Adam Cofer falls from the boulder at Urban Rocks Gym in Chattanooga. Bouldering, which has grown immensely popular in the southeast, is the sport of climbing a smaller rock wall or boulder with no harness and a safety pad below the climber.

Rock climbing has historically been an outdoor sport, but the local Urban Rocks climbing gym has turned that notion on its head.  The gym is a full-service climbing facility housed in a large warehouse off of Amnicola highway.  New and experienced climbers alike can come for a day-pass of bouldering, which involves climbing a large boulder-like structure with no safety harness but large cushioned “crash pads” below, top-roping, in which the climber is secured via a harness and “belayer” who is responsible for securing the climber with a rope, and lead climbing for more experienced climbers.  The routes vary in difficulty and are listed with colored tape for easy navigation.  If you don’t have a climbing partner but still want to climb the big walls, the gym has three “auto-belay” devices which you can clip your harness to and will safely lower you to the ground in the event of a fall.