SMU Climb Team

As Climbers, we know that climbing is largely an self-centered activity. When we climb, we think of how we as an individual can improve and climb harder. When we think of a training programme, we indentify our own weakness and strengths and tailor one to suit our needs. When we go to a gym, we want the wall to be free for our use and we wish sometimes there wasn't anyone to fight with us for the walls and routes. It's always about the cliMbEr! The people we respect are those who climb above us and often we find ourselves wishing that there weren't so many newbs around to hog our walls and routes as they fall and hang over and over again.

And yet, for a sport to grow in recognition and size, fresh blood is needed. Instead of whining about the newbie that keeps falling of a problem and hogging the wall, why not take the time to give suggestions on how the newbie can fix that problem. Not just to the people who are your friends, but to anyone else that you see in the gym. If you see a newbie looking lost as to what to do, suggest a simple route that he/she could try or even offer a belay if you are resting.

Also, by being more aware of the people around you, you'll realise that you'll become more aware of techniques and routes and such. Route setting will come easier. You'll start being able to figure what techniques work and be able to know where a foot should be place given the height and strength of a climber. Back to basics in a sense for these are the little things we forget as we climb higher.

In addition....

If more people climb, there will be more demand for the sport, which will lead to a call for increase supplies, which might lead to more gyms to climb in!

So next time you're in a gym... say hi to the lost newbies and welcome them into the climbing familiy.

It's not just about grades. There's more to climbing than that.

Melly
- who has adopted a couple of new minions here in the shanghai gym =)

6c and 7a/ 5.11b and 5.11d, what's the difference?
plastic 7a and natural 7a, what's the difference?
sending a 7a or not, what's the difference?

why have 7a as your target when you can have 7a+, 7c or even 8b?
and so what if you reach that target?
does it do anything to you? or do you feel better bout yourself?
and having reach the target, what now?
so what if you can climb 7a?

is looking and aiming for that number all that important to you?
or is it just a number after all?
is it that hard to attain?
or is it just another mental barrier after all?
what so overwhelming bout sentinel wall in camp5?
what's so fantastic bout being able to send a plastic 7a there?

sending your first 7a, what's so great bout it after all?

To add to the recent spate of blog posts (and because I'm bored in class), here's sharing some of my climbing stories of 2010. Contrary to the common mentality of pushing yourself and doing loads of hard stuff, what defined the year for me was climbing in a variety of situations and exploring different styles...

June marked my introduction to crack climbing, that just demanded a completely different mentality from all the face climbing that I was so used too. No small crimpy holds or jugs, just a long crack of different widths, depths, turns. All my natural instincts started off trying to find and crimp the holds around it. Fail #2 was trying to layback. Until someone shared that "in face climbing, you try and hold on to the wall, but in crack climbing, you let the wall hold on to you" and everything just clicked. No point trying to use the same things that work on face climbing, but well, tape up your hands and be willing to shove it in, be willing to get a few scrapes and scars, be willing to try something else.. And slowly, you get the hang of it...

July was brought outdoors by some great people to whom I'm extremely grateful.. First trip was to the rocks behind Mt Rushmore: the rocks were sparkling like pieces of crystal stuck in them & routes were really balance-y stuff (imagine pieces of crystals gorged out from the rock for your handholds), but your shoes just stick to anything, the friction was that awesome. Did some simple routes, went abseiling by a lake, spent the night camping out. Next day it was back to limestone at Spearfish Canyon, only this time surrounded by evergreen trees and not the usual tropical rainforest.

Next trip was Devil's Tower. Headed up a route named Durrance. An easy climb (5.7+), also a North American classic. Seconding up 4 pitches, removing the natural protection as you go along. Realizing that you're level with the rainclouds and that you can see them coming at you, so hurry on for that final unroped scramble up to my first summit of a tower and signed the guestbook with a note from Singapore. Abseiling off that tower to beat the rain, you realize how bothersome and unnecessary a safety prussik cord can be, yet throughout the day I was so thankful that I understood enough to know what was going on in a multi-pitch /setting up anchors /abseil, about tying a rope properly so you could carry it hands-free on that unroped scramble. It also led me to understand how much climbing was viewed as a lifestyle, of enjoying each climb, thinking where to place protection, spending time going places outdoors, knowing the risks and taking them, and just bringing people out to climb to share the joy.

The adventure of August was bouldering with Kory (and some others) at Haycock Mountain. Besides getting uber lost (sounds familiar, no?) and wandering up and down the same forest /meadow, it was my first shot at natural boulders (when we found them). So I've barely been climbing all this while and I've never been into bouldering, but hey, the noob that I was realized that boulders can actually be quite high (like several times your height). And that you do top out on them and scramble down later. I know you've seen this in the videos, but trying it out in real life, the crashpad looks awfully small when you're looking down from the top. I didn't manage to do a whole lot of routes, but it was awesomely inspiring nonetheless.

Hong Kong. Again the trial of finding people to climb with when you don't speak the language so thanks to the kind souls that linked me up.. Besides gyms and the sea cliff at Tung Lung Island, the new experience for me was night climbing at the Central Crags. So I went into it the day before a final exam, not quite knowing what I was in for but thankful that someone was offering to bring me out.... "The climbing place is actually pretty brightly lit by the lights of the swimming pool nearby". True, but the track up wasn't... Didn't slip but well, I'm not complaining about trekking anymore... But the huge spotlight appear as we reached the crag and starting out you could pretty much see what you were climbing on. Coupled with 5.8 routes, no sweat.. Or so I thought until I reached a section where the holds started to get smaller: finding footholds in the dark is no joke and I was way thankful for that headlight. Really got to be a lot more conscious about feeling about for holding and less guessing whether it's going to be a good hold or not. Wouldn't attempt to flash anything in the dark, but hey, it was a new experience.

And then there was Yangshuo. Awesome as the it was meeting new people and climbing with people of different experiences, it was good to be back amongst friends again and be understood when you slip into slang... The variety of routes and range of difficulties, the weather, two weeks of getting away from the world is always much welcome. But as I stare up at a route, tied in, chalked up, ready to go, the question that always runs through my mind is "tell me why am I doing this again?". Remind me why I climb, scare myself crazy by the thought of falling (even when I know it's safe). Why am I addicted to finding new places to climb, to wanting to try new routes that I don't know if I can complete. Why do you tahan the cold, get lost trampling around farms and meadows just to find that elusive climbing area. Is it really worth that much?

Or so you think until you get onto the wall, make that first move, get the first clip done with. And then it becomes just you and the route and you stop thinking about everything else. Sometimes that moment lasts even after you come down, the holds and moves playing over in your mind, when you talk about it, think about why you can't work it out, drives you to want to go back and finish it. Escapism in those moments of pure concentration? Is it just the perfectionist need to complete an unfinished work? Or maybe it's just the concurrent adrenaline and sense of relaxation. I may not know why I climb nor why I enjoy it, but I know that it's become a part of life as I know it. And sometimes, don't need think so much, just climb.

Michelle Ong

From Ron to Jon- "i'm pumped. take take!"..
Sound like daily crag happenings?
Not really- Half a plate of beef fried rice was pushed to Jon when this came out.
And with this, the trip was bet to be never the same again for any other rock trip.

With erratic weather ranging from 18 degrees on good days to 5 degrees on bad days, Yangshuo proves to be a harsh place with even harsher grades. The unprepared, whether mentally and physically, are taught a life lesson never to underestimate and look down on the spirits residing in the rocks itself as they will be so ready to push the eject button to have you feel like you are rejected by the girl/guy of your dreams to fall all the way down in the gully of your life.

Gully of my life i fell and slowly i crawl out of it. Time and time again in Project 8a (2009) and Project 8a+ (2010) this happens and yet one hungers for more.. Climbing and rock trips, that are bound to whip your ass, are like drugs that we cant refuse. Cuts and scars inflicts while hypothermia ensues but nothing stops us.
Nothing stopped two crazy souls from rafting their way back, through a waterfall, from the crag to Yangshuo city.
Nothing stopped another two crazy souls to give their final attempts on 8a+ on a insanely cold morning. (so close they were to sending it..)
And definitely nothing stopped another another two souls from crawling out of the sick bed, having laid in it for 2 days straight and puking and shitting their guts out, to go out to the crag so they can get onto some rocks and feel much better even as their bodies obviously aren't.

Unlike any other rock trip, Yangshuo see the most interesting happenings. With two lost cats hor lan in the hills of ulu yangshuo and very luckily to come out in a gigantic semi circle if not be lost in the wild in the worse case scenario; people almost fatally injured after having slipped and slides downhill to be fatally injured if having fell the the 2m drop after that and continue rolling down the hill, only to be saved by the school rope threw out to the person; runaways drinking a couple of alcoholic beverages, half a dozen of tequila shots, a couple of beer and not still not drank while refusing to go back; people ramming the acceleration on a electric bike from rest to force a china crook out of the way to escape from him people and to be caught up by the same bugger bringing in his harley davidson looking bike; Ron sending 5x 7b/7b+ in a day; and lastly a wild hairy monster being made to be nanny and needing spot everyone coz most others only wait for the climber to land into their arms.

And unlike any other rock trip, Yangshuo time and time again have me question why i climb. Like how January is named after the roman god, Janus, who have two heads facing different directions, one looking into the past and one facing the future, each Yansghuo trip have me look into my past climbing life (not very long for that matter) and have me ask myself why i'm climbing and how am i going to go on forward into the uncertain future with it.

What like other trip though, is the humji-ness that is omnipresent, the climbing talk and climbing analogy of everything in life, and the climbing philosophies manifesting itself in every words, actions and moves the person makes.

Rock trips can be so harsh and yet so rewarding at times, but after this two Yangshuo trips, rock trip will never be the same again at least for this post author.

Perhaps it really is time goes by and your relationship with climbing might turn from flirtatious one to serious and looking for forever marriage. And from engagement to an unhappy divorce/ breakup. People comes, people goes; so does passion comes and go. All we can hope for is an everlasting relationship like how every naive girl out there hope they can forever be together with their prince charming.(Snatching from mellie this line of thought)

Rock trips will never be the same again..

yingbin

When one has been climbing for close to 8 years… one starts to question why it is we put ourselves in a harness, squeeze our feet into those little shoes, kill our fingers on stuff we can barely even see and pray to rocks like it’s the Holy Grail. We talk about past climbs resembling old soldiers discussing old battle scars, going through blow by blow accounts of how we got our ass whipped by moves, suffering through injuries and adverse conditions, only to come out top between the struggle between man and rock.

After graduating from SMU (where I had basically lived, eat and sleep climbing for 4 long years) and starting work, I found myself no longer with the enough time to commit to climbing. And just like a wife deprived of attention, I found climbing slowly and surely slipping away from my grasp. Routes no longer came easy and the weeknights and weekend I could afford for climbing was met with much resistance. It felt like a futile attempt. Routes and moves that initially came easily felt awkward and impossible. Going to the gym became a chore and doing routes became more of something I map out theoretically (where the mind sees the solution but the body is just too weak).

Suddenly, listening to stories of fellow climbers about their climbing escapades lost its appeal. The sudden realization that I no longer gave a hoot about where or what was climbed, made me wonder if the relationship between climbing and I would only end with heartbreak. I found myself increasingly being a passive spectator, contented in being a “have-been” and no longer trying that hard to salvage the relationship between the wife and the self. It felt wrong to keep up the farce of a good relationship when it clearly no longer worked.

At first, I tried to convince myself that she’s in good hands, that I should be contented that we shared that special relationship for a while. And yet, when left to my own devices, I was confronted with doubts… Were the hours spent talking about climbing, traveling to various climbing areas around the world, brushing up on climbing knowledge all to be for naught? Were the sacrifices I made in the pursuit of climbing at the expense of nearly everything going to be in vain? Worse still… who am I without my climbing?

Anyhow, with all that baggage as the year was about to end, something had to be done. So when I was asked if I wanted to take a weekend trip down to福州 to climb, I jumped on without hesitation. I knew that this trip could make or break, and honestly, what do I have to loose? Even if I couldn’t climb, it’s never a waste to get to know a new area just in case it proves to be something worth sharing with the people back in Singapore.

There is after all nothing like a rock trip for the jaded to do some deep soul searching and get new perspectives on life.

Shanghai to 马尾 in 福建 by car is approximately a 10 hours journey by car. Roads are decent enough once you’re out of the city and relatively easy to follow if you know your Chinese geography or is equipped with a GPS. Arriving at 6am in the morning left us with about 3 hours of sleep before we hit the crags. The weather was slightly warmer than cold shanghai… definitely a welcomed change. We met up with one of the locals at the start of the trek (~15min drive from our hotel) and got geared up. We were warned that it was about an hour trek up and I was suddenly a little wary and gave a quick prayer to the gods I don’t believe in to let me make it all the way up (my last long trek up Ceuse saw me dead). The trek up was surprisingly good… Think an easy waterfall trek like Berkelah in 15 degrees weather. The scenery was breathtaking and for once I was enjoying the trek up instead of hurrying and wishing to just get it over and done with. It was definitely tiring and you work up a sweat despite the cold and I know I felt an overwhelming sense of achievement as I hopped off the last boulder and arrived at the climbing crag.

Out crag of the day was Moxi Wall 2, the first thing that catches your eye is this big piece of wall, flat with a number of cracks in it, shiny bolts and chalk marks calling out to you. The area has been cleaned relatively nicely and while there are boulders littered around the floor (in what is possibly the river bed), the area seems relatively safe and the only inconvenience might be the dropping of your rope into the water when pulling it off a route. While winter does prove a bit cold for swimming, I was told that in summer, it’s common for the locals to play in the water between climbs. Camping in the area is also possible and freshwater is readily supplied from the river.

The sector had a total of 16 climbs ranging from 5.7s to a lone 5.13 (5x5.10s and 4x5.11s). Because the wall is flat, balance is the way to go (my favorite type of climbing) although a couple of routes following the cracks in the wall made the layback a definite move to master if one is to conquer the wall (Yingbin your favorite!) The routes are about 20m-ish but the nature of the routes and the abundance of rest points made them doable even for one who no longer had any endurance whatsoever.

So after drinking a cup of hot tea to warm us up again, everyone started clamoring to get to be the first one up the wall for the New Year. We ended up doing all five 5.10s that day. I led my first route and then humji the other 4 due to my sudden new found fear of leading. I self declared myself the official runner cleaner and found enjoyment in practicing my topping out, abseiling and just focusing on the movements of the climbs instead of scaring myself shitless. It was definitely preferable to leading once I learnt to ignore the disappointed tones of my belayers and spectators who were nagging me to lead.

The routes were nice, exposed and when the sun came it felt just so damn good. I learnt the merits of sneaking a heatpack into my chalkbag. There were lots of high-steps, sit-ins, smearing, mantling, stepping and holding onto little knobs I could barely see. It was really a different feeling to be climbing on granite that isn’t dairy farm and wasn’t wet and moist, the friction was as good as it could get although the fear of slipping off was still very much apparent on lead.

In between climbs found us gathered with the locals around hotpots and teapots. Conversation revolved around climbing and the new year. For them who dun get much outside climbers in the region, Ric’s approach, skill and philosophy of only leading and on-sighting was something they were highly curious and impressed about. As for me, I was once again the climber with a seemingly solid technical foundation… haha… apparently cos I make the climbs look nice and easy when I climb it (they seem to fail to understand my explanation that I can’t do otherwise since I don’t have the power to brute the route). Nonetheless it was good to be out there amidst nature, away from gyms where 1. you struggle to climb routes that just get harder and harder and 2. meet climbers who seem out to destroy you and telling you that you’ll be able to do a particular “easy” route.

Being out there and up there away from everything made me realize what I miss. The movements that come smoothly together when you figure out a sequence, rest, and then string together another sequence of movements on rock that doesn’t spit you right off again. Gone are the people that surround you laying their own expectations on your climb. It’s now just between the rock and me. I do believe that is indeed what I had forgotten and I’m glad I rekindle that spark and understanding between us. It is about climbing to gain a better understanding of the rock and not just because everyone else you know climbs.

The day was short since we were a bit late in reaching the crags and by 4pm we had to start heading back. It was the end of the first day of the rest of the year.

2010 has indeed passed us by real quickly... we saw the climbing scene in Singapore developed with the help of a supportive community… and the SMU Climb Team has grown both numbers and skill and really is just an awesome bunch of people… As for me? I’m just glad I had an amazing year with everyone and also that I took a step back at the start of this year to rethink the reason that I climb.

yours,
melly

A gaston crimp to a undercling while compressing hard against sloppy feature to be almost full span horizontally, a hand jam into the feature crack just to hold off flesh pump from getting into position for the next move- Those are moves you get when adrenalin is rushing through your veins from a full day of climbing on the 25m wall,15m wall and the teh bin challenge crack.

In the company of hobo GS boy Sammy, crack loving rich boy Jem & the lobster red dont use legs strength hero bear Xiao Bai, the day at Yishun proves to be an intriguing one.

First up, the luminous yellow on the 25m wall confuses non-positive ape index Yb with tensiony outside flag from crimp to crimp with uber big moves followed by yet again, crimpy and balancy moves on top. The mystical luminous tile surprised Yb as yet again he was cheated by far far away Mellie that it is legendarily slippy- it is not.

Nice route after nice route, Sammy my boy whacked hard with Yb to reach the teh bin challenge crack. And thus challenged by rich boy Jem who will buy all the teh bin in the world for the winner, all four challengers went up. And damn weird crack climbing is, laying back on one side all the way up to get unbalancely pumped in the right bicep. Feeling weird and overcrowded, Sammy and Yb moved to the 15m wall where the sun gently shined it love on them.

Apparently the sun disliked rich kids and hated bears -Same as poor Kory which the sun hated- as it burnt them to delicious red. By then, all was almost lost as Jem went on for his supposed last climb on the left most blue where he regained his long lost dynamic self to become superhero Tangs.
Lobster bear's last climb, had his 2009 Yangshuo-self possessed him to produce weird sounds and even weirder self talk while half way through the climb, almost distracting Yb on the neighboring steep wall. "Step step step" self talk became "slack slack slack" communication as it entered the superhero Tangs ear. Skipping clip every alternate hanger while laughing at the bearish self talk, Yb managed to send the stupid route which he should have onsighted.
And Sammy my boy, under the love of the far far away Mellie and the pressure to retrieve her draws decided to not send it for the day as there will be no climbing shops to exchange draws on the wall for new ocun draws.

The day of massive overcrowding at yishun together with sweat, cursing and swearing at long people when it's not their fault, and teh bin turning into almond soy milk ended with a sentence from Sammy my boy

"Climbing is really the best way to spend my time, i really derive the most utility out of it"

and questions from Yb,

"If climbing gives you the most utility, then why dont you climb more?"

Well, life's simple, although human are not rational creatures as assumed by economics that they will seek to maximize their utilities, let's not think too much. Let your climbing philosophy guide you as you have fun climbing whether you're climbing hard or just enjoying your climbs while looking to improve. What's important i guess will be the new year resolution to be happy and do the things that make you happy.

"Climb more and be happy!" - quoting Mellie

Climb Team Free Soul (After having promoted from slave status)

hello friends,
i've been slaughtered the past 2 weeks in my latest rockclimbing escapade

more information here - www.themountainshop.org
Koh Yao Noi - an island located between Phuket and Krabi. 30min on speedboat from Phuket. Village life with simple rustic charm. Over 150 routes, mostly Titanium bolted - doesn't rust; very durable. Beautiful limestone routes - long and pumpy. Crags are about 25min away on motorbike, excluding the trekking which takes maybe 30min more (sometimes slightly longer).

i like the place.. long hard routes (like 30m)
fantastic beautiful lines with nice flow and movements
grading is steep (or at least in my opinion)
but anyway, i think i'm f-king weak - slightly disappointing in that sense

would i go back there again?
well, hard to say. to summarise, it's been rather messed up for me over the last couple of weeks. the rain (urghhh). the lack of climbing partners. sometimes, crazy climbing partners (oh, what a bitch). the long way to the crag - on the motorbike mud-trails, and the torturous trek. and one more thing. the shoes. way too small and absolutely destroyed my feet. i regretted bringing this pair over, thinking that it'll season over this time - hell no. sounds like a lot of shit, right?

but, but..
i do see why some might enjoy coming here
the lines are just so beautiful omg it makes me cry
rocks so new, raw and untouched.. it feels like virgin climbs at times (and yeah, happy pulling out rocks *shouts 'rocks!'*)

well, if not
there's always yoga
yoga lessons just 5min walk from my hut - good for body and soul

it's been a nice getaway - albeit the ups and downs
but hey - life's not perfect; so i've learnt to manage expectations
cool, a good break
i go back to work tmr also

cya all soon! :)

warmest regards,
sammy