Ramblings about climbing, Thailand

OK, longer post about the climbing here. We have some pictures, but its really hard to give any indication of how phenomenally overhanging some of the routes are. They are climbable by dint of having (usually) very positive, sharp holds, lot of heel hooks, knee bars, etc. Still, powerful, and hard for me to onsight. I keep doing hard clips with my hands below the bolts, when I'd be better off climbing a few more moves until the next good holds, then being too tired to continue.

I don't think so clearly, though, when my feet are scrabbling down at my last clip, and my arms are pumping out and the skin is peeling off my hands. Oh, and they aren't always bolts, the walls are so featured, a lot of climbs are completely protected by loops of climbing rope tied through holes in the rock. Actually, not so bad, at least you can see what you got, as opposed to wondering what vintage of bolt you're clipping in to... I clipped a glue in a hardware galvanized eyebolt today, that was only half into the wall, and that had the eye tied to another rusty bolt 5 inches higher up the wall. Two times shit pro = ....? (don't fall)

The other thing that makes such overhanging routes climbable is stalactites... A route might overhang as much as it goes up, but you start chimneying your (bare, t-shirts get soaked with sweat so fast only they Thais wear them) back up a scratchy stalactite, eventually swinging both legs around it, squeezing it like a coconut tree, and resting. Sometimes you don't even notice, you're so focussed on the wall, and they you look desperately around, and see a shadow behind you, and realize you can just plant a foot behind you and you're resting! Crazy fun. Oh, and they break off sometimes. And they vibrate when you use them, and sometimes they are only 8 inches thick and 6 feet long... but still, its like being tossed a lifesaver, who are you to question?

Lots of multi-pitch, too. Julie and Ryan went up the classic Humanality today. Its 6 pitches directly up from the Freedom Bar (if you count the first pitch, an unprotected solo of an overhanging mangrove tree, really). Over 120 metres down in two long double rope rappels, landing right beside the bar. Literally, you can call an order to the barman even before you hit pavement.

Ryan and I swung leads up Heart of Darkness, a huge route overhanging Tonsai Bay. It rained for the last half, but we never noticed, its too overhanging. Mostly 6c, but starting and ending with harder pitches (Ryan led those, lucky for me, the last one in particular was 35 metres of sharp and balancing climbing, ending at the jungle. But I got to lead the coolest pitch! Starting from this beautiful and cosy egg-shaped belay shelf (we hung out there a bit, watched the rain, and took pictures), I climbed straight up and through a cave in an overhanging stalictite system, ending up on a little platform high in the stalctites! That pitch is called "threading the needle".

Anyhow, enough about the climbing. Its OK. :-)