Climbing is a mental game. You go practice at the gym and on boulders, and then take it to the cliff. Havukallio, close to Lahti is such a cliff. Top rope is a walk in the park compared to leading a sport or trad route. All goes well - until you fall.

Do you want to fall soft, or do you want to fall hard, that is the question. Bouldering is a great sport to practice on your own - to improve your climbing skills, to get fit and to be outdoors. If you go on your own, though, you should consider taking a crashpad with you - because falling from four or more meters high could be rather painful if you land on the ground. The Ocún Paddy Dominator Crashpad ticked all boxes for my needs, and I have been very happy using it over the past months.

Finland not only has superb hiking, backpacking and paddling to offer, thanks to the ice age, which stopped here 10.000 years ago, the country also has plenty of superb boulders for climbing - many of them in Southern Finland. If you visit Helsinki for business or pleasure, make sure to take along your climbing shoes and a copy of the Southern Finland Bouldering Guide to check out the local rocks!