SURFACE & SYMBOL
  • HOME
  • BLOG
  • PORTFOLIO
    • ARTWORK
    • PHOTOGRAPHY
  • ABOUT ME

Buildering 101

3/7/2012

1 Comment

 
Picture
I'm not sure about this one, but it's an incredible picture.
Oh, you heard me right.  I said bUIldering.  According to Wikipedia, the most reliable Internet source around, buildering is the act of climbing on the outside of buildings and other artificial structures.  The word "buildering" is a portmanteau, combining the word "building" with the climbing term "bouldering".  On a side note, I just learned a new word: portmanteau.  A portmanteau is a combination of two (or more) words or morphemes into one new word. Morpheme...? Christ, this could go on all day.  And trust me, you don't even want to see the definition of morpheme.

What you should take away from my vocab tangent is that buildering is the act of bouldering on buildings and walls.  The notion of buildering has been teetering at the edge of my thoughts ever since I moved into my new apartment.  There is a brick wall right beside the gated entrance that has half-inch deep slots between each brick, where the mortar resides.  These virgin brick ledges, ripe with texture, are perfect single-pad crimps and are uniformly dispersed vertically and horizontally.  The catch is that the wall is only about 6 feet high and a top-out would require an uncomfortable encounter with barbed wire.

Picture
Sometimes you have to fly in the face of authority...
Picture
Can we agree that neither of these guys should have their shirts off? It better be REALLY hot outside. Also, this project looks really fun.
Picture
Oh yes, arch-lovers, there are buildering opportunities out there for you too.
Picture
V0 FA by Monica Arone
Let's talk for a moment about my little "buildering" escapade. Here I am, climbing the gate to the parking lot of my old apartment complex.

I'm not sure if climbing gates and tall fences count as buildering, but I included this picture for the sake of feeling included in the buildering community, if there is such a thing.  Please note that I'm not trying to be "cool" or "dangerous", I simply forgot my keys.  I suppose that makes the picture a lot less interesting, but it is what it is.

I fully intend, from this day forward, to be much more aware of buildering opportunities in my every day routine. 

Finally, there is the very odd/incredible climbing wall that was built on the arch dam Luzzone in Switzerland (as seen below).  It's definitely not "real" rock climbing, it's not indoor climbing, and it's not quite buildering either.  What is it, other than really fucking awesome?

I'm not sure if there is an answer to the question of it's identity, but I can tell you that the vertical distance is about 165 meters long, made up of 650 plastic holds, and the first holds start a few meters off the ground to deter casual visitors from climbing on them.  Like I said, really fucking awesome.

Picture
Click image to enlarge.
Picture
Click image to enlarge.
1 Comment
John
4/2/2012 01:17:27 am

I'd hate to be the lower climber.

So when are you going to branch out to parkour? I bet you'd find it fun (and useful when somebody chases you because you were buildering on their building without permission!).

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    About Me

    Climber
    Artist
    Corporate Slave

    Archives

    January 2015
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    5.11
    Access Fund
    Animals
    Babies
    Bisharat
    Bishop
    Bond Of The Rope
    Bouldering
    Buildering
    California
    Chimney Rock
    Chris Sharma
    Climbing
    Climbing Shoes
    Convict Lake
    Crack Climbing
    Creativity
    Crowder's
    Crux
    Cute
    Dawn
    Depression
    Downgrading
    Eastern Sierras
    Evening Sends
    Evolv
    Ferryland
    Gaia
    Goals
    Grades
    Hidden Valley
    Home Climbing
    Home Wall
    Ice Climbing
    Inside
    Instinct
    Joshua Tree
    Katana
    La Sportiva
    Leading
    Legislation
    Leopard Seal
    Lifstyle
    Lone Pine
    Malibu
    Mammoth
    Medicine
    Meditation
    Mono Lake
    Moose
    Mountain
    Mountain Hardwear
    Mountains
    Muira
    Mylar
    Nature
    Newfoundland
    North Carolina
    Off-season
    Off The Grid
    Outdoor Retailer
    Outside
    Painting
    Paul Nicklen
    Penguin
    Photography
    Pilot
    Point Dume
    Polar Bear
    Posture
    Psicobloc
    Pythons
    Relationships
    Resolutions
    Risk
    Running
    Safety
    Sasha Digiulian
    Scarpa
    Seal
    Shaman
    Shutter Settings
    Sport Climbing
    Stoney Point
    Sugarbagging
    Ted
    Tito
    Top Rope
    Top-Rope
    Training
    Traversa
    Treadmill
    Tv
    Vietnam
    Water
    Weekly Favorites
    Wilderness
    Wildlife
    Writing
    Yoga

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.