Petzl Rock Trip September 2011

Just turned down the invitation to head up to China this coming September for the annual Petzl Rock Trip(all expensese paid) due to work commitments. Sigh..........

Anyway here's a nice video of the 2007 Petzl rock trip at the Red River Gorge in USA. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpOtCc-wvDY

Chalk + dew/humidity = SOAP !!!!!

Just got back a couple of days ago from Yangshuo, China. This was a whirlwind trip which i almost had to forgo as a result of last minute work commitments. All in all i had 3 days of climbing. Well, its better than nothing and beats climbing in Singapore anytime.

Even though it was really short, this has been one of my best outdoor trip ever!!! It was probably my worse as well. Let me explain.....

I initially plan for 4 days of climbing before heading home and had my sights on either Thunder (8b+), 9 Deep 1 Shallow (hard 8b) or Blue Magic (8b). These 3 climbs are located in 3 different crags and the decision to work on which route will be determined by weather conditions when i arrive. Unfortunately it was raining almost every other day when i arrive so it was a pretty straight forward decision to head to Lei Pi Shan 雷劈山 and work on the monstrous 38m Thunder.

Thunder consists of 2 pitches, right up to the 1st anchor is an excellent crimpy endurance 7b+ that doesn't let up followed by a huge rest point in the middle of the route. You can pretty much stand on the tufa to get a 5-10min rest before embarking on the 2nd pitch, which is a bouldery 8a/+ consisting of big moves littered with the occasional good rest. For this 2nd pitch, it helps A LOT if you're tall. The picture below shows me on Lighting 8b/+ which i had completed a couple of years ago. Thunder is just to the left of it and is about 5m longer...

I first tried Thunder during my trip in December last year and gave it 2-3 burns on my last few days. This time around it was all business. Having only 4 climbing days, i basically have to come to the crag and be ready to SEND. No fooling around or trying to build up my endurance slowly as i do not have the luxury of time. Though it was raining, the crag was slightly overhanging and thus relatively sheltered. We (阿牛, Paul and i) had 2 decents days at this crag even though humidity was relatively high. It was cold yes but a slight breeze would have been excellent.

After our rest day, we headed back to the same crag. Conditions were CRAP. There was a fog/mist around the crag and most of the routes look unfamilar, chalk-less, ready for a new FA. Some of the jugs were filled with water! Nevertheless i set off on another redpoint burn after warming up (4th go on this trip). Although it was a little damp, the 1st pitch was O-K. As i climbed into the main crux of the 2nd pitch, i realised the holds were getting worse. As such, i was pleasantly surprised when i blitzed through the crux (1st time i had done that section from ground up) only to fall 2 clips higher. It ain't over as there are 2 more mini cruxes before the chains. Nevertheless, i gave the rest of the holds a good brush and took a long rest.

On my 5th go, even though the holds were wetter than before, i managed to fight all the way up to the last quickdraw and was trying to squeeze out a rest before attempting the last 3m to the anchors when i ALMOST slipped off a ledge. Not only was it wet, it was like climbing with soap on your hands. Yes....the combination of chalk and water has made it almost impossible to climb. I struggled to hang on and told myself that i am going to make THIS attempt count (I don't want to repeat the entire 30m plus lower section again!!!). The last 3m is not difficult but can be tough when you are tired or when conditions are not good. As i crank down hard with my left hand on a good crimp (it was WET!!!), i positioned my foot carefully and reached out slowly for a good hold right before the anchors, my left hand slipped and i was off immediately. SHIT!!!!!! @#$%^&*&^%$#@#$%^&*&^%$# !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was pretty much the end of my trip. The weather forecast for the next day was equally terrible. On top of that, i caught a cold that night and was down with fever which pretty much put me in bed on my 4th climbing day. Even though i came back empty handed, i was extremely satisfied with my climbs and realised that my weekend sessions at Safra Yishun prior to this trip has kept me in a relatively fit condition. I'll be back to send Thunder, thats for sure.