sit start, you start fully seated on the ground (or on one pad), and your bottom is the last thing to leave the ground. Crouching or sneakily pressing a heel into the floor doesn't count.
What if you're too short to reach the start?
The sources disagree:
- Boosting is bad style. Climbing's highball guide says using folded or stacked pads to boost yourself to the holds is generally considered bad style. The reason: on some problems the crux is simply getting both feet off the ground.
- An exception if you can't reach. Hong Kong's guidebook author says that if the defined start holds are completely out of reach, it's generally acceptable to stack extra pads, just enough to reach them, without raising your bottom above your feet or getting higher on the holds than a normal sit start.
Neither is a rulebook; they are local customs. When the topo isn't clear, ask the locals or follow the guidebook.
Dab: touch the ground, start again
A dab is accidentally touching something other than the rock: a foot brushing the ground or a pad, or swinging into a spotter. Hong Kong's guidebook author says that if it happens, the attempt isn't clean and you start over.
Before your next trip: find a gym problem with a low start and try three times to start it with your bottom leaving the ground last. You'll find a sit start adds several moves.
Outdoor grades: V, Font, and "harder outside"
Most outdoor bouldering in Taiwan uses V grades; European areas often use Font grades (such as 6A or 7B+). Mountain Project's international grade chart gives a rough conversion:
| V grade | Font grade |
|---|---|
| V0 | 4 |
| V2 | 5+ |
| V3 | 6A |
| V5 | 6C |
| V7 | 7A+ |
Treat the chart as approximate. The more practical issue is that the same number often feels harder outside. KateMao's write-up of a first outdoor session at Zhonghe Chan Monastery (中和禪寺) in Beitou (in Chinese) says the outdoor sense of insecurity seemed to add to the difficulty, and compared with gym grades they might adjust the numbers down.
Outdoor grades are also less settled. On newly developed areas few people have climbed the problems, so grades haven't been confirmed by many; the same area may be described differently in different places. Mountain Project's Tai-An page, for example, says VB to V11 in English and VB to V9 in Chinese.
Before your next trip: for your first outdoor day, pick problems roughly two grades below what you reliably send in the gym (my rule of thumb; no source gives a fixed number). Get used to the rock, the pads and the landings before pushing harder.
The point of etiquette: keeping access
Japan Bouldering Guide's etiquette page opens by saying Japanese crags stay open only because local climbers keep negotiating with landowners and neighbours, and the next climber's access depends on every step you take. Access Fund's Climber's Pact, from the US climbing advocacy group, starts from the same place with twelve practices.
This section groups practices from several places into arriving, climbing, and leaving.
Arriving: parking, group size, noise
- Park where you're meant to. Japan's page puts parking first and calls it the number one source of access trouble. Access Fund and Bleau.info also say to park in designated areas and not block gates or farm tracks.
- Keep groups small and voices down. Access Fund asks you to minimise group size and noise. The Japanese, Hong Kong and Fontainebleau sources all say no speakers: if you want music, use headphones.
- Greet the people you meet. Japan's page says being seen as polite visitors rather than suspicious outsiders protects the crag in the long run.
Climbing: pads, shoes, other people's pads
- Put pads on durable ground. Access Fund's pact lists this too. REI's bouldering basics adds: think about whether your pad will crush plants.
- Carry pads; don't drag them. Bleau.info says not to drag your crash pad but carry it, and to use existing paths as much as possible.
- Clean your shoes. Hong Kong's guidebook author and the British Mountaineering Council's Fontainebleau sandstone guide both say to wipe your soles before getting on a problem. The BMC says sand on your soles sandpapers the holds.
- Shoes on the pad? It depends where you are. Japan's page has a culture note: overseas, walking on pads in shoes is common; Japanese climbers avoid stepping on their own pads in outdoor shoes and will take their shoes off or wipe off mud first, and many lay a tarp under or over the pad. Climbing with Japanese friends, follow their habit.
- Ask before using someone else's pads. Japan's page says to ask "Mind if I join?" before using pads someone else has laid out.
- Don't hog problems. The Japanese source lists large groups holding popular problems for hours, or making noise while someone is concentrating, as things to avoid; Bleau.info also reminds you that others may want to try the same problem.
Chalk, tick marks and brushes
Bouldering means lots of attempts, and chalk builds up fast. UKC's #RespectTheRock article says that because boulder problems are short and the same holds get grabbed again and again, chalk build-up is more noticeable; excess chalk stains the rock pale, and rain does not magically wash it away. It also notes that on rock like sandstone, which grips through surface roughness and pores, chalk can clog it and make it slicker.
- Brush off chalk and tick marks before you leave. Access Fund and Friction Labs' Don't Be Like Jerry says to brush off tick marks after each session.
- Go light on chalk where rain doesn't reach. The same piece says chalk under overhangs and in caves isn't cleaned off naturally. Some areas ban chalk or restrict its colour.
- Match the brush to the rock. Here the sources don't agree. Access Fund says soft brushes such as boar's hair suit desert sandstone and other soft rock, and nylon suits hard rock like granite. The BMC says that on Fontainebleau sandstone even a regular bouldering brush or toothbrush is too harsh; use a very soft dustpan brush. The BMC also advises against tick marks on sandstone, both to protect the rock and so the next climber can still work out the problem for themselves.
Stay off wet sandstone
This one matters in Taiwan, which is rainy and has several sandstone bouldering areas (such as Bitou; KateMao believes Beitou's Zhonghe Chan Monastery is sandstone too). Mountain Project's Bitou page carries its own warning: the sandstone is easily damaged when wet, can stay wet for days after heavy rain, and should not be climbed during or after rain.
Bleau.info says damp sandstone is very weak, so don't climb it, and drying it with a fan doesn't solve the problem because the holds stay wet inside. The BMC says sandstone must be completely dry, which can take 24 hours or more. A 2024 UKC report described people climbing wet rock in or after rain over Easter at Fontainebleau, holds breaking on classic circuits, and a community campaign in response; the same report gives two consecutive dry days as a rule of thumb for porous rock.
Before your next trip: check the last two days of rain. If it poured a day or two ago, go to the gym or check the rock in person first; if it isn't dry, pick another day.
Leaving: trash and stashed pads
- Carry out all trash. That includes tape, fruit peel, cigarette butts and toilet paper. Japan's page says tape ends and wrappers look like suspicious debris to non-climbers, so pick up other people's too.
- Carry out stashed pads. Some people hide a pad near the boulders so they don't have to carry it next time. While updating his guide, Hong Kong's guidebook author found at least four badly degraded pads simply dumped at the crags. A stashed pad is still yours; when it dies, remove it. Access Fund's pact says the same: pack out all crash pads and gear.
- No chipping, no tree cutting. Altering holds is zero-tolerance in the Hong Kong, Japanese, Fontainebleau and BMC sources. Japan's page adds that cutting down a tree that's in the way of a start can be a criminal offence. The wider debate about chipping and bolting is in Who Decides Whether a Line Gets Bolted.
When someone else isn't following the rules
The BMC's advice: if you feel it's safe, approach them in a friendly way and explain how to protect the rock, without aggression or talking down, because they may be new to climbing outdoors and simply not know. It even suggests showing them its guide page on your phone.
Hong Kong's guidebook author takes a lighter tone: climbing has very few real rules, and provided you're considerate, most things are down to personal preference. The point of all this etiquette is that everyone gets to enjoy themselves, without it costing nature.
Before your next trip: put a soft brush, a shoe rag and a rubbish bag in your pack. Before leaving, the last person does a lap: brush off chalk, pick up trash, check nothing is left behind.
Practice: four scenarios
1. The topo says "V2 (sds)". Sitting down, you can't reach the start holds marked with white circles.
Answer
It depends on local custom. Hong Kong's guidebook author says that if the start holds are completely out of reach, you can stack extra pads, just enough to reach them, without raising your bottom above your feet; Climbing's highball guide considers boosted starts bad style. If the topo isn't clear, ask the locals or follow the guidebook.
2. It rained hard last night and this morning is sunny. You arrive at a sandstone bouldering area.
Answer
Don't climb yet. Bleau.info says damp sandstone is very weak, and holds can still be wet inside even when the surface looks dry; the BMC says sandstone can take 24 hours or more to dry fully. Pick different rock, a different day, or the gym.
3. You're packing up and the boulder still has a white streak of chalk and three tick marks.
Answer
Brush them off before you go. Access Fund says to brush off tick marks after every session and to choose the brush by rock type: soft for sandstone. UKC warns that excess chalk doesn't just wash off in the rain and can stain the rock.
4. In the brush near the boulders you find a mouldy crash pad with nobody around.
Answer
It's probably a stash that was never retrieved. Hong Kong's guidebook author found at least four dumped pads at the crags. If you can, carry it out and dispose of it; if not, post a photo in the local climbing community or to the developers so the owner knows. If you stash a pad yourself, remember it stays your responsibility.
What's next
Once you can lay pads, read a topo and keep the rules, you can choose where to go. What bouldering areas does Taiwan have? Which is easiest to reach, has the flattest landings, and suits a first visit? Where do you get pads? That's post 2, Taiwan's Outdoor Bouldering Areas.
For pads and spotting, go back to post 0.
References
- How to Read a Climbing Topo: A Beginner's Guide (How to Climb)
- Bouldering Etiquette (Hong Kong Climbing, 2020)
- Ethics (Bleau.info)
- Your Complete Guide to Highball Bouldering (Climbing, 2022)
- International Climbing Grade Comparison Chart (Mountain Project)
- Outdoor bouldering at Zhonghe Chan Monastery, Beitou (KateMao, 2025, in Chinese)
- Tai-An Riverbed (Mountain Project)
- Bitou Boulders (Mountain Project)
- Taiwan bouldering guide: Big Bad Wolf and Little Lamb Rock (zeczec crowdfunding page, 2026, in Chinese)
- Outdoor Climbing Etiquette in Japan (Japan Bouldering Guide)
- The Climber's Pact (Access Fund)
- Don't Be Like Jerry (Access Fund and Friction Labs, 2018)
- How to Get Started Bouldering (REI Expert Advice)
- Best practice for bouldering on sandstone in Font (British Mountaineering Council)
- #RespectTheRock: Chalk Use (UKClimbing)
- Protect Fontainebleau Sandstone - Don't Climb on Wet or Damp Rock! (UKClimbing, 2024)
- Climbing for Beginners
- How to Read Climbing Grades and Protection Ratings
- Who Decides Whether a Line Gets Bolted