Salt Pump Circuits!

The Salt Pump bouldering area is about to get more colorful by circuit grading. This system will give a more intuitive feel to your bouldering sessions and workouts. Currently all of the problems are marked with a white SP logo tag with the grade written on the back. These tags will be replaced with colored tags, grouping problems by difficulty. 

There will be five circuit colors in the Salt Pump Circuits:

Yellow : VB – V1

Green : V1 – V3

Blue : V3 – V5

Red : V5 – V7

Pink : V7+

The idea is that across each grade range, there are many styles of problems that require different skills to master. Crimpy problems, power problems, balance problems, etc…problems specifically curated to provide diversity across the circuit. As you complete a circuit, you will become a more well-rounded climber and a master at that difficulty range.

Once you have successfully ascended all of the problems in a circuit, try to do all of the problems in a single day. This is how the alpinists who created this system used it. In the forests of Fontainebleau France, problems are still marked in colored circuits with the goal of doing all of the problems in order in the shortest time possible.

By design, there is some overlap in the grades in each circuit. You may find that a problem in a ‘harder’ circuit is easier than a problem in an ‘easier’ circuit. So don’t shy away from a harder circuit just because you haven’t finished a prior circuit. The new tags will no longer have a V grade on the back, as a range is more appropriate notation of difficulty. We hope this helps motivate you and provide some structure to how you approach bouldering at Salt Pump. Gamba!