Koi Hak Chao, and our night in the cave...

Koi Hak Chao(KHC) is a 6 pitch (5 really), sport multi-pitch, just outside of VV. Check out the new topo on Green Climbers Home's website for directions. This, is just the beginning of your adventure....take heed of the advice of a machete, this would've made things a hell of a lot easier! Also, wear boots and prepare to get them a little dirty...I wore thongs so my feet can vouch for that directly. Leave at 6 in the morning, or earlier, and do not underestimate the pace at which it gets dark. Carry a headlight with you on the climbin case you have to rappel in the dark, it's a tricky decent. And lastly, be prepared to spend the night, just in case things go wrong. We did this in the wet season so things might be a bit different for you. After you get to the irrigation channel which flows out of the cave, cross over, and follow what trail there may be, left. You need to go left though. You will start your accent through the 'Knives of Death', a.k.a. 'sharp slippery rocks', when you are still right of the wall. Not sure if they're there all the time but if you come across a line of home made log traps, follow them up towards the slanting wall and that's the start of your accent....Have fun!
My Story;
I thought I would tell this in addition to the other climbing around here because it's an adventure in it's own...We started off at 7.30, a respectable time we thought, how hard can this thing be to find. Firstly, there was no bridge (wet season) so we crossed on the piece of wood held together with some tacks that had more water than wood in it called a boat. 1000kip, worth the risk. The hike started really well and we were excited with our progress! We'd made it to the irrigation channel without any real change of direction (only came to 3 dead ends). This is where our luck ended....turns out we crossed the start of the accent, Riley even had a closer look at it and decided it was too dense so dismissed it, 3 times. Eventually I said, 'maybe I'll just check up here again'. At this point we hadn't a clue where the hell we were! We had gone and bashed through the jungle multiple times only to be confronted by intense foliage or a concealed rock. KHC was teasing us, looming over watching us squirm. So we found the entrance to the rocks of death and started our accent...it was painstakingly slow, especially in thongs. God why did I wear thongs! One false move on this stuff and you'd lose a foot, I'm surprised no one got hurt.

The view from the top

The climb was great, finally started climbing at 11:30! Little wet but worth the hike in. Beautiful warm-up pitches and a tricky crux traverse that was just a dream to climb up onto a nice fingery finish. We had to rush the last pitch as it was getting dark, fast! We had 5 people, so one group of 2; Chris and Samson, and one group of 3; Riley, Fabian and myself. By the time we were at the 2nd last pitch C and S had already descended the tricky back clipping rappel and headed to the bar to wait for us...this is when it all went downhill. We underestimated how much time we had but luckily I had thought ahead enough to climb with my pack. It was slow going with 3, especially teaching Fabian how to do a couple of the technical things involving back clipping and prusiking etc and the fact we had to deal with 2 ropes. We ended up rappelling the last few pitches with my headlamp and a dodgy torch across the toughest rappel I've done...we were a little worried. Once we were on the ground and pulling the ropes through we struck disaster, the knot was stuck up in a tree up the wall! Luckily I had a surge of adrenaline and managed to pull it free, along with the tree, and we packed up and started heading down the rocks of death! If I hadn't have taken my bag up, containing my 2 torches we would've been up shit creek! It was unusually dark that night, couldn't see your hand in front of your face!

crossing over

I don't know how we got as far as we did, I was leading us by pure fluke I think. Two headlamps and a dodgy torch did flip all to show us where we were in the jungle covered rocks. These rocks were also soaking wet, if they weren't so sharp this would've been an issue. So eventually I got to a point where I had no idea where we were, it was a little scary but we all held our nerve really well. So we decided to go back to the pissy little cave, more of an overhanging rock, that we passed and camp the night. It wasn't going to be 5 star but it was dry. So we set up camp, tried to kill the huge arse spiders who called it home, moved some rocks around, rationed our food and water then bid the day farewell. It wasn't that bad, we got a little bit of sleep, had some spiders tried to wrap me up (I woke up with cobwebs over my face) and it wasn't that cold.

Sharing....

My rock bed

We woke at the crack of dawn, dished out breakfast, an apple, 2 bananas, half a sandwhich and some peanut butter then finished our decent. Turns out we camped right next to the trail! I wasn't far off after all. Lucky we didn't keep going though because, in our haste to pack up, Riley left his climbing shoes behind and I left my towel...I couldn't see us going through all that again to get them back haha We still spent an hour and a half finding our way out, getting lost a few times, dealing with hunger and thirst and trying not to let the constant stinging of all the cuts and scratches we'd acquired along the way bother us. We made it back to the crappy boat to be greeted by Samson and Chris, just about to mount their search for us. Thanks Guys!! We were glad to be back!

Nearly home

Overall I'd say it went pretty well, did wonders for my budget haha If someone came up to me and said 'I know of this multi pitch, you have to hack through dense jungle, scramble up rocks of death, get lost multiple times, to climb on a pretty wet route only then to make a hard technical rappel down in the dark, scramble halfway down the rocks of death only to get lost again, ration your food and water, sleep in an uncomfortable cave overnight with giant spiders and cricket things that could take your toe off, then scramble all the way back in the morning hungry and thirsty' I would've told him to ''go over to that corner there and quietly f*!$ yourself''....but, it made three boys into men and I stand here today a ne......sorry I can't keep that up haha It was truly an adventure and wouldn't take it back for anything. None of us lost our shit or tried to kill each other and we were in high spirits most of the time, What A Day! To Riley and Fabian, it was a pleasure to do some general adventuring with you, I'll never forget it!

As for the rest of the climbing, I will put together all my best photos and write a great post on Climbing in Vang Vieng and Nha Pha Daeng. I'm having an amazing time here!!

One of the walls of Nha Pha Daeng

PotHoles

Definition of a pothole, courtesy of Wiki: A pothole (sometimes called a kettle and known in parts of the Western United States as a chuckhole) is a type of disruption in the surface of a roadway where a portion of the road material has broken away, leaving a hole.
My definition: They are a fucking nuisance, to put it lightly.
'Scuse the French. Last time I took the bus from Vientiene to Vang Vieng it took 3hrs...this time it took 6, we never got over 40kms/hr and that was just speeding up in between potholes! I needed a chiropractor to look at my spine after the trip! I've never been so uncomfortable and frustrated in my life! This was by far the worst bus ride I have ever undertaken. Turns out that they don't fix the roads in the wet season because they would just be ruined again. At least try, just saying, it's your main highway! That was not fun but despite the pain, it was all worth it...The climbing here is incredible!! :D

Climbing in ThaKhek

I can't believe I've been this lucky, privileged in fact, to climb in such a beautiful place! ThaKhek is incredible, not only the climbing but the town itself is chilled and friendly. This climbing site is about 12kms from town, and it's only going to get bigger...I've mentioned Green Climbers Home before, a climbing camp being set up by 2 incredible human beings, Uli and Tanja. They are nearly finished, hopefully November they'll be done. The camp is set right in the middle of the climbing areas which are constantly being expanded by U and T, bolting new routes whenever they get the chance. I've been lucky enough to climb some of these routes and let me tell you, they are Awesome. There are hundreds of new bolts coming in so coming here to climb will be an experience that will leave you salivating for more!

Me on 'Pied D'elephant'

The rock is sharp and concealing, always keeping you guessing, giving you a bit, then taking it away just to watch you squirm. There are a lot of varied routes ranging from 5a to 8a and beyond. A couple of multi pitch routes with more being planned as I write. I've spent 2 days climbing with U and T and it rained both days. We still managed to get in and have 2 solid days climbing where I managed to tick my first 23(7a) 'The sound of music'. A beautiful climb with a good rest after the crux before making the last hard crimp to the top. I watched Uli climb up the 28(7c+) next to it which I attempted on top rope, failing epically haha Also a favourite of mine is 'Pieds D'elephant', to the left of 'The Sound of Music', which is an exciting 21(6c).

Me and Uli

Fabian arrived 3 days ago, we sacrificed a day of climbing to go to one of the most raved about caves in the area...turns out we sacrificed a day of climbing for 6hrs in a mini-bus for a tourist cave that had man made steps through it. The cave has a river running through it which I guess is cool but not worth what we paid, it could have been skipped. The next 2 days though we climbed, and climbed hard and the weather was perfect! We ticked off 12 routes, including a great multi-pitch and I onsighted my first ever 25(7b) which I am still buzzing from! My favourite routes from the last 2 days have been 'Sinter-Orgie' 17(6a), 'Frechdachs' an intricate maze on the 'Right Roof Sector' graded at about 19(6b) and of course 'Swing Dei Ding' my first ever 25, also on the right roof. I can't actually describe how amazing this climb is, the crux move is an intense, awkward, pumpy and balancy move over the lip of the super sharp overhang...it truly is something you have to feel yourself! Fabian and I have been incredibly lucky as we're the first couple of people to climb some of the new climbs being put up by U and T. It's an absolute privilege to be here at the start of a long and exciting climbing era!

I only have a few pictures to describe to you the climbing you're in for when you come here, and I know you will come here...there are already 80 routes to climb (come in the dry season) with a target of about 2-300 climbs in the near future. There will be permanent quickdraws on most routes so no wasting precious time cleaning, especially on the overhanging routes. Come and stay with Uli and Tanya at 'Green Climbers Home' and wake up every morning to a climbing dream!

Green Climbers Home under construction!

We haven't finished our climbing yet and hope to snap some more interesting photos in the days to come. Heading to Vang Vien in about a week to try out the routes there...lets hope this rain disappears!  When you come here you need look no further for all your climbing needs than 'Green Climbers Home', their website will give you the topo's you need, equipment you don't have and all the food you need when climbing hard in Laos! I've come here in the wet season and my climbing experience has been one I'll remember forever, this place is enchanting...but I'll leave that up to you ;)

Novelty Boulders on the Bolaven Plateau

There are a few nice crags that would be great to set up around the Plateau...if you wanted to clear a path through the jungle to them, after which it might not be worth it. I did stumble across a couple of cool boulders at a waterfall called Tat Seuong, near Tat Lo which is about 80kms from Pakse. If you happen to be around this area take your shoes and chalk for some random problems, pretty cool. I wouldn't go out of your way to for the boulders but it's something to keep in mind if your travels bring you here.

No More Monks Rock

I ended up riding all the way here, the hitchhiking was uneventful. No More Monks Rock is pretty damn cool, slabby and technical climbing. There are apparently quite a few bolted routes here but as I arrived in the wet season the crag was completely overgrown! It would've taken me a week to hack a path all around. So with that, I didn't get to boulder or climb anything. I was a bit disheartened by this but I will return, in the dry season :D The locals scared me a bit at first, they weren't that welcoming. But by the time I left the place I wanted to go back already. They sent me on my way with a bag of fruit, for free, which is a huge gesture as they have stuff all money! I think setting up a hammock there would have been no problem but with the storm that was rolling in in front of me I didn't want to hang around. If you get a chance to visit here it's worth a look! The guide can be bought at Monument Books in Phnom Penh, titled 'Rock Climbing in Cambodia'.
https://picasaweb.google.com/106001755551781095515/Cambodia 
Check out my photos of Cambodia to see the rock!

Holding back the cravings

Ubud, Bali

Climbing cravings that is. I haven't had a rop attached to me in over 3 weeks, it kills! I've been bouldering in Bali, checked out a spot in Cambodia (fuelled the urge, I'll explain in my next post) and bouldered some river rocks in Laos. In between all that I have searched out 3 gyms which I thought I'd mention here in case you're in these areas and need a cheap place to workout.
Ubud Gym, Ubud, Bali. If you head along the main st towards Tegallalang it's in between the round-about and the river on the left, you can't miss it.
Salavan School, Phnom Penh. If you go into the internet cafe I mention in my other page about Phnom Penh, ask the ladies in there where the gym in the school is. It's just around the corner from them on Norodom Rd.
Champasak Palace Hotel, Pakse, Laos. It's huge,the hotel that is. Just ask one of the locals, it's in the street you come into town on.
You'll find a chin up bar and weights plus all the usual gym stuff in all these primitive gyms. All cheap and chances are you'll be the only westerner in there.

Champasak Palace

Gearing up for the next step

The proud owner of a new bike! Bought at the local market and kitted out with a rear wire tray, a totally hip basket and one of the comfiest seats I've had the pleasure of sitting on. The seat came about after I spent 10mins on the original one and was in pain. Sunday, I head out. Laos visa, check. Go to 'Sunny Internet Cafe' (along the river), email - choubchansamantha@yahoo.com, to get your visa done, $34 which is cheaper than the embassy. The ladies there are absolutely lovely and speak fluent English. I'm strapping my bags to the bike on Sunday and riding towards Kampong Cham in search of 'No More Monks Rock'. About 50km towards KC from PP. Will ride till tired, starting early, then hitch the rest of the way with my trusty phrase book. This shall be interesting.... Check back in on Tuesday to see how successful this was....Plan B - ride till too hot, ride when cool in the afternoon, by then I should get to the climbing spot. Too tired to go on, I will string up my hammock then climb in the morning = foolproof...Right? Now the fun begins :D

Bali has rock!

 

Padang Padang beach, know for it's amazing breaks and beautiful beaches! Also a cool spot for climbing :D Found a short crag, about 12m high 40m long, in the shade from 10. 6 bolted routes, the local who told me about them couldn't tell me what grades they were but I know they use the french system. I got to the spot too late on the first day, the locals were just packing up so I didn't get a chance to have a lead. Did some bouldering though, nice an tough, all sloping. Found a couple of good problems ranging from V2 to V7 but it's really a case of pick and choose. Apparently the was more climbing further south which you had to pay to use but I ran out of time to check it out.


                                                               

Being Prepared

22kgs, the combined weight of the 2 bags I had to take with me, one more than I wanted to. Ended up having to buy a 30L pack just so I could take my climbing shoes and clothes. Four months climbing on limestone is set to wear away my shoes, I've been told, and I don't want to end up climbing in thongs.
In Bali now, tired, sore neck from sleeping on the Darwin airport floor and am still immersed in the stress of the last 3 days - packing for overseas and to move out in 4 months. Our room smells like chemicals to keep the mozzies away, beautiful haha We plan on doing very little for a couple of days to de-stress. Going to look for rock climbing around Bali tomorrow, stay tuned, I think it exists here.... If not, I'll climb the trees.

I have to admit...

....I was freaking out a bit when I wrote the last post. It's really not going to be that bad, my mind just likes to go 'worst case' when I'm stressed...Note to self: don't blog when crazy.
Just got my new climbing shoes and my old ones back from a re-sole yesterday, very exciting....

   

aaaand this is what the new ones feel like on.....
  

I have some stretching to do! Big thanks to Big John's for re-soleing my old awesome shoes and for the great deal on the new pair I bought, love their work! Taking 3 pairs of shoes on this trip, hopefully thats enough!!

  

Reaching 'that' point.

I've hit it, the excited less then 3 weeks to go stage...aaaaand bringing up the rear is the ugly head of "Have you got everything, squire?"(english accent, for those who want my conscience to have character). Yes, going on an adventure like this and not planning anything, in the the wet season, is bound to have endless mishaps. Preparing for the rain, probably the most life giving pain in the arse when travelling like I want to. But, I have all my wet gear, for me and my bag. Couple of ground mats, probably won't be camping much but you never know. All my climbing gear, check. That was easy but also spawns a new problem of space...it destroys it. Just sorting out my medical kit now, writing down all the things that may deviate me from 'Wooo this is awesome" to "OMG I can see the bone!!" to just plain old leeches. In a place where a mere flesh wound can turn septic in 24hrs, I need to be prepared.
Time has dragged till now...3 weeks is going to fly! Let the freak out begin!!

The Planning

I'm going for 4 months by the way, short I know.
First I had to decide where I was going...that was easy. I've been to Laos and Thailand before but wasn't a climber, still went climbing but I realise now it wasn't what it could have been...hence the return! So much rock (in Laos) that hasn't been polished, yet, worn away but the endless flow of tourists. Lets try and keep it this way, if you've been to Laos you'll know what I mean. The country is a paradise!
(You'll notice a slight bias towards Laos in this blog, Thailand gets enough attention)
Made myself a rough itinerary, this changed a little bit. Mainly cutting out time in my stopovers, decided that it wasn't worth the extra money trying to get to crags in KL when I could spend those extras days chilling in Jurassic parkesq, gecko covered, chilled out Laos.
My first flight is Melb - Darwin - Bali, (return flights from Darwin - Bali: $295) staying there for a week to retrieve that long lost vitamin D that Melbourne has taken away. Then onto KL and Phnom Penh. The reason I'm coming into Cambodia first is because it was cheaper than flying into Laos, especially since I wanted to start in the south of Laos. Also, there is rumour of climbing and bouldering in Kampong Cham, just northeast of PP. Will let you know how that goes.
Originally I wanted to boat into Laos...that would've set me back $800! Damn highways.
Visas - Cambodia, on arrival.
            Laos, on arrival or in PP http://www.laos-guide-999.com/Laos-embassy.html
Going to buy a phone over there, waaaaaay cheaper! Also, now this is a little ambitious, I want to buy a pushbike and ride/hitchhike my way through Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Should be interesting, especially keeping it in my possession haha
Travel insurance I sourced through http://www.insure4less.com.au/travelinsurance.php  these guys have been great, and only 25% on top of the premium. Not bad! You can look at BUPA as well, little bit more expensive though. Also, I just got told last night that yo can get insurance through the Army. Haven't done any research on that yet but I will and put it in my next post.
So that's where I'm at....

I guess you're wondering about the title....

This isn't my first trip overseas but it is my first one dedicated to climbing and hiking. I've always been madly in love with not being inside and since June last year climbing has been a huge focus of my life (aside from my amazing partner who is ever supporting of my addiction to climbing). To be involved in a sport that requires so much patience, hard work and dedication, among many other attributes, has been incredible! The people this sport draws are a different breed, I love 'em!
I chose the title because this affair with climbing didn't happen overnight, and it will never end.

I'm heading to Laos and Thailand mainly, hiking, riding, rafting and climbing my way through 2 incredible countries! The research about climbing has been scarce for Laos, climbing hasn't exactly taken off here...yet. There is a German couple in Tha Kahek who are starting a little eco climbing centre there ( http://greenclimbershome.com/ ) I'm going to visit them when I get there. These guys are aiming high, it's going to be amazing! I have figured out though, that if I can get my grades up around the 22/23 mark then the climbing will be endless...Not far to go! But no matter what grades I'm climbing this trip is going to be incredible!

I wanted to create this blog to give people something else to go off until there is a climbing guide to Laos. There is some scripture out there but it's not hugely detailed and I keep hearing about places to climb but that's as far as it goes. So I hope my blog can give you some idea of what to expect if you're planning a similar trip.On the plus side though, the lack of publicity means it will stay hidden for a lot longer!

Well, that's a rough idea of what I'm doing here, I hope you enjoy reading about my journey and get the urge to do it yourself! This trip is done on a tight budget as well, so it should be interesting! I leave on the 11th of August from Melbourne, Australia.