I've been in Thailand for almost three weeks now, and I have yet to be farther south than Chiang Mai. It is nice not to move around as much, and I'm content climbing everyday while my body holds up. The place I've been climbing is called Crazy Horse Buttress (see the picture below to understand why, although its not from the best angle). There are a lot of features on the limestone, which means there are climbs for people of different abilities. There is a neat cave that has a few climbs too.
Since I'm not traveling with my own rope and draws, I had to find people that do. For the last few days I've been climbing with a Scotsman, a Slovakian and a few Germans. They are all very knowledgeable and safe climbers, and I feel comfortable with them when I'm climbing -- which is important for someone with a moderate fear of heights. I've been gradually "dealing" with my fear of heights over the past few years, and I'm proud to say that I've finally taken up lead climbing instead of just top roping. (Sorry if any of this jargon is going over your head). I led five climbs yesterday, the hardest of which was a 6a in the French grading system (5.10a in YDS). Today is my rest day, and I'm looking forward to getting on the rock tomorrow.
Oh, and the views are pretty good too. To my chagrin, this particular route is too hard for me to ever climb and take such a picture, not to mention actually climbing to where that guy is hanging. Maybe if I stay here another month I'll be that strong? We'll see.
Since I'm not traveling with my own rope and draws, I had to find people that do. For the last few days I've been climbing with a Scotsman, a Slovakian and a few Germans. They are all very knowledgeable and safe climbers, and I feel comfortable with them when I'm climbing -- which is important for someone with a moderate fear of heights. I've been gradually "dealing" with my fear of heights over the past few years, and I'm proud to say that I've finally taken up lead climbing instead of just top roping. (Sorry if any of this jargon is going over your head). I led five climbs yesterday, the hardest of which was a 6a in the French grading system (5.10a in YDS). Today is my rest day, and I'm looking forward to getting on the rock tomorrow.
Oh, and the views are pretty good too. To my chagrin, this particular route is too hard for me to ever climb and take such a picture, not to mention actually climbing to where that guy is hanging. Maybe if I stay here another month I'll be that strong? We'll see.
No comments:
Post a Comment