磨溪攀岩：饮水思源的新年
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
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
