Yangshuo Part 2

I have come to the end of a productive trip to Yangshuo. I didn’t manage to send the entire line of my mega project up the guts of Lei Pi Shan but I had an amazing time finding, equipping and trying it. It was the route I spent longest on this year and although I could do it in two overlapping sections I didn’t have what it took to link it all. I climbed clean to the half way anchors grading that hard 29 (8a/+) but I would always fall entering the final V8/9 (?) boulder problem at almost 40m! I named the route ‘Storm Born’ keeping in theme with the crag. The entire line will be 32/33 and an absolute classic! Cheers to Derek for the photos.

The first crux and easiest of Storm Born is the crux of the route Papercut (7c+) which i put up in 2006. Photo Derek Cheng.

The second crux of Storm Born almost half way up the Lei Pi Shan cliff. Photo Derek Cheng.

Compressing on bad holds about to snatch a slopey jug in the final boulder
before a sustained 5m end sequence to the chains. Photo Derek Cheng.

Staring up at Lei Pi Shan, my favourite crag in Yangshuo. Photo JJ Obrien.

A back injury in the last two weeks and a year of climbing catching up with my body meant I had to take a step back and so I climbed some classics I hadn’t done as well as a couple of easier first ascents. The new crag called Dragon City, which will be in the next guidebook, had a lot of potential and I found a nice thin vertical face on which I equipped and freed ‘City of Dreams’ at 27/8 (7c/+) on my second last day. Thanks to JJ for taking some cool shots! Check out his stylish climbing blog at jjobrienclimbing.blogspot.com.au

Thin face in the crux of City of Dreams 27/8? Photo JJ Obrien

Not a lot of holds on this wall! Photo JJ Obrien.

The initial slab of 'City of Dreams'. Photo JJ Obrien.

I am now back in Perth and have had almost a week off. Its Christmas time catching up with the family and my body is slowly healing. Climbing plans are already forming for next year. Plans I need to work a job around!

Yangshuo 2012 Part 1

Its great to be back in Asia. Europe seemed to build up on me this year and I wasn't quite able to relax. I am not exactly sure of the reasoning but it has something to do with spending alot of time at fully developed crags without a sense of adventure and the constant fear of having your things stolen. In Asia everything is generally so random and hectic in that you have no choice but to sit back and go with the flow.This combined with the fast development of climbing in the region creates a sense of adventure missing in France and Spain. Before entering the China mainland I spent a week in Macau hanging out with Jing-Yun who successfully quit her dayjob to follow her dreams and became an acrobat in a huge production called House of Dancing Water at the City of Dreams. The show is incredible and watching it was a great way to spend my 30th birthday! Yes I am officially old.

Jing being Jing on top of Moon Hill, Yangshuo Photo: Innalee.

A few days later with visa in hand I crossed the border to Zuhai and hopped on a nightbus back for a reunion with Yangshuo. Yangshuo has grown dramatically since 2006 but still retains its charm. I have spent a lot of time catching up with friends, catching up with my dumpling intake, and massaging away a years worth of knots in my back. I have been here a month now and feel like so much has happened. I projected a famous route called 'Lightning' at my favourite crag here called 'Lei Pi Shan' which translates to 'Thunder and Lightning Mountain'. It was Chinas first 32 although has now been rightly downgraded to 31. It took me four days and I was on a super high after climbing it. To its left is a line called 'Thunder' which is 32 but not my style at all. It has massive reaches between moderate holds so I lost interest after two goes. There is a way to traverse off the true line of the route and skip the main crux but if I couldnt do the main line I wasnt going to do it at all. Besides my attention had moved elsewhere.

Half way up Lightning 31 Photo: Abond.

A local friend of mine 'Abond' who I met in 2006 has done really well in the last few years setting up a guesthouse, climbing up to grade 34 and getting sponsorship from Adidas and Black Diamond. Another company, Kailas, which I hadnt heard of before, had given him a haulbag full of bolts for the development of the area. After catching up with Abond he allowed me access to his drill and seemingly unlimited bolts! This was fortunate as my eye had turned to the epic central line of Lei Pi Shan (just to the left of Thunder), a 40m wave of limestone steepest at the top. I spent a day bolting the line and removing any loose rock and found a great route ending with an amazing compression boulder problem! I haven't done it yet and it may end up being my focus for the rest of the trip.

The Yangshuo climbing festival also came and went and was a blast. Two days of climbing outdoors during the day and a boulder competition in the evenings. We had an awesome crew of people from all over the world including old friends Vince and Helen from the Blue Mountains who both managed to win the boulder competition. I performed well despite the intense weekend of climbing and managed 5th in a strong field of competitors. Yangshuo is getting cold now and not quite as dry as I would have hoped. Down jackets are a must! Climbers are coming and going but there is a dedicated crew here for the whole season which will end mid to late December. Hopefully thats enough time for my project!

I can see Macau from here! On top of Moon Hill. Photo: Me

Flag! On top of Moon Hill. Photo: Innalee.

Last Stop on the Euro Tour.

Margalef was exactly what I needed at the end of my Europe trip. It has bouldery sequences on tiny pockets made from where the pebbles in the conglomerate have fallen out. This style suits me. I think it has to do with how I first started training seriously on the Rockface 45 degree board using a lot of pockets. I wish I had paid more attention to crimping back then! Anyway I was back in my element and it showed. I did an 8a and two 8a+s both third shot before starting work on an 8b+. I did all the moves and it became just about resistance. After three days trying it i decided to move on. I was confident I could do it but not in the short amount of time I had left. It was a serious mental boost though knowing that the harder routes I had been trying were getting closer. Instead I dropped a grade since I actually hadn't done an 8b this year and tried a famous route called photoshot. It is steep, short and bouldery with massive moves between chipped jugs. I found myself in an iron cross position between some of the holds and there was one move I couldn't do. I can't believe Ramon Julian from Spain who is only 3cm taller than me onsighted this! I moved on again and tried a fingery slightly overhanging 8b called 'cubata + chupita 3 euros'. It went in 6 goes although I was close on my 3rd 4th and 5th! First 8b of the year :-) I had been climbing for three days straight and needed rest but I only had one day left to climb so I tried the 8b to the left of 'cubata'. On my final day I fell on the last move of the crux due to being inaccurate grabbing a good two finger pocket. Oh well, next time! Cheers to Chris and Christiaan from Sydney for hanging out with Will and I in Margalef and especially to Will for putting up with me most of the year! Check out Rocanbolt.com for a short Margalef video out soon that I may appear in!
I have now made it to Macau where I am applying for my Chinese visa so I can go to Yangshuo for a climb with Duncan from Australia. Hopeing to do something hard there!

Photo: Me hanging around on Photoshot 8b with Will belaying while the traffic passes underneath! Taken by Christiaan.

Rodellar and Riglos

It seems my time in Europe is quickly coming to an end. I have rejoined Will and visited the famous crag of Rodellar. I had heard mixed reports about the area and I left with mixed feelings. During the first couple of days both Will and I got shut down on climbs we expected to do easily. We had both heard the area was soft so our egos were bruised when we started having troubles. I would normally say I am ok at steep limestone but wrestling with tufas or doing big moves between chipped and glued jugs is not my style. Will got sick for a bit while I wore myself out trying routes that were too hard for me. I still had fun trying classics such as Pata Negra 8c, Hulk 8b+, Geminis 8b+, and Phillipe Cuisinere 8b/+ and the experience of trying hard is probably what I need. We decided since we didn't have long left in Europe we would go somewhere we knew we could perform and since I love my pockets we decided on the conglomerate of Margalef. I should have given the area more time as after a week and a bit something clicked and I sent two 7c+s and a 7c/+ in quick succession. I'd suggest for other visitors not to have too many expectations for the first week or so here while you get used to the style.

Awesome limestone formations at Rodellar. Will is working El  Delfin 7c+ on the roof of the far arch.

Me on the classic of Rodellar, El Delfin 7c+.

In Rodellar we met Matt from the Blue Mountains who is also travelling over here at the moment. I managed to get him psyched on trying an easy multipitch on the conglomerate of Riglos. I have been wanting to do a route called "Fiesta del Biceps" for ages and it was on my all time list of classics to do. Will wasn't keen so Matt and I did a day trip to climb it between Rodellar and Margalef. It was amazing! 8 pitches of steep jug hauling, all bolted!

Riglos! Fiesta del Biceps is the main chalk line  just right of the central arete.

Matt following the 8 pitch white ladder of Fiesta del Biceps 7a, Riglos.