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They're easy to spot. Head to The Arch’s Biscuit Factory in Bermondsey, and the climbing walls will be peppered with developers in tech-themed T-shirts, either with logos (Silicon Roundabout firms love staff to emblazon their loyalty across their chest) or with coding in-jokes that leave the rest of us flummoxed. As the co-founder of video ad tech firm Unruly, Sarah Wood, told me recently: “In the dev community, bouldering is the new table tennis.”

When Unruly moved offices earlier this month, staff were asked what they wanted — and many said a bouldering wall. Developers, of course, are never happy with the status quo, always searching for tweaks and improvements. So the wall on the ground floor of Unruly is an augmented reality version, with images projected onto the wall. A specialised camera tracks the climbers’ motion and they have to dodge dropping rocks and catch falling pandas. In the US, such games are being rolled out across Brooklyn Boulders gyms, where you tot up points as you scale and move across a vertical face.

This isn’t the only way tech has infiltrated climbing. The Everest VR programme — based on more than 30,000 photographs shot from both land and air by Icelandic visual effects studio RVX — is part-game, part-simulation. Users wear a HTC Vive headset, which constructs the world’s tallest mountain around them.

Unruly’s staff were early adopters. Paul Cox, a senior software developer, joined two years ago. He was a keen climber and within two months persuaded many of his fellow developers to join him. “Paul told me about it. I went down and was hooked straight away,” says Arbër Pllana, senior product manager at Unruly. Since then they have both noticed that more and more tech types are climbing there. “We look around and say, ‘Have you seen that shirt?’ You see Google T-shirts, all the major browsers. Tech database vendors give out a lot of T-shirts.”

So what attracts developers to climbing? “It is a physical activity but it’s a mental challenge as well — it’s about problem-solving,” argues Pllana. “There’s a strong parallel to being devs — you’re trying to figure out how best to get from bottom to the top. The gym is mundane. Here you’re using your brain and body and talking to people.” Cox adds: “I often refer to it as vertical chess. It fits so well with the tech community.” And team bouldering means team bonding.

A fellow climber who works in a Silicon Roundabout firm sees it more as a chance to network and to compare notes with staff at rival start-ups than hang out with colleagues.

13 hobbies to start in 2017 12 show all 13 hobbies to start in 2017 1/12 Go bouldering Want to build your upper body strength? Urban Ascent in Parsons Greenteaches aspiring climbers everything they need to know about bouldering. Its climbing hangar boasts well over 100 routes that are clearly graded and cater to all levels of climbers. Shutterstock / Tobias Arhelger 2/12 Motorbiking 3/12 Graduate from trapeze school Fancy taking up a hobby that’s a little more unusual? Gorilla Circus runs two-hour trapeze sessions that will teach you how to fly in the sky. There are a mixture of drop in classes and courses, and the more you take the more advanced tricks you can perform. Don’t let the cold weather put you off: over the summer the school is outside in Regent's Park, but in the winter it moves indoors to the Hanger Arts Trust in North Greenwich. 4/12 Master some butchery basics The most talked about butcher in London, Ginger Pig, runs hands-on lessons in meat and traditional butchery skills. Meat-lovers can try their hand at light butchery and learn more about where their meat comes from, pick up new skills and get the most from each cut. A full day’s lesson ends with a two course informal meal with wine. 5/12 Learn how to street dance City Academy’s London dance classes can help even the most rhythmically challenged people to understand the basics of dance coordination. Street dance classes are held throughout the week, but most run in the evening or on the weekends. There are also tasters and workshops happening throughout the year. 6/12 Learn to skateboard House of Vans runs a skate school which can teach you everything from balancing on your board to landing your first kickflip. All levels are welcome and the team will even provide you with a skateboard, helmets and pads. Once you’ve mastered the basics, girls can learn to shred at House of Vans’ all-girl get together. Hit their bowl, mini ramp and street area and enjoy cocktails on the house all night. There’s even a free yoga session. 7/12 Learn to play an instrument If you want to serenade people with something more impressive than Chopsticks, music app Skoove can help you to learn piano online with interactive lessons and tutorials. The app listens to your performance and gives real-time feedback, so you can set the tempo you learn at. If Beethoven and Brahms aren’t your thing, they also have a repertoire of contemporary hits you can play along with (like Bieber and Beyonce) instead. Meike Kenn 8/12 Take a ballet class You might not have done ballet since you were eight years old, but there are plenty of gentle courses on the art form in London for adult beginners who want to don their leotard once again. Ballet For You’s novice course is specially designed to build week by week, taking you through the basic steps and positions. You’ll be nailing pas de bourrees, glissades and jetés in no time. Shutterstock / Prostock-studio 9/12 Get into reading How many classic books have you lied about reading? If your resolution is to better your reading repertoire this year, Goodreads can help you to find the books you’ll love - from Woolf to Waugh. Set reading targets, read thousands of book reviews, join digital book clubs and keep a track of your progress throughout the year. Shutterstock / Vadim Georgiev 10/12 Try your hand at burlesque For more age-old glamour than you can shake a tassel at, head to The Cheek of It! School of Burlesque & Cabaret, which will teach you how to dance with a little more dazzle. Try one of their drop-in classes for a taster or sign up to one of their super advanced six week courses, which ends with an evening performance where you can show off your new skills. 11/12 Build your own bicycle The London Bike Kitchen has an open DIY workshop where you can learn how to tweak and fix your own bike yourself instead of paying to give it to someone else. The ‘Do-It-Together education space’ has drop in sessions from Thursday to Sunday, allowing you work on your ride with other cyclists. Don't worry - there’s a mechanic on hand to help guide you through your questions. 12/12 Take a terrarium class Get your hands dirty and learn how to make your own terrarium jungle with London Terrariums. Its expert florists will show you exactly how to make your own miniature garden while exploring a variety of plants and mosses. They provide everything from the vessel to the succulents - all you have to worry about is where to put it in your house. 1/12 Go bouldering Want to build your upper body strength? Urban Ascent in Parsons Greenteaches aspiring climbers everything they need to know about bouldering. Its climbing hangar boasts well over 100 routes that are clearly graded and cater to all levels of climbers. Shutterstock / Tobias Arhelger 2/12 Motorbiking 3/12 Graduate from trapeze school Fancy taking up a hobby that’s a little more unusual? Gorilla Circus runs two-hour trapeze sessions that will teach you how to fly in the sky. There are a mixture of drop in classes and courses, and the more you take the more advanced tricks you can perform. Don’t let the cold weather put you off: over the summer the school is outside in Regent's Park, but in the winter it moves indoors to the Hanger Arts Trust in North Greenwich. 4/12 Master some butchery basics The most talked about butcher in London, Ginger Pig, runs hands-on lessons in meat and traditional butchery skills. Meat-lovers can try their hand at light butchery and learn more about where their meat comes from, pick up new skills and get the most from each cut. A full day’s lesson ends with a two course informal meal with wine. 5/12 Learn how to street dance City Academy’s London dance classes can help even the most rhythmically challenged people to understand the basics of dance coordination. Street dance classes are held throughout the week, but most run in the evening or on the weekends. There are also tasters and workshops happening throughout the year. 6/12 Learn to skateboard House of Vans runs a skate school which can teach you everything from balancing on your board to landing your first kickflip. All levels are welcome and the team will even provide you with a skateboard, helmets and pads. Once you’ve mastered the basics, girls can learn to shred at House of Vans’ all-girl get together. Hit their bowl, mini ramp and street area and enjoy cocktails on the house all night. There’s even a free yoga session. 7/12 Learn to play an instrument If you want to serenade people with something more impressive than Chopsticks, music app Skoove can help you to learn piano online with interactive lessons and tutorials. The app listens to your performance and gives real-time feedback, so you can set the tempo you learn at. If Beethoven and Brahms aren’t your thing, they also have a repertoire of contemporary hits you can play along with (like Bieber and Beyonce) instead. Meike Kenn 8/12 Take a ballet class You might not have done ballet since you were eight years old, but there are plenty of gentle courses on the art form in London for adult beginners who want to don their leotard once again. Ballet For You’s novice course is specially designed to build week by week, taking you through the basic steps and positions. You’ll be nailing pas de bourrees, glissades and jetés in no time. Shutterstock / Prostock-studio 9/12 Get into reading How many classic books have you lied about reading? If your resolution is to better your reading repertoire this year, Goodreads can help you to find the books you’ll love - from Woolf to Waugh. Set reading targets, read thousands of book reviews, join digital book clubs and keep a track of your progress throughout the year. Shutterstock / Vadim Georgiev 10/12 Try your hand at burlesque For more age-old glamour than you can shake a tassel at, head to The Cheek of It! School of Burlesque & Cabaret, which will teach you how to dance with a little more dazzle. Try one of their drop-in classes for a taster or sign up to one of their super advanced six week courses, which ends with an evening performance where you can show off your new skills. 11/12 Build your own bicycle The London Bike Kitchen has an open DIY workshop where you can learn how to tweak and fix your own bike yourself instead of paying to give it to someone else. The ‘Do-It-Together education space’ has drop in sessions from Thursday to Sunday, allowing you work on your ride with other cyclists. Don't worry - there’s a mechanic on hand to help guide you through your questions. 12/12 Take a terrarium class Get your hands dirty and learn how to make your own terrarium jungle with London Terrariums. Its expert florists will show you exactly how to make your own miniature garden while exploring a variety of plants and mosses. They provide everything from the vessel to the succulents - all you have to worry about is where to put it in your house.

“I tried it and stuck with it because it’s so fun and it gives you incredibly toned arms,” she says. “But actually, now when I go to technology conferences, I see people I’ve met through bouldering and have that common ground, and I use it as a way to connect with people I don’t know because so many people in our industry climb. I’m yet to get a new job from it but I guess that could happen.”

It’s an equal-opportunities sport too, meaning tech queens aren’t shut out. “I’ve learned a lot from watching women,” says Pllana. “They have better technique, whereas men rely too much on their brute strength.”

Here's where you can scale up

The Arch’s Building One

It’s vast (11,000sq ft), with a glass roof giving natural light, and offers walls both for newbies (including free climbing without harnesses) and for future Chris Sharmas wanting to be put to the test.

Clements Road, SE16, archclimbingwall.com

Castle Climbing Centre

Based in an old Victorian pumping station, The Castle has a Disney-esque backdrop, more than 100 climbing lines and recently added three enormous outdoor boulders. The café is excellent too.

Green Lanes, N4, castle-climbing.co.uk

VauxWALL

Ultra-convenient (it’s right by the Tube station), VauxWall also holds scores of specialist climbing events, from Wednesday’s “Boulderama” meet-ups to women’s bond-as-you-boulder workshops.

South Lambeth Road, SW8, vauxwallclimbing.co.uk

Follow Rosamund Urwin: @RosamundUrwin