In reply to UKC Articles:
For me, if this is truly a "getting started" article, it's missing some key information - namely /literally/ where do you start?
When I first started bouldering, I had the book, I had the pad, I had the shoes - that much was obvious. Standing at the bottom of a boulder, though, what wasn't obvious was where to place my hands, if the book doesn't explicitly point out any starting holds and doesn't say it's a sit-start. If I can reach the top should I just grab it and mantle? Should I have my hands below shoulder-height, say? Should I try and sit-start it anyway?
This, for me, is the vital piece and is missing from this article as well as the guide books. To someone who boulders or climbs a lot, it may seem obvious; but then that's not who the article is aimed at.
--Gavin