BY CHARLES NGUYEN

​

One hold at a time, your fingers jam into the cracks of a tank-sized sandstone rock. The slow, steady ascension toward the top is the only thought keeping you from falling, despite your sore feet crammed into skintight climbing shoes. After one final push and a conclusive scream, draining you of the remaining air in your lungs, you make it to the top.
     As you reach your goal, the shredded skin of your chalk-coated hands burn and tingle, a constant reminder of your tiny victory against nature. You’re consumed by an indescribable feeling as you stand atop the summit, your eyes gazing toward the snow-capped mountains and the tiny spears of green trees.
     Then you wake up. You’re in your warm, humid room, far from the chilly, steep terrain of the mountains.
     Charleston has some indisputable qualities: It’s a picturesque, friendly, foodie town filled with history, sweetgrass baskets, plantations and beaches. There is another fact about Charleston that you can’t miss—it’s flat.
     If that urge to escalate won’t subside, (and let’s be honest, it won’t) then what to do? The closest place to climb real rocks is a four-hour drive, to Rumbling Bald, N.C. If you can’t get out of town, though, then you have to make the best of what you’re given, which luckily is not too shabby.
     Coastal Climbing on Upper King Street is the only establishment where you can rock climb on the peninsula. It opened last year but is quickly establishing a strong bouldering scene in the flat city. Bouldering is low-height climbing without a harness. No ropes, no belaying—just hands, feet, maybe a little chalk and the ground. Fortunately, the ground is composed entirely of soft cushions and scattered crash pads.
     Half Moon Outfitters also has bouldering walls. The facility, in the Earth Fare shopping center on Folly Road in West Ashley, is cheaper than Coastal Climbing but also significantly smaller, and it doesn’t let climbers use chalk.
     If rope climbing and heights sounds more interesting, head over to James Island County Park, which has the tallest outdoor climbing wall in the area. The 50-foot wall will prove challenging to hardcore and beginner climbers alike. The staff members are avid climbers themselves, so there’s no need to be nervous as you traverse new heights. You can even hold climbing parties and other group events with a two-week advance reservation.