SMU Climb Team

CSR: climbing social responsibility?

2011-02-24T11:23:00.001+08:00

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 =)

On sending your first 7a

2011-02-23T18:31:00.002+08:00

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?

2011-01-19T08:50:00.003+08:00

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

Rock trip will never be the same again..

2011-01-12T14:01:00.001+08:00

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

磨溪攀岩：饮水思源的新年

2011-01-05T20:47:00.001+08:00

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 Day @ Safra Yishun

2010-12-06T19:41:00.003+08:00

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)

koh yao cha-cha

2010-11-22T00:07:00.005+08:00

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

Bouldering @ Asia

2010-11-20T11:00:00.002+08:00

Check out the yellow tape endurance route on the wall beside the stairs. 30 moves, jugs with big moves. Good for power endurance.

Get strong for YS!!!!

Climb On 2010!

2010-10-06T06:52:00.003+08:00

Greetings fellow SMU climbers!

As you’ve already heard. The yearly CLIMB ON is back and obviously SMU is gonna flock the place once again with a whooping 45 people this year.

Same ulu location. Same Format. Same amount of awesome fun.
Categories are the same as before
- Enduro Individual
- Enduro Team
- Elite Individual

(Climb on 07 at tampines)

(Climb on 08 at Pasir Ris... look at how young everyone was then)

Anyhow, See you there~!

2010-10-03T01:36:00.000+08:00

A big group hello from us in KL!
A group of SMU climbers have arrived in KL early this morning and headed to Batu Caves for some good old nature!
It's been a good day of climbing and bonding among alumni, seniors and freshies!
And certainly good food and some R&R in KL

Another group is coming down to KL early tomorrow morning and hopefully the rocks at Batu Caves won't be too wet from rain tonight! But otherwise, we do have a great 2nd option, Camp5!!

--kamhei

The Bmmaieltc Monster

2010-09-29T08:50:00.003+08:00

Legend has it up in the high mountain crag, that there lived a Bmmaieltc Monster.
*Roar*

This monster have a very big appetite but a very slow digesting stomach.
Every year, it will descend onto the village at the foot of the mountain to fill it's stomach by globing down villagers; and in this way, 7 innocent life were lost yearly..

The villager monk, being selfish, decided to make up the story that "those who return to the mountains with the Bmmaieltc Monster will attain enlightenment to rise up amongst the cloud to be in heaven where they'll enjoy eternal happiness".

Every year, some of the villagers, greedy for eternal happiness, decide to climb the crag and give themselves to the monster; while one or two kind-hearted innocent villagers, not wishing to see their fellow mates being eaten by the monster, sacrifice themselves to quell the monster's hunger.
Together this, batch of villagers set out on a arduous multi-pitch up to the monster's cave.

On reaching the cave, the greedy villagers, realizing they're going to be eaten instead of attaining enlightenment, decided to negotiate with the monster to help it get more people up down in the village. In order to satisfy the monster's immediate hunger, these greedy villagers pushed the innocent ones into the mouth of the monster.

The Bmmaieltc Monster being a high IQ creature, understand and accepted the greedy villagers' deal. Together, these partners in crime went down to the village to start killing more innocent life. Only when the monster deemed itself full, will it go back up to it's crag to slowly digest those fresh meat!

Back up on the crag, the Bmmaieltc Monster, afraid that it will go hungry easily, decided to consume his partners in crime. Thus no one ever knew what really happened up on the crag.

Each new year brings new blood into the village, this endless cycle of greedy and innocent villagers drawn from these new blood will kept going on and on. Claiming new sacrifice and kill more innocent lives and passion.

What a great Bmmaieltc Monster that every other unknowing people worship!

Post By EMOV

2010-09-27T09:02:00.005+08:00

Ronnie Dickson- one of the most inspiring climbers.

The Ronnie Dickson Project from Louder Than 11 on Vimeo.

Really painful to see him do the V3 sloper route but it is so inspiring that he just keep trying and in the end, manage to send it.

Time to get strong like him!!

Emo Club

Climbing & Studying..

2010-09-26T21:49:00.004+08:00

well.. sucks, take drug.

post is taken down.

Gone was paradise

2010-07-02T13:08:00.004+08:00

4 days since the Cebu gang came back.

No limestone/ plastic in Singapore or Malaysia matches up to Cantabaco's climbing.

Gone are the long incline routes with big hold and big moves.

Gone are the routes we could have completed if given a few more days (Unsa Mani Mikko, 5.12a).

Gone are the good company that we had and make merry with every night.

No more cooking rice;

No more red horse;

No more bulu;

And no more skinning and deep frying frogs;

A paradise out there it was.

Even with no hot water showers and daily violation by the mozzies, heaven it was.

But what goes up must come down..

Free falling through plastic holds and T nuts to land back onto earth..

Crashing back into the sports hall doing meryvn's route and destroying ourselves on the system wall;

And maybe working our ass off to earn some pennies.

All in the hope that we'll be able to go back to heaven soon..

Lusting for Lime,

Emo Kid

CEBU~!

2010-06-18T16:54:00.001+08:00

Greetings from cebu!

It's been 4 days of the guys getting raped by the female mozzies

The team:

Jeremy - sacrificial lamb who feeds the mozzies every single night.

Yingbin - the strong man who our guide, raymond is infatuated in. and the one who coughs his lungs out (and infected jeremy)

Ze-Hou -the zai kia who put up runners on a 6c+ without knowing it.

Melly - the 7 year climber with good footwork but no power and endurance (according to raymond)

ok. back to the proper stuff.

day 1:
cebu pacific sucks. think tiger airways. transfer flight was delayed by 1 plus hour. by the time we reached cebu airport. we were too late for the bus to lutopan and hence a long cab ride there. it was hard to find our accommodations cos it was our virgin trip to cebu + it was dark. thankfully, the mention of "father russell" and "climbing" found us the nice locals who knew what we were after and offered us a place where we will call home for the next 14 days.

day 2 & 3:
climbing. and more climbing. there are actually 5c and 6a. which were doable and not all the scary 6c/7as we thought cebu would be about. life is quite simple. wake up in the morning. go climb. come back at night to have dinner. and then entertain ourselves with citadels, bridge, and whatever other card games we can think of. plus some random movies from the laptops. there's seriously nothing else to do here.

day 4: rest day. involved a lot of traveling for the elusive beaches. which we never did find. toledo city is boring. nothing much a do. and tajao.... is not the place to go if you were thinking of white sandy beaches.

alright... that's all for now. may we survive the mosquito feast tonight.

2010-02-26T19:59:00.005+08:00

Greetings from ChiangMai! Today is a rest day, so I'll take my time to blog about my roctrip. :)

For the past week, I've been having the time of my life at the crags. This is a dream come true for me. Travelling alone is definitely an experience. I've been wanting to go on such a road trip for some time now. Well, 2 weeks may be a short time, but it's been a revelation for me. I've been using the time to reflect on life and gain new perspectives.

At first, I was kinda worried about finding climbing partners. But so far, it's been fine. I've always been able to find great climbing buddies. I've met several backpackers travelling alone too. People from all over the world come to ChiangMai to climb. The Thais are also a friendly bunch. Aside from climbing, I've also joined them for drinks and even bowling, haha. Travelling alone makes you open to these opportunities to meet new friends and experience new things.

Jurij, my buddy from Germany, is a climber I've climbed for a couple of days before he took off for Laos. He's been on the road for 2 months and he intends to go on for another 9 months or so. It's kinda typical to meet these backpackers around. It feels so good to be able to meet like-minded people on the trip. And even though I'm travelling alone, in some ways, I was never alone.

The routes here are fantastic. I've even done some crack routes and chimney routes. The limestone rocks are good on the hands. The good thing about climbing with the pros, or rather, climbing with the locals, is that they would encourage you to climb the routes first hand. So every route is kinda like an onsight attempt for me. Not flash climbing, but onsight climbing. No runners, no beta whatsoever. That's really quite cool I reckon.
But sometimes, it's kinda scary. Though the routes here in general are well-bolted, I've encoutered a few oddball routes where the threads are missing (especially for the first clip). I still haven't gotten over the fear of falling though. I haven't had a bad fall yet and I don't intend to.
It took me a couple of days to get used to the rocks and climbing. You guys know that I haven't been attending climb trainings for the past half a year or so (haha). So when I came over to Crazy Horse, it took me a while to get into sync. But climbing's so good here that I kinda got into the groove of things. Kinda consolidated my base onsight ability at 6a+ now, and also increased my max onsight to 6b+. I was so stoked to finish a 6c on my third attempt! Personally, I feel that the routes here have been marked to the true grades. Well at least, by comparison, I feel that the 6a's here are harder than the ones at Krabi. Haven't touched any of the 7's, except for one which I've done on top rope and I think it's possible to finish it by this trip.

Muad and Sorn are 2 Thai climbers whom I've climbed with. They're well-respected climbers in the local climbing scene, so I'm very honoured to be able to climb with them. There're no airs about them. They're humble and genuine people, which I find it very admirable.
Sorn also brought me to ChiangDao (1.5 hours away from ChiangMai), to this village where he's been putting up routes at these beautiful cliffs by himself over the past couple of years. Bolts and hangers are expensive things and I truly respect him for what he's doing for the climbing community. More often than not, he came up with funding for the bolting by himself at his own expense. It makes me feel like contributing back to the bolting fund for the community. Someday that will happen too.
From the short rock trip/ home stay, I can really see his passion for climbing and the local people. You see, climbing is not just about climbing, it also extends out to the economy of the local villagers. When the season is dry, crops don't grow, and for months, the villagers do not have any income. Yet, dry season (like now) is also perfect for climbing. This represents an alternative source of income for them villagers.
The short homestay humbled me. Being close to nature makes me appreciate their simple way of life. I kinda enjoyed the peacefulness of the countryside. I know that this way of life won't be the same anymore after the crag gains popularity.

Back in ChiangMai, I stay at TK Guesthouse. The single room costs 200thb a night, which I reckon that it's a good price. The bed's a bit squeaky though but other than that, I think it's perfect. It's got a decent shower/ toilet, so that's really good enough for me.
The rockgym's just beside the guesthouse, which is perfect. Cos every morning, I'd go there and register myself for the red truck which brings me to the Crazy Horse buttress. It takes about 50min there. Other times, I would pillion on my buddy's motorbike. Yeah, kinda scary for me.

On my rest days (had only 2 so far), I've been reading books and having fun with skipping rope. The food here is fantastic. Jurij showed me to the night market where I got decent food for relatively low prices. Fruit shakes for 15thb, imagine! I love the morning breakfast. Waking up to the chilly weather, put on my SMU hoodie, and grab a bite at the Bunny Juice cafe. Museli with fruit and yoghurt is my favourite. So is the bagels, either with tuna or ham and cheese. Throw in the occassional mango sticky rice and banana pancakes. Lunch has been either basil chicken rice or pad thai. And dinner, whatever I can find in the night market.

So you see, life has been good for me at ChiangMai.
I've only got 2 more days of climbing left (or maybe add a day more in the gym) before I depart for Bangkok via train and then back to Singapore. When I leave, I'll truly miss this place because it has given me beautiful memories and inspired me to climb hard. It's fitting that work starts right after this roctrip, cos in a way, this could be my last vacation for a long time to come. More than anything else, it has given me some impetus to find meaning in life and in climbing once more.

Zhongyi (aka Sammy) signing off,
Climb On. The World Is Your Playground.

Climb @ KL

2010-01-24T11:04:00.000+08:00

For the very first time, the SMU Climb Team will be opening our overseas climbing trips to our fellow SMU students!

Looking for a short getaway during Week 8? Come and join us on a 2-day trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!

You'll have the opportunity to climb on natural rock and to enjoy the good food of KL. Beginners are welcome, just be willing to try and wanting to have fun!

Details of the trip are as follows
- Date: Leaving 9pm on 22Feb (Mon), Return 11pm on 24 Feb (Wed)
- Cost: $120 per person (inclusive of all equipment, transport and accommodation)
- All participants should have at least Level 1 certification.*
- Registration deadline for both: 27 January 2010 (Week 4, Wed)
*If you do not have the certification but are keen to sign up for the trip, you are encouraged to register for the upcoming Level 1 Course on 31st Jan. You will obtain a $10 discount if you sign up for both the course and the trip.

Limited spaces available so do sign up fast! Slots are only confirmed upon receipt of payment.

Please contact Mich (michelle.2007@smu.edu.sg) or Mel (melissa.ho.2006@smu.edu.sg) for more details and /or arrangement of payment!

Do help spread word and look out for our emailers for more details.

Look forward to climbing with you in Week 8!'

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#/event.php?eid=260851562625&index=1

Through The Lens of A Poet

2010-01-15T16:12:00.006+08:00

The portrait of the climber

A typical climber is a guy. One stuck in the threshold of man and boy. Boy, because he laughs and grins in a childlike nature, with a mischievous tilt and probe. Man, because he is lean, but thickly muscled and long- limbed, and filled with deep responsibility for life.

His limbs are of utmost of interest. They form graceful lines, as their grasps from tile to tile, almost as if merely flowing from space to space. the only other creature akin to the climber is that of a panther; sly, dark and with a sleek, supple body valiantly trying to contain it's magnitude of quiet strength.He is usually found with a lazy grin, stretched out and lounging across his chair. There is a beauty about him, tinged with a great fear of potential within.

But the climber is more than simply the physical man. What strikes the difference is his attitude and mental capacity. He is one that basks in his own arrogance- which he deems as determination to succeed yet valiantly tries to mask his superior ability for the notion of humility- and even nonchalance. He chooses to surprise others by engaging in debates over the meaning of life. This in an attempt to be seen as a double threat, with as much lethal bite and physical thrust. Yet again, all under the feigned nonchalance.

The climber is best appreciated under his natural environment. He constantly changes, much like a clear crystal spinning in the light, throwing out a multitude of spectrums, each more intense than the last.

- A. -

Climb Team HR

Could Be Worse

2010-01-07T13:17:00.003+08:00

As part of an attempt to revive the ailing state of this blog, here is a beautiful bouldering video featuring Nalle Hukkataival in Europe. Watch out for Ninja Skills, his new first ascent with crazy, radical moves. Be inspired. Get out and climb more.

Could Be Worse from Boulderkeskus on Vimeo.

So this is why.

2009-09-21T18:49:00.004+08:00

2009-09-11T17:03:00.001+08:00

1. What are the 5 things you need to love to do if you are the Logistics Peon?

a. Cleaning up the store and climbing areas which will be messed up by your fellow climbers soon after
b. Source for cheap deals to replace worn out existing equipment
c. Show extreme love and passion towards all equipment. Must be gentle too. And know where they've gone and who they are with.
d. Know how to source for rope measuring equipment and how to use scissors and flame on ropes.
e. Notice your fellow climbers and tell them off (nicely) should they be terrorising the equipment or using them the wrong way.

2. How many hours a week do you have to commit to being a Logistics Peon?

Basically, if you have OCD, you will commit about 15 minutes after every training session to clean up the store and pick up what-nots lying around the hall. Otherwise, you'll just be doing so as and when needed or bugged by your bosses.

3. What is the one thing that you hate most about being a Logistics Peon?

Having to clean up the store AGAIN AND AGAIN due to the inconsiderate fellow climbers who usually take stuff from the store and just chuck it back inside NOT at the original place.

4. The job scope is simple: keep equipment safe and clean, ensure climbing store and quarters are organised and clean, perform stock checks regularly, anticipate replacement or procurement of equipment, bug OSL (Roy) to buy new ropes, liaise with external agencies regarding equipment loans, purchase Team SSU jackets/polos and last but not least
help extremely hawt girls to wear the harness.

5. 3 things I've gained from being a Logistics Peon

a. Love for equipment
b. Upgrade cleaning skills
c. More knowledge about climbing equipment (their usage and care)

6. I work most with...
Logistics Director of SSU, Roy from OSL, Climb Lab vendors, fellow ex-co members

7. I am....

actually quite a lazy Logsitics Peon which I hope the upcoming elected Peon will not be. It's okay if you have no prior knowledge to the care and usage of the equipment because everyone has to learn anyway. Most importantly, you must be patient and hardworking. Sometimes it's better to settle things alone but other times you will appreciate help from your peers. Also, you can exercise you creativity by shopping for storage solutions for the store. Logistical duties in SMU Climb Team is pretty minimal to be honest. You need to actively participate discussions during ex-co meetings. Okay, I know I haven't talked much about myself but if you really want to do so, you can always approach me...PRIVATELY. =D

AGM-Elections!

2009-09-10T01:51:00.000+08:00

YOUR VOTE MATTERS!

HR!

2009-09-10T01:40:00.001+08:00

HR: OH! Jianwei

7 things about being HR

1. What are the 5 things you need to love to do if you are the climb-team HR

-girls (for recruitment purposes)
-being nice to people
-communicating with people
-gossip
-organizing events

2. How many hours a week do you have to commit

-24/7. gathering gossi...i meant intel is a never ending process

3. What is the one thing that you hate most about being HR

-being expected to be there everytime someone new comes

4. Job Scope!

-pretending like u have something really important to do

5. 3 things you gained out of being the HR

-arthritis
-tolerance
-learning to accept that u cant please everyone / that everyone will nv co-operate fully in any situation

6. I work most with...

-climb team members!

7. I am.....

-seriously excited at someone taking over my job

VP!

2009-09-10T01:36:00.003+08:00

VP: TZEEEE HIN

7 things about being Vice-President

1. How do I become Vice-President?

Sorry guys, with the changes implemented since the start of the new academic year 2009/2010, there’s no longer going to be a Vice-President.
That means I’m the last ever in the illustrious history of Vice-Presidents. In place of that, we’ve created the post of Team Captain which constitutes similar roles and responsibilities.
So read on if you’re interested….

2. What are the 5 things you need to love to do if you are the Vice-President
· Climb, climb and climb

· To help others to climb better

· To ensure members are actually climbing (especially the “recre-team”)

· To ensure members don’t get bored of climbing

· To do things that the President don’t like to do

3. How many hours a week do you have to commit

I once heard within 5 minutes of meeting that person for the first time; “Climbing is my life.”

True story.

How much time to commit? You decide.

4. What is the one thing that you hate most about being Vice-President

To do things that the President don’t like to do. Just kidding. (or not)

5. 3 things you gained out of being the Vice-President
How to get people interested in climbing
How to help people to climb better
How to coordinate things (especially training matters) within the club

6. I work most with..

The President.
Members of the team
Anyone who is interested in climbing

7. I am.....

Someone who just spent the last half-hour answering those 7 questions above to the best of my knowledge.

MARKETING

2009-09-10T01:29:00.002+08:00

MARKETING: GERMS

7 things I love about being in marketing

What are the 5 things you need to love to do if you are the Marketing Director

day dreaming for ideas, concepts, taglines
PHOTOSHOP!!! (not really actually)
meeting people, lots and lots of people, all kinds of people...you don't get to choose :)
haggling with Finance!!
being in a good mood all the time

How many hours a week do you have to commit to Marketing

youre probably too busy with other stuff to keep track

What is the one thing that you hate most about Marketing

People say that that 'yes of course Germaine goes for climbing, only thing is, she doesn't climb' Busy taking care of newbies does that to you, but not all the time!!!

Job Scope!
3 things you gained out of being the Marketing Director

Meeting and interacting with new people comes more naturally
Event planning, if you count organising BBQs as an event!
Appreciation for others

I work most with everyoneeeeee. freshmen, exco, volunteers/helpers for courses and BBQs, suppliers, printers, some of the SSU people.

I am the
laziest person i know, so if Germaine can do marketing, you'ed probably ace it!

SECRETARY

2009-09-07T21:10:00.002+08:00

SECRETARY: SUE MAY

7 things I love about being the Secretary!

What are the 5 things you need to love to do if you are the Secretary:

Love to send emails....and more emails and more more more emails.... Love to check your email! And check your email and check your email! :) Love to look at email addresses and filter them! Make mailing lists!

Love to take minutes!

Love to deal with people :) make them feel at home! :)

Love to count how many people are coming for what... Go and find out about all the competitions/ opportunities available for the climb team! :) How to get a discount on competition fees, make sure we get early bird rates even one day before the competition.. bla bla bla. Liaise with the organizing comp for each event. Make sure that we have space reserved for us! AND the list goes on and on and on! Basically anything! :)

How many hours a week do you have to commit to being the secretary:
· Depending on how nice I want to make the weekly updates look! :) haha! Can go from 1hour to up to 3hours! :)
oh and depending on how many people want to email the club ;)

What is the one thing that you hate most about being the Secretary
Sigh... Having to reply 101 emails when you have a test the next day! Haha
Forgetting to send updates and realizing it only at 2am on Monday and having to wake up to send it...

Job Scope!
Send weekly updates (try to make the least interesting thing sound interesting :)
Take note of the calendar of events - (eg. Know when the hall is booked! Or when it isn’t)
Reply emails on enquires about the club!
Reply any email at all even if it has nothing to do with you
Try to plead with other CCAs into letting us use the sports hall when it is not our turn
Try to plead with other CCAs to share the court with us!
Take minutes during meetings
Order food for events ;) YUMMMM... So what do you feel like eating this AGM? ;)
Managing the climb team blog!
the list goes on... :)

3 things you gained out of being the Secretary :
I know how to spam the school with emails :)

Familiar with the booking of rooms, halls, bla bla bla

IDK. Hahaha.

I work most with, ......... (things, people........)
The Climb Team Ex-co (mainly with the P and VP about what to say to who and what to put in the weekly updates)

Names, emails...

Organizing committees of events that the climb team takes part in :)

I am.....(insert lame things about yourself :) )

the one who send the emails with all the smiley faces! Yes that is me. Oh and the nice backgrounds! And also the one that sends mailers that look a little odd (sorry all you windows users! :))

the team’s gorilla even though I don’t have the strength of one

starting to love the high wall, little by little... X)

PRESIDENT!

2009-09-07T20:36:00.004+08:00

PRESIDENT: SONG BIAO :)

7 things about being president

1. What are the 5 things you need to love to do if you are the president
· Checking up on what people are doing

· Mediating

· Facilitating stuff to happen

· Watching out for people

· Being expected to do anything anytime anywhere. haha

2. How many hours a week do you have to commit
Who’s counting

3. What is the one thing that you hate most about being president
Less time to climb =(

4. Job Scope!

5. 3 things you gained out of being the president
-Increased skill in how to work with people
-Meet lost of new people
-The knowledge that I contributed what I could

6. I work most with..

People. From SMU students, SMU offices, external organisations, people, etc. Plenty of emails to go through all the time.

7. I am.....
Not available to discuss anything to answer any queries you might have on running for president. Unless you bring coffee. Then I’m free.

TREASURER!

2009-09-07T00:27:00.002+08:00

TREASURER: DAPHNE! :)

7 things I love about being the Treasurer!

What are the 5 things you need to love to do if you are the Treasurer:
· The Love of … Feeling rich (by holding a lot of money which doesn’t belong to you)

· The Love of … Bugging people. If verbal bugging doesn’t work, try scratching, punching and kicking. Resullts have been positive. :D

· The Love of … Paying the Office of Finance every now and then

· The Love of … Being ethical. Resist the urge to siphon funds! ARGHHH!

· The Love of … Not having to display creativity. Creative accounting is.. dubious. HAHA.

How many hours a week do you have to commit to the um.. Treasury (..?):
· Average of 2 to 3 hours per week

What is the one thing that you hate most about being the Treasurer: That people avoid paying! ):

Job Scope!
· I budget for our expenditure each semester, so you get to enjoy Ben’s awesome company, free competitions, new club shoes, yummy BBQs, the free monthly Climb Asia entrance … and much more!

· And then I have to field queries from SSU on why we’re budgeting for seemingly unnecessary things like trolleys and drill bits, because sometimes, they just don’t get it.

· I hound you guys for money – for membership fees, club tees and your frequent Climb Asia trips we can’t afford to cover – so we maintain a healthy financial status :D

· I bug the participants of our Sport Climbing Level 1 and 2 Courses for payments so that our instructors’ efforts don’t go to waste.

· And I hold the receipt book to record these payments.

· I also help you to deposit any revenue earned and submit your claims so that Ben gets paid and you get your money back from the school, keeping everyone but Office of Finance happy. (:

· I inform the rest of the committee of the budget they’re restricted to for marketing, purchase of assets, organising of events such as AGM, gatherings, etc.

· At the end of the semester, I prepare the club’s Statement of Accounts for submission to SSU and SMUSA.

3 things you gained out of being the Treasurer:
· Being more meticulous than ever

· Budgeting experience

· Extremely familiar with claims procedures in SMU, hahaha.

I work most with, ......... (things, people........)
· The SSU and SMUSA finance guys

· Money! *kaching*

· The SMU Climb Team exco

· And basically everyone in SMU Climb Team. If you’re one of us, I’m sure you have found yourself the victim of my incessant naggings to pay your funds at some point in time.

I am.....(insert lame things about yourself :) )
· Proud member of the SMU Climb Team

· Frequently bullied

· Apparently, the team’s house-elf

· Loved by the team – At least, I would like to think so, hahaha!

New Routes are up on the Climbing Wall!

2009-07-13T17:11:00.006+08:00

First Ascends for most have already been claimed!

Hardest Onsight Attempt claimed by Mayhem Mervyn on route Monster Mervyn (7B set by Ben Toh)

Routes should be up till the end of the year so get them while they're still free from dickson's chalk!

- melly signing off!

Pumpfest 2009- We did it again!

2009-05-22T14:47:00.003+08:00

2009-03-19T23:11:00.002+08:00

Gravical 2009 Results

SMU Team Category: Inter-CCA/Open Category
1^st	Flying Dragons (Dragonboat)	· 4 x Timberland Shoes · 1 x Shiseido Hamper · 4 x Level 1 Vouchers
2^nd	Team “We Will Shoot You” (Track & Field)	· 4 x Timberland Shoes · 1 x Shiseido Hamper · 4 x Level 1 Vouchers
3^rd	Teriyaki Chicken Na Na	· 4 x 1 month Absolute Yoga Pass · 1 x Shiseido Hamper · $100 Takashimaya Voucher · 1 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
4^th	SMUX Trek 1 (SMUX)	· 4 x Yankz Laces · 1 x Box of SoyJoy · $80 Takashimaya Voucher
5^th	Ashraff’s Health (Run Team)	· 10 x Free Frolick Yoghurt · 1 x Box SoyJoy · $50 Takashimaya Voucher

SMU Team Category: Inter-Faculty
1^st	Team Bondue (Business)	· 4 x Timberland Laptop Bags · 1 x Shiseido Hamper · $200 Takashimaya Vouchers
2^nd	Asoc Team 1 (Accountancy)	· 4 x Timberland Sling Bags · 1 x Shiseido Hamper · $150 Takashimaya Voucher
3^rd	Hong Gan (Law)	· 1 x Shiseido Hamper · $80 Takashimaya Voucher · 4 x 1 month ClimbAsia Season Pass

SMU Team Category: Inter-Faculty

Nigel Ng Zheren (Team Bondue )

· 1 Timbuk2 bag

Vania Lim Jia Lin (Team We will shoot you”)

Invitational Category: Novice Women
1^st	Larissa Ho Jia Le (NUS)	· 1 Timbuk2 Bag · $100 Takashimaya Voucher · 1 x 3 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
2^nd	Judith Sim (NUS)	· 1 x Madrock Shoes · $80 Takashimaya voucher · 1 x 1 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
3^rd	Joan Sum (NTU)	· 1 x Box of SoyJoy · 1 x 3 Free Absolute Yoga sessions · $60 Takashimaya Vouchers
4^th	Nur Fatin Bte Amir (RP)	· $60 Takashimaya Voucher
Invitational Category: Novice Men
1^st	Choong Tze Hin (SMU)	· 1 Timbuk2 Bag · $100 Takashimaya Voucher · 1 x 3 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
2^nd	Dennis Chua Ren Ming (TP)	· 1 x Madrock Shoes · $80 Takashimaya Voucher · ! x 1 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
3^rd	Randy Yeo Renyi (SP)	· 1 x Box of SoyJoy · $60 Takashimaya Voucher · 1 x 2 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
4^th	P. Arulmogan (SP)	· $60 Takashimaya Voucher
Invitational Category: Intermediate Women
1^st	Koh Xin Mei Daffodil (NUS)	· 1 Timbuk2 Bag · $100 Takashimaya Voucher · 1 x 3 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
2^nd	Sharul Syafiqah Bte Mohamed Yusof (SP)	· 1 Timbuk2 Bag · $80 Takashimaya Voucher · 1 x 2 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
3^rd	Chua Kai Xuan (TP)	· 1 x 3 Free Absolute Yoga Sessions · 1 x Box of SoyJoy · $600 Takashimaya Voucher
4^th	Foong Wei Ling (NP)	· $60 Takashimaya Voucher
5^th	Lim Shu Hui (NUS)	· $10 Takashimaya Voucher
Invitational Category: Intermediate Men
1^st	Bernard Kho (NTU)	· 1 Timbuk2 Bag · $100 Takashimaya Voucher · 1 x 3 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
2^nd	Clement Ee Guo Rong (TP)	· 1 Timbuk2 Bag · $80 Takashimaya Voucher · 1 x 1 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
3^rd	Allen Tan (NTU)	· 1 x Box of SoyJoy · $60 Takashimaya Voucher · 1 x 2 Month ClimbAsia Season Pass
4^th	Shaun Goh (NP)	· $60 Takashimaya Voucher
5^th	Chua Yi Xiong (NUS)	· $10 Takashimaya Voucher
Invitational Category: Open Women
1^st	Lin Kaishi Doris (NUS)	· 1 Timbuk2 Bag · 1 x Black Diamond Harness · $100 Takashimaya Voucher · 1 x 1 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
2^nd	Chloe Tan Yi Ting (TP)	· 1 Timbuk2 Bag · $80 Takashimaya Voucher · 1 x 2 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
3^rd	Sarah-Jean Toh (NTU)	· 1 x 3 free Absolute Yoga Sessions · $60 Takashimaya Voucher
4^th	Alyssa (TP)	· $60 Takashimaya Voucher
5^th	Uyanga (TP)	· $10 Takashimaya Voucher
Invitational Category: Open Men
1^st	Jensen Seah (NUS)	· 1 Timbuk2 Bag · 1 x Black Diamond Harness · $100 Takashimaya Voucher · 1 x 1 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
2^nd	Foo Xiu Quan Haroz (TP)	· 1 Timbuk2 Bag · $80 Takashimaya Voucher · 1 x 2 month ClimbAsia Season Pass
3^rd	Winson Teo (NTU)	· 1 x 3 month ClimbAsia Season Pass · $60 Takashimaya Voucher
4^th	Jansen Ko (NUS)	· $60 Takashimaya Voucher
5^th	Muhd Firos Bin Muhd Khamis (TP)	· $10 Takashimaya Voucher

· 1 Timbuk2 bag

Thank you all for your support! (:

See you again next year!

Gravical 2009!

2009-02-02T13:48:00.003+08:00

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

TOP 5 Team wins!

Prizes include:

Timbuk2 Bags, Cash vouchers, Ryders Eye wear, Shiseido hampers,

Frolick Vouchers and much more!

Don't miss out on the FUN!

Love,

SMU Climb Team

2009-01-28T23:24:00.006+08:00

Gravical is an annual climbing event organised by the SMU Climb Team to promote the sport and art of climbing to the rest of the SMU community. This year, Gravical plans to expand its shores from the Admin Building all the way to the Campus Green! One of the many exciting changes will also be a temporary bouldering wall standing at a yummilicious 4m! Isn't this the best time and chance to conquer that height-o-phobia???

Attractive prizes, lots of chalk, awesome jerseys to look forward to!

Venue: SMU Campus Green
Dates: 6th - 8th March (Friday to Sunday)

Events:

CLIMBING CLINICS!

Need some practice or just to get a feel of it? Join us at our climbing clinics on the 5th of Feb!
RSVP to the SMU Climb Team Account now!

SMU SCHOOL CATEGORY
- Carnival-styled climbing
- Form a team of four with a min. of 1 girl
- Girls get double points
- Get a chance to try out more than 10 routes where points can be scored
- Trump card system to get a chance for more points!

INVITATIONAL OPEN
- Novice, Intermediate, Open categories (limited to 3 per category per school)

Novice, Intermediate and Open (Men & Women)
- 4 routes: Start, Bonus, Top
- 8 qualify for the finals!
- Top 3 will win fabulous prizes!

(*Note: schools invited include NUS, NTU, SMU, TP, SP, NYP, RP, NP)

Fringe Activities
- Think thats all? we have surprise fringe activities to give out even More prizes :D

Cost:
- Early bird: $12
- Regular Prices: $15

Prizes:

Stand a chance to win Timbuk2 bags, Shiseido hampers, Frolick yoghurt vouchers, Ryders eyewear & laces, Absolute Yoga lessons and packages, climbing equipment, Level 1 Climbing vouchers and much, much more!!

Love,
Gravical Organising Committee!

First KL Trip of the Year =)

2009-01-19T12:06:00.002+08:00

Day 0 - Friday

So the KL trip was a short one, though not any less enjoyable. The crew were Crystal, Paul, Zhongyi, Mel, Michelle, Dickson (later nicknamed White Paw by Crystal & Atiqah) and Atiqah. For once the girls outnumbered the boys! Woot. It was the first KL trip for both Crystal & Paul, who were both, of course, very excited.

We left for KL as usual on our favourite cheap (actually not-so-cheap this time?) Transnational bus about 10pm. Mich plugged one of the aircon vents using toilet paper because it got “too cold”. She said she learnt the move by watching aunties. Got to Pujangga Homestay by 4am and crashed for the next few hours before setting off around 9am plus. It was raining by that time, so that meant Camp 5!

Day 1 - Saturday

Mostly spent doing lead climbs, we never ventured off the second floor. Michelle did a few 6a routes and onsighted a green slopperish 6b which she was very happy about because a)having her own pair of shoes motivated her and b)”I’m getting more serious about climbing, no more playing around”.
Dickson and Mel were tag teaming on 6c+ ball shrinking insane shit routes that they had to hang dog all the way up although dicks did try for a red point on this blue 6c+ and he was just speeding up the wall so that he doesn’t have time to get pumped =X took him abt an hour to de-pump from that act.
Paul clocked a personal best on number of climbs clocked in a day (a humble 7), pushing gradually through the 5c+s to touch the 6as and ending the day with a 6a+. Ah the 6a+. One thing one has to note about the walls at Camp 5is that they set the runners on them much like at a natural rock wall (i.e. they’re quite close to the bottom but gradually the runout begins to open up the higher you get). This proved to put paul in a steamy situation on the black/white swirl, juggy and twisty 6a+ (which was prior flashed by Dicks, Mellie, Mich and ZY.) Paulie took a fantastic lead fall here. Straightforward, twisty route on the incline which got to him in the end. pinched a jug (like wth) with his right hand and reached up to clip. it was the 4th or 5th clip from the anchor which meant that the runout was about 1.5m? reached up to clip in the rope. ZY gives slack. arm was at full extension. hand slip. FALLING! ZY stun. count airtime: 2 seconds? last clip catches paul but not before falling abt 3-4 runners. swing in contact the wall with both feet in a bang. everybody else in the area wonders "what the hell was that sound." ankle hurt abit. =P. balls shrink after that and it was OCOT (one clip one tight) for him nearly all the way after that.

Crystal and Atiqah spent the bulk of the time trying out the routes together, which meant a lot of nice topropes of 5c & 5c+, one finished and one unfinished lead, both 5c. Had a lot of fun doing this route which required a lot of mantling (yay new climb word Atiqah learned during the trip). Atiqah also learned that a 15kg bag is very useful for belaying. Also the ones who took the longest lunch break, the cause of which was shopping.

Hehh.

Saturday night: Had dinner at one of the restaurants along Jalan Alor. Because everyone keeps forgetting it was this restaurant or that restaurant they last ate at, Atiqah has been instructed to log this down. The restaurant was: Sun Chui Yuen, it had a yellow tablecloth, a lousy drink selection and was located next to the restaurant with the pink tablecloth. The food was apparently much better than the last place we ate at (which no one could remember was which stall). We had sambal kangkong, fried squid (tt’s seriously good stuff), hotpot taufu, 1kg grilled stingray all for abt RM 20 each After dinner was hot chingtung (Paul: OMG there’s a quail egg in it!) and then Zhongyi, Crystal and Atiqah went for a massage which was AMAZING. Definitely worth it after a full day of climbing. =D the rest headed back to Pujangga where mich and mellie attempted to teach Dickson how to play bridge and paul the finer points of bridging with live commentary abt the games. Paul concludes that he really sucks at bridge after that. (But he won all the Taiti games. =P)

Day 2 - Sunday

Spent at Damai Wall at Batu Caves. There were a lot of people there, locals, MJ kids and a French couple. Melly pointed out Lightning Grip which Mich, Zhongyi & White Paw tried on lead. On-sight attempt goes to mich & white paw (Dickson). *Allez* With poor mellie forfeiting the opportunity to lead it when she had to second it to clear the runners (after paul failed to do so after the 3rd clip). Mellie & Mich set-up some 5c routes for Crystal and I. White Paw & Zhongyi went shallow water soloing on a route over the big drain, which made White Paw very happy for some strange reason and put mellie and mich off it due to the sheer dirtiness of it. ZY also demonstrated how to strip on a climb with one hand =P. Atiqah did first ever natural lead, which was super scary and took so long because she was scared that the belayer (Michelle) would end up pissed. Paul did quite a few lead climbs on 5cs. Also did a little crack climbing after getting stuck on Reservoir Doggin’ (10m, 5c, 3 clips) by ascending on left instead of right. You know you’re on the wrong track when you bump into too many spiders and cobwebs on what-you-think-is-the-route =P. White Paw was the best, because he went off-course halfway during the climb (on 3 Brothers if I remember correctly) even though people were shouting at him. He then had to (and Atiqah quotes), “crimp all the way to the bolt on the other side and it was at the hard part. I was so angry!”. After happily climbing until 3 pm or so, we left to shower at Pujangga, grabbed a quick bite and boarded our bus back to home.

All in all we took like 4 cabs trips to and fro the different places, and the most eventful cab ride was this super old uncle who took a liking to taking to michelle and almost got us (Michelle, Atiqah, Crystal and Paul on the way from Jln Alor to 1 Utama) into an accident. Seriously. The car next to/slightly in front of skidded and did a 360 turn, missing us by like 30cm. And this was because our taxi driver was crazily taking up two lanes and drifting from left to right. For full details, ask mich cos the rest of us were sleeping during the exciting part. haha

Quote from Melly (at Damai), “I’m never coming here again”. Someone find more places for her to climb!

The climber-of-the-trip award would probably have to go to Dickson if there are no objections. Primarily for the barn-door-pull-up-clip-in-all-at-the-same-time move at Camp 5 on a 6c+ route mentioned earlier.

Altogether, the trip was successful despite the weather, lack-of-sleep and near-misses on the road. In concluding this log, we would like to thank everybody for their cooperation. Many thanks especially to
Michelle and Mellie whose tacit knowledge and wealth of experience made for a smooth and safe trip without which we probably would have had much much more difficulty.

Til the next trip…

Climb On!
Atiqah (with contributions from the rest)

Photos:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=69714&id=538271035
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=69718&id=538271035

Team Five Ton Ipoh Rock Trip Report from Ty

2008-12-26T13:46:00.006+08:00

Team Five Ton, consisting of Zhijian (Dave), Dickson (Chris), Tzehin (Obe) and Tim (Ty) were in Ipoh for 2 days to do some sick falling and hangdogging.

Prior to arrival, we had heard from Team NUS that 2 of their members had taken lead falls which splintered their ankles, this did not bode well for our balls but once we saw the NUS chicks, it was Rock On!

Day 1:

First warm up of day 1 went to Ty, who onsighted a fake 6a (its more like 5c+) and opened up superficial conversation with 2 of the nus girls. go Ty! Chris followed up with a send on the same route while Obe and Dave went around chatting to the girls (dave) or sitting in the shade looking cool (Obe).

Another route to the left of the fake 6a (a more real 6a) was correspondingly flashed/onsighted by all the climbers. We suspect the presence of cute girls brings your grade up by 1 or a half at least. This theory was put to the test further on Day 2.

Raring to go (but this time in an area where there were no girls), Ty proceeded with his onsight attempt of a 6a+ route (besides the 7c+ Effenhousen which Jensen was doing at the same time). He fell once but managed to complete the route, with a tenous bridging/smearing portion which brought new meaning to the word fear and almost made him religious again. A lucky deadpoint that stuck ensured he would not have left his head behind on the rock formation. The other 3, being better climbers, all flashed the route. So far so good, team five ton was not living up to its reputation yet.

Then came the highlight of the day (for Chris and Dave at least). The 7c+ boulder problem La Sculpture. Nestled within the underbelly of a nearby cave, this 8 metre boulder problem drives heavenwards in a series of smooth curves and bloodthirsty crimps 2 fingers thin. It brought out the best in Chris, who came the closest to sending, falling at the crux 2 finger small edge crimp on a wicked incline. We have never seen such intensity before, or moaning, when someone attempts a boulder problem.

Day 1 ended with a light drizzle, which also brought the bad news that the nus team was moving down to KL. No more chicks and still one more day of climbing to go. How will team five ton be motivated?

by the way , dave thinks judith is super hot stuff yo!

Day 2:

the day began with much lethargy, brought on by the lack of women, too much dim sum and a nice warm bed to snuggle up to Obe in.

still this was a day that ended with an epic.

team five ton started the day with a warm up on La Sculpture (7c+). If this sounds crazy to you, rest assured that it is because none of us could send it still. Dave eventually topped out on top rope and is now real close. He swears on his left earlobe he will be back to send during the mid term break. Total time spent trying to send: about 3 hours. Meanwhile, the other members of team five ton spent the downtime free soloing/traversing the cave (Ty) or simply topping out for fun (Ty, Chris, Obe) on the various boulders in the cave. Obe read the malaysian Star and drank Milo.

Then came the epic climb. Ty had been waking up in the middle of the night for the past 2 days thinking about taking lead falls and splintering his spleen. The only way to get rid of this fear? Try to onsight Fuzzy Lama (6c+).

For those who want to know, Fuzzy Lama is made up of small crimps and tenous footholds up a 30 metre route. there is a rest point at about halfway on a ledge and the beginning part is a warm up at about 6aish climbing. then the games begin. It is hard to put the essence of the climb into words, you have to do it for yourself. Much like having sex, but more intense.

Just before racking up, Ty took a few moments to try to compose himself (he failed). This time, the lack of hot chicks was a boon because it was ok to fail now. With Dave as his trusty belayer, Ty climbed on. The initial part was ok, then the holds started changing from cracks to 3 finger pockets, to 3 finger crimps to 2 finger crimps and 2 finger gastons. Somebody turn on the adrenaline. Ty recalls breathing as hard as if he was running a 2.4, only this time it wasnt from fatigue, it was from pure unadulterated fear. A little note: This is Ty's first time doing lead climbing on natural rock. Well, ok, the first was on day 1 technically but still...

A funny thing that Ty likes to do is call out to Dave and ask him if his legs are in the correct position if he falls (will not get tangled and flip him upside down) before mentally psyching himself up and doing a deadpoint move. In that single moment, Ty realised that prayers do work. He stuck a crack. He still doesnt know how he did it; the feeling was one of letting yourself be out of control but yet still in control, but just. Its like being on a fluttering scale and anything a little more will tip that balance into holy fucking shit. Ty made it to the second last clip, hangdogging once before that to rest his pumped out, useless forearms. Onsight is the bomb. onsighting 2 grades higher than your level may be suicidal. then came the real mental game. the sequence involved a short boulder move to the end of the route. start with a left sloper with a right 2 finger crimp and your legs are bridged wide out standing on small stuff. how small i dunno, small enough to make you wish you did those match feet exercises more. the sequence was to match feet, step waist high to the right and throw for the edge (and hope its good). The fall is about 6 metres in total with a slight sideways swing if u fuck up (correct me if im wrong dave it might be less although at 25 metres up it sure feels a lot more)

Ty made the sequence until it was time to match feet. He couldn't and he was getting pumped out like an exploding fire hydrant. fuck. time to test the equipment; shouting/screaming falling it was pretty ok. rested a bit and went up for the second try. got mentally stuck at the same spot again! tried to down climb but just fell anyway, this one was a bit harder, banged the heel and visions of broken ankles start swirling around in his head. by this time dave was getting a sore back (the whole climb took 30 minutes) and Ty was getting desperate. It was now or never. And it couldnt be never, not this close. Ty had to climb higher and stick the deadpoint.

An alternate sequence might be the order of the day. A left high step instead of matching feet with a throw using the left leg to push off instead of the right. The problem was the left foothold is a small outward facing sloper at just below waist height. time to trust God like never before. Ty was getting pumped out again. This was beginning to look stupid. Ty recalled that it is better to get injured while trying to win rather than just get injured while pumping out and falling. So he threw and thank the heavens it was a nice fat crimp. Ty's shout of joy dislodged a few rocks (just kidding) as he hauled his ass up that ledge and completed (but did not send, mind you) Fuzzy Lama. He doesnt know why he is so happy about not sending something. but then, thats team five ton for you. we can live with our flaws =)

Obe was up next and the mental game got to him halfway. He downclimbed to the ledge and did a bit of self talk (and possibly self stroking) and then flashed that son of a bitch. Same story for Chris as well, who went after him. Chris needed a good verbal fucking from his belayer Ty before he could throw for the last crimp (it gets to all of us). but i shall leave the complete details of each individual send up to the individual to write. interestingly, all of us took 30 minutes to complete the climb.

dave was the last up, speed climbing at one sixtieth the speed of sound in a compromised vaccuum in space to clear for the day. The end result: one comical onsight attempt, 2 flashes and a job well done.

After this, we went on the water slides, capsized and flew out. But that is another adventure.

And Obe likes to roar at tigers.

Regards
Tim 5c++
climber
Team Five Ton

the 4th Exco

2008-11-11T19:42:00.000+08:00

Elections

2008-09-27T21:49:00.002+08:00

Thanks to all those that were there to make AGM and the Post party. Think everyone had quite a lot of fun and that's all that matters

Next up, we have elections...

3rd October
SOB SR 2.4
4pm to 6pm

and then it's handover from the 3rd Exco to the 4th Exco =)

53rd (minus 50) Annual General Meeting!

2008-09-22T11:37:00.005+08:00

And no its not our 53rd AGM, well not yet anyway. Its only our 3rd =P. But of course, come on down! We'll be having food (and booze if you get bored half way through) and climbing video screenings during the meeting.

Still on a more serious note, the meeting will be discussing some of the more important issues to the club, like trainings, policy on outside trainings and of course overseas trips. So do come down! We hope to be able to see and hear from every one of the team's members =).

shoe shopping!!

2008-09-05T00:25:00.004+08:00

as most of you might or might not know. the only thing melly shops for is climbing gear!

date: Thursday (11th September)
time: 3.30pm
meeting point: Pick and Bite

we'll be heading to allsports and campus corner =)

contact Michelle @ 92351494 if interested.

Krabi Photos - Sun, Sand, Sea, Stone -

2008-08-15T10:43:00.004+08:00

Where the hell is melly??

2008-08-06T01:19:00.013+08:00

Okay so maybe not melly but thought that it would be nice to this put up. (Oh let it load all the way first if not u'll kinda miss the fun of it. =P)

Enjoy!

(Melly's in Krabi if you're wondering)

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Noel Out.

DAIRY FARM BBQ EXTRAVAGANZA

2008-08-01T15:51:00.001+08:00

Hellooooo!

Competitions are drawing to a close, the holidays are about to end (*sigh), and we are almost on our way to Krabi, what better way to enjoy the remaining days of this summer vacation than to relish good BBQ food among amazing company!

So come join us for our pre-school re-open, pre-Krabi climbing trip, post-compeition phase, Dairy Farm BBQ Extravaganza. Jian Wei has kindly allowed the BBQ to be held at his premises (*cough bachelor pad) at Dairy Farm Estate.

Where: Dairy Farm Estate (BBQ)
When: 2nd August 2008, 4pm

How: Follow the yellow brick road as always, it'll lead you to the Wizard of Oz and eventually Diary Farm Estate. In other words, Dairy Farm Estate is located off Upp Bukit Timah Road near Standard Chartered Bank and Salvation Army. You could also take these bus services 75, 171, 170, 67, 961, 178 to get there.

Reply to CLIMB TEAM to confirm your attendance.

Yours
SYA

to NSSCC and back

2008-07-28T10:50:00.005+08:00

and so we went,
to ulu pasir ris. and
found a wall t’was similar to ours
the features were nostalgic
the tiles too familiar
it felt like home, just upgraded.

thanks for all the supporters. and i must say... the dark knight... it rocks!

NSSCC... be there this Sunday to support our climbers!

2008-07-18T01:34:00.000+08:00

Heya,

SMU Climbers will be sending down our climbers to participate in the National Schools Sports Climbing Championship so we really do hope that you’ll be able to come support them!

In the A Division Men Lead Climbing category, we have climber no. 8: Noel Situ Wen, climber no. 23: Hong Heng Jiong, climber no. 29: Choong Tze Hin, climber no. 35: Lau Chee Chong and climber no. 42: Asy-syahiid Tan! In the A Division Women Lead Climbing category, we have climber no. 14: Melissa Ho and 21: Michelle Ong!!! *applause*

Registration closes at 2.30pm and the demonstration climb is at 3pm and the climbers will start at about 3.30pm lasting all the way till 7.30pm. each person is given 6 mins so you can roughly do the math as to when we’ll get to see our climbers. The competition is at MJC who has a relatively similar wall to us although it somehow just looks way cooler. esp their bouder area.

There will be NO isolation for qualifiers so do head on down to give your support and advice! (esp the gurus!)

The movie plan to catch the dark knight after the competition is still on. We’ll be heading down to tampines to catch the 8pm show. So far we have Ryan, Tze Hin, Syah, Biao, Noel and Melly. Anyone else who’s interested please reply by Friday night 2359 so that noel can book the tickets!

Oh. and there will be no training this sat so do come down and support on sunday

See you there!!

Dairyfarm =)

2008-07-12T20:57:00.009+08:00

great day for climbing it was. slightly overcast with breeze and in the shelter of the trees, we were more or less in a world of our own.

The Cast

Noel: 1st up the wall

Heng: emo boy

Jianwei: dairyfarm estate!!!

Syah: music + photo man

Tze Hin: the man!!! runner clearer!

Michelle: not enough sleep

Melly: self-nominatied belay + beta slave

Cheech: hmm.... no blood no glory

Area 1: Boring and Meaningless Section
Routes Attempted:

Boring and Meaningless (5b... that's not a 5b)

jianwei on a slopper ledge trying to get up

Acrophobia variant (6b... that's leadable with lotsa beta)

tze hin on the route clearly calm in approaching the crux

Tales of Power (6a+... crimpy balance-y moves that melly likes!... ends with tree hugging)

travelling to the other wall

Area 2: Homage Section
Route Attempted:

Homage to Gullich (6b+...)

Our tag team effort here.

Tze Hin clipped the 1st clip and placed the runner for the 2nd

Noel clipped the 2nd clip and the 3rd clip

Attempts by syah, heng

Tze Hin clips the last clip and finishes it

Heng clears 1st runner

Melly clears rest of runners

The funniest ever but the route was hard and our runner man mr tze didn't disappoint us =) Left no clips behind thankfully.

Can't believe we actually spent the whole day there. from 10am in the morning all the way till 6pm.

We will be back for more.

M-M-Monster Melly! (Rockamania 2008)

2008-07-11T21:30:00.005+08:00

Think this post is abit late but here it is anyway! =D

It was Rockamania time again! This year it was on 5th and 6th of July at Tampnies Poly. We managed to send down 3 people: Sya, Cheech & Mel. (Though we would've sent down more but they had a last min change of start time from morn to afternoon and some people couldnt make it)

Sya climbing on the Mens Intermediate Route

Heres Cheech on the route too!

But thats not the highlight of Rockamania 2008! She came, she joined and she kicked butt. (2nd place butt to be exact) Yup! Thats right! Melly won 2nd for the Womens Intermediate Cat at Rockamania 2008! Now we have our first ever Open cat climber for almost every thing! :DD

This is why we all should take a trip down to Mallorca in Spain lol. Next up NSSCC! (Formerly NISCC) The National Schools Sport Climbing Championship!

Noel Out

cLimbing in mallorca~!

2008-07-10T14:49:00.035+08:00

woot. noel blackmailed me to post about mallorca so i shall =)

Mallorca: the place where sharma climbed es pontas in Santanyí
Rock Type: Limestone
Date: 23rd to 27th June 2008 (Summer)
Weather Conditions: Hot and Dry in the day, Cool and Dry in the evening (best climbing time from 6pm to 9pm)

Didn't managed to visit that many sites but went to two sites for climbing and one deep water solo-ing site.

Site 1: S'estret (Sector Cuarenton)
Attempted: Movimiento Sexy (5+), Part Forana (5+), Red Stain (6b+), Busibus (6c+)

The 5+ were quite slabby so easy warm up climbs for the two of us who hadn't climbed for about 2 weeks. slightly sharp as expected for limestone.

Interesting techinical 6c+ with a super drop knee move.

Met a few other climbers in that area. Seems to be quite a popular site and they were quite friendly and as usual interested in the "Singaporeans". Didn't really get a chance to lead. Heard that in that area, you apparently can do canyonning if it's been raining also. Small little river running parralel to where we climbed but no mozzies! haha. not that they ever bothered me anyways.

One of them had this huge dog who tried climbing and failed and then got emo and then just laid around and just sat down and stared and who knows what.

Great first day of climbing in general=)

Site 2: Porto Pi (Deep Water Solo)

Dun really have soft copy photos for this yet. all printed out and lazy to scan it. Had a really hard time finding this site despite having a guide book. cos it's this cave facing the sea and when you're on land it's hard to tell.

Germs and I snorkelled around the coast before finally stumbling upon it but due to the lack of a dry bag (and thus climbing gear) we just enjoyed the fact that we found it and tried getting up in our sandals and left it as that =) The place was quite smelly though, cos of all the pigeons and who knows what that made their next in the caves. water had lotsa feathers and misc things that i probably dun wanna even think about.

We were really on the wrong side of the island for dws so quite a waste. Didn't even get to see es pontas =(

Site 3: Andratx (dunno for sure if the photo i took was of it)

Quite a trek up to where we had to climb but well worth it. Was just glad i didn't sprain anything on the way up and down. View was just superb and slight breeze that made it nice and cooling despite the high temperature.

Seems like a less popular site (maybe cos of the long way up) and we were the only ones there. climbs were still decent and the walls were slightly flatter as opposed to the slabbier first site.

Scarier bit when leading was that the anchor points were bit off to one side from the routes (unless we found the wrong ones of course) so reaching the anchor required a slight traverse. Germs did her first lead on natural!

Our host for our stay in mallorca - Christ and Helen who gladly drove us to the climbing sites after work and lend us equipment and all. Christ was also nice enough to lead up the routes for us poor girls. If not for him i probably wouldn't have a chance to try out the nice 6c+ and 6c's in mallorca!

a must go if you have the spare $$$. a lifetime of routes there so you'll never get bored. Minimum grades for dws seemed to be 6a though. Oh yar, if you wanna see more photos. just go check them out on facebook. Germs and I both uploaded them

already =)

Climb hard, climb safe!

2008-06-11T20:54:00.006+08:00

Heya Everyone! Some of you may have already noticed the new (Yes really, betcha didn't notice hor?) safety board that we got for the wall recently. We've updated some of the safety protocols and regulations for climbing at the wall. Don't worry, I know it looks like a lot of stuff but its really not that much. Its meant to make sure ur climb safe and enjoyable =D. Stay tuned for more stuff from us! (No more rules this time we promise!)

Noel out.

Blog Revamp!!

2008-05-04T18:10:00.002+08:00

Heya everyone!

I'm sure u've noticed some changes to the blog, well we're currently in the process of redeveloping it to make it better and of course more fun for everyone =). So stay tuned for more!

All comments good or bad are welcomed too! Just write them down in the comments for this post. Tell us everything and anything! We welcome suggestions too =D.

some boulderactive2008 photos..

2008-04-02T23:25:00.010+08:00

men's novice team

nm0023 dickson

nm0053 noel

nm0058 cheech

nm0089 zhongyi

nm0071 syah

im0016 heng

ow0015 mel

okay i don't have your pic here huanmin
don't be sad lar

Smugging Time

2008-04-01T21:52:00.002+08:00

Time for the once a sem mugging spree. No training till after the exams although you're welcome to otot at the boulder wall as long as no one chases you out.

Training details will be out once we get the booking matrix for summer.

All the best~!

melly (looking forward to the after exams kl climbing cum chill out session)

BoulderActive - Rated X

2008-03-24T20:26:00.002+08:00

haha. i'm starting to notice a trend in our group shots. at least i'm not the only gal this time. but dickson... although we didn't own (more of got owned...) i'm sure we still had fun. hopefully those who had their first comp (cheech and dickson) will be back for more XD and maybe just maybe. we'll be able to get in a few more gals and be able to participate in the team event. really need to find out the secret of how nus has so many gal climbers.

Congrats to all our climbers for their great effort!

SMU Climb Team goes to Climb Asia

2008-03-16T11:43:00.004+08:00

we came. we climbed. we conquered!

a day of hard core climbing that shagged out everyone and killed fingers & toes but not our spirit!

(no i was not the only girl there..missing in this photo: ashley,hailing, dong hao and our dear hicky who had to leave early)

2008-03-13T15:17:00.000+08:00

NO Training on Thursday =(

2008-02-13T00:13:00.000+08:00

Due to unpopular demands and much unwelcomed complains, training this thursday has been cancelled so that couples can spend time with that special other person.

For those lonely singles who really have nothing else better to do. You are welcome to email or sms or call melly and we can work something out. goodness. this sounds like a damn despo request =.=" potential plans so far are to go down to climb asia to climb or maybe just go catch a movie.

Lots of Love =)
Melly

2008 Competitions

2008-02-02T19:34:00.003+08:00

Just an update on the competitions for the year so that you can block out those dates in advance and psyche yourselves up!!

Date	Organiser	Type	Venue
16th March	Climb Asia (Climbing Carnival)	Bouldering, Difficulty	Climb Asia
21st March to 23rd March	NUS (Boulderactive)	Bouldering	Plaza Singapura
17th May to 25th May	SP (Rockmaster)	Bouldering	Central @ Clarke Quay
30th May to 1st June	NTU ODAC (Pumpfest)	Bouldering	Kallang Leisure Park
13th June to 15th June	TP (Rockamania)	Difficulty + Speed	Temasek Poly
4th July to 6th July	NP	Difficulty	TBC
18th July to 20th July	SMF (NSSCC)	Speed	TBC
Aug/Sept	Climb Asia (Climb On!)	Bouldering + Speed	TBC
10th Oct to 12th Oct	RP	Difficulty + Bouldering	RP

Closer to the competition dates we’ll send out an email with more details and to also get response on who’s participating and representing SMU Climb Team =)

Gravical 2008 was awesome!! =D

2008-01-28T11:44:00.000+08:00

Thank you to everyone who came to Gravical 2008! It was great seeing so many people come down! Do visit us again next year!

Here are the winners of Gravical 2008:

Adidas Climb Challenge
1st Place: Team UFO (Frisbee)
2nd Place: Dragons (DragonBoat)
3rd place: TTTX (SMUX Trek)

Inter-Faculty Challenge
1st Place: Team Asoc
2nd Place: SOE Team 1
3rd Place: SOSS

If you wish to check out the photos from Gravical 2008 you can download them here (95mb, pdf format).

Do visit us again next year!

Gravical is Proudly Sponsored by:

Gravical is proudly supported by:

Happy Birthday Hicky =)

2008-01-25T07:25:00.001+08:00

Gravical 2008!

2008-01-15T16:01:00.000+08:00

Gravical 2008!
It's that time of year again! Come join SMU's annual rock climbing competition & extravaganza held on Friday the 25th of January! Gravical is a rock climbing competition held annually within SMU, and is open to all students (Undergrad & exchange as well).

How does Gravical work?
It’s easy! Just find 3 other buddies* to take part with you in Gravical and the team with the most points at the end wins! During Gravical participants will get to try a variety of rock climbing problems, each worth a different amount of points depending on its difficulty.

We have 2 categories during Gravical 2008:
Category 1: adidas© Climb Challenge
1st Prize: $1000 adidas© voucher

Category 2: Inter-Faculty Climb Challenge
Represent your faculty!
1st Prize: $400 Takashimaya voucher

What do I get if I join Gravical?
In the CCA category, you stand a chance to win a $1000 adidas voucher for your entire team! That’s $250 per member of the team! In the inter-faculty category you still stand a chance to win $400 in Takashimaya vouchers.

Sounds great! How do I sign up?
Come on down to our booth in front of Pick & Bite on the 15th - 17th (Tues - Thurs) & 21st - 23rd (Mon - Wed) of January. We'll be there from 11am to 5pm.

Alternatively you can also write in to us at: climb@sa.smu.edu.sg

Can’t find 4 people to take part with you in Gravical?
That isn’t a problem too! Come down to the sports hall at the admin block and take part in our Mini-Boulder challenge! It’s free of charge and there’s no need to register. Whats more, if you complete our challenge you’ll get a special bonus prize! We’ve got 3 different boulder problems for everyone to try out and each with their own individual bonus prize! Simply talk to our friendly staff near the boulder alley behind the wall and they’ll be happy to let you try it out.

What else is there at Gravical besides climbing?
Then come on over and check out other fun happenings at Gravical 2008. There’ll also be booths from sponsors offering great discounts, songs by live bands, even a HOT yoga demonstration by the cool Yoginis from AbsoluteYoga Singapore.

Come down to Gravical 2008! on the day itself, our officials will be going around looking for the "Best Supporters!" at Gravical 2008. Be loud, ethusiastic, and funky dressed! Make your presence felt and stand a chance to win a $100 Frujch voucher on the spot!

Be part of Gravical and also receive a goodie bag full of vouchers and various offers from merchants around Singapore!
Ryders Eyewear will be specially offering all spectators 10% off on the day! And 20% off for all Gravical 2008 participants!

Have a burning question to ask? Email us at climb@sa.smu.edu.sg

Gravical is Proudly Sponsored by:

Gravical is proudly supported by:

Picies!

2007-12-30T16:55:00.000+08:00

Christmas Gathering at Dong Hao's place! =)

Group shot!

Melly & Debs having a go at a christmas cracker.

Cooking up some great food over "Live" coals :p

We had steamboat too!

Training Times for Year 07-08 Term 2

2007-12-25T17:08:00.000+08:00

Hi Acro-Junkies~!

New Training Time for Term 2:
Tuesday: 8pm to 10pm
Thursday: 7.30pm to 10pm
Saturday: 3pm to 6pm

Also, do note that there will no longer be weekly walk-ins on Thursday but we’ll instead be setting aside one or two days solely dedicated to walk-ins during the term (in line with Gravical)

Merry Christmas,
mel ho ho ho

Trainings for Dec Hols (before KL trip)

2007-12-03T17:54:00.001+08:00

*fyi*

4th Dec 2007 - NUS

#meet at bouna vista mrt @ 6pm. please contact mel (hp: 93626283) if interested and willing. will climb till around 9.30 to 10pm

6th Dec 2007 - Climb Asia

#meet straight at climb asia. climb time from 4.30 pm till late. for those who didn't know. climb asia's having some changes to membership prices (those who are members dun forget to upgrade your membership by 15th dec or waste $20) and the outdoor wall is open too.

check out their webbie for more update details: http://www.climb-asia.com/

8th Dec 2007 - Safra Yishun

#$10 bucks for a whole day of climb from 10 am to 9.30 pm. Participants will receive a free event t-shirt, supper and free coffee and tea at 12 midnight and certificate of participation. we'll meet there at 10am and climb till chui =) quote huanmin "Climb, lunch, climb, dinner, climb. sounds good? sounds good!"

11th Dec 2007 - Sports Hall

#adjam in the morning. training as usual in the evening. prob drawing logistics for kl trip too.

13th and 15th Dec

#NO TRAINING as we will be in KL

Folks!

2007-11-24T02:55:00.000+08:00

Do RSVP VERY SOON if you're interested! Places are running out! :)

Cool Boulder Probs

2007-11-10T18:10:00.000+08:00

imagine bouldering on these guys XD think the sheep is damn zai to even get there...

got them all from http://deputy-dog.com/2007/11/06/these-rocks-rock/

Some climbing words of wisdom

2007-11-03T19:06:00.001+08:00

something that was posted on one of my facebook groups :)

How Climbing is Like Marriage

It all begins with the tying of the knot

Give'em too much slack can lead to serious trouble

Give'em too much tension can lead to serious trouble

Partner will be upset at you for not paying attention to them especially if you`re admiring others

After a long hard day you don`t care how your partner looks or smells

Sometimes you think to yourself "What the hell am I doing this for?!" ...but then you remember...

You need harnesses, ropes, and hardware but if all you want to do is climb then add chalk

"Soloing" will build rock-hard forearms but may lead to an obsessive habit

Getting to the top is half the goal, you have to get off as well

Nothing feels better than sliding you hand into a nice crack

some stuff to see

2007-10-30T11:25:00.000+08:00

Hey all

I chanced upon a very nice blog of our friendly NTU climb team
I find their topic on techniques and lessons very useful
Also featuring their bouldering wall..now thats what i call a bouldering wall man (nice angle!!!)

URL: ntuclimbs.blogspot.com

Rgds
Merv

Climb team damn happening!!!!!

2007-10-27T22:24:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time ,there was a land. Within the land laid abundance of precious and famous Black & White jugs (Resources)

However because of this, the land became a war
torn zone and divided between 2 reigning warlords namely Melissa Ho (aka MX'O') and Rampage Ryan Koh.They were fighting over the Jugs and after many devlish rounds of intensive battles and relentless assaults,they had a showdown.Rampage Ryan then compared armsize with MXO, then he was shocked and traumatized that his eons of guru training did nothing to boost his arm size.

All of a sudden,sinister Ryan gave a evil laughter..."I wont allow someone to possess what i dont have!" In a fit of anger and frustration, Rampage Ryan proceeded to gobble all the seemingly suggestive Black & White Jugs .

Just before gobbling 'tha' Jugs,Ryan spotted a tridude-couple family happily savouring another Black & White Jug, and he realised the land is best left peaceful and serene so that it will prosper and the "Jugs" will be shared and enjoyed by many others after him.He was so ashamed that he had constantly fought for destruction for the past decades that he immediately left the land and with a great leap, soared to the skies and took off to what seems to be France.MXO was crowned the president and she led the members to live happily ever after.(No economic theories here pls, assume infinite resources and supply demand equilibrium)

This pic from our after election dinner at Esplanade cant seem to fit it anywhere.But i thought this guy was interesting

Im suffering from severe sleep deprivation but i suddenly had a stroke of genius and wrote this (Ignore the grammatical problems).

Dedicated to all
from top to bottom ,the pics are mainly ...Supposedly Ryan and Jess's birthdayCakes from Menotti , Melissa and Ryan's arm size comparison,Ryan gobbling the cake,Songbiao ,Noel and Dickson cutting the birthday cake they had today at training-(hey this shows it pays to be a SMU climb team member,look at all the wonderful gifts they got)-cool funky loafers for Dickson..(throw yr crocs away pls), Damn cool Dragon climbing pants for Nigg..oops ..Noel i mean, powderful Beal chalkbag for Ryan in his all season popular green (er to him) as well as the powderful chalkbag for Songbiao to send him sending routes in future as well as a homemade,one in the entire face of the earth card with lots of love for Jess woohoo!!!!

time to get back working

Cya all climbing hunks and babes especially the freshmen, Climb on !!!

Merv

Climb Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Melly

2007-10-23T23:17:00.000+08:00

Heya everyone!

Thanks to the 2nd exco of climb team for a excellent year of great leadership and landmark events!

Of course without further a due, lets welcome the official 3rd exco of Climb Team!

(Click to see full size!)

Time flies...

2007-10-06T14:50:00.001+08:00

Wahaha, I shall follow Roy's tradition & pay a tribute to the 2nd Batch of outgoing exco:

Calvin

Mervyn

Melissa (The new President)

Peishan

Dexter

Soo Leng

Ashley

Terence

Lastly, All the best to the 3rd batch of new Exco Members!

Sports Fiesta 07

2007-10-06T00:36:00.000+08:00

The Volleyball Team @ Sports Fiesta 07!

Though we lost by a close margin, it was a great game indeed!

After training....

2007-09-28T12:31:00.000+08:00

Acro-Junkies AGM

2007-09-21T08:50:00.000+08:00

Glass Half Full: Lessons learned are off the wall

2007-09-18T15:59:00.000+08:00

For all you people who need more reasons to climb :) -js

By Traci Cox, staff writer
Posted on September 17, 2007
Rock climbing at UREC offers more than just a workout
As ridiculous as climbing rocks sounds, rock climbing is a knee-shaking, challenging and addictive adrenaline rush. For those of you who have had the opportunity to repress your dread of dangling from the end of a thin purple rope and surmount the 33 foot wall at UREC, you know how good it feels when you finally reach that teeny tiny top anchor that has been sustaining your entire body weight for several minutes.

Relief, pride, an inkling of nausea — who knew so much satisfaction could come from scrambling up a bunch of knobby holds. More than just a full-body workout, rock climbing, whether just to see if you can survive the wall at UREC or in planning an expedition to K2, teaches innumerable lessons about trust, human weaknesses and all that “inner-strength” stuff Dr. Phil can’t shut up about.

After sitting in the UREC atrium for half an hour staring at some smelly guy swinging effortlessly up the wall, you decide to conquer your fear, make your fourth trip to the bathroom and fill out the “well, I guess this is how I’m going to die” waiver. It takes a lot of trust to put your life in the hands of another person, let alone someone you’ve never met. While this may not seem like a big deal to some, it’s astounding how reluctant people are to fully depend on another person.

A climber must quickly learn to trust his or her fellow climbers, a few metal pieces of equipment and a giant slab of rock. If you didn’t know already, your anchored belay, while standing on the ground, is quietly humming Cindy Lauper’s lyrics “If you fall I will catch you, I’ll be waiting, time after time.” We should have this trust all the time, not only when we’re between a rock and thin air.

Yeah, rocks are tough. Climbing is more taxing than it looks. Once your terror of heights is conquered, you still have to find a decent place on the wall to sustain your shaking limbs. Only when you’re high above the ground, faced with a dilemma between a hold the size of a gherkin or one the size of a tea candle, do you realize what a humbling experience climbing is. What chipped and dangerously smooth crevice will you choose next?

Climbing forces you to think positively and practice problem-solving skills. Encouragement is crucial. Smart feet and an even quicker mind are just as important as the rope to which you’re tied. It’s unfortunate that so many people are negative and discouraging about many aspects of life. People are in such a rush to “get to the top” instead of enjoying the climb. Who cares if you didn’t make it on your first try? Be proud of yourself. You can always try again, and again, and again.

I like to picture climbing as a bushy, white-haired, pensive and wise old man. He could be like Santa Claus, without the big belly but still carrying a giant bag of presents.

There are a lot of life lessons to be learned and delightful metaphorical gifts to be gained. You become stronger person, not just your forearms but your mind as well. Patience, trust and optimism are other elements that can be taken from the wall. Oh little grasshoppers, what a strong rock of confidence you shall become!

If you want to climb well and learn to do other things in life just as well, stop thinking about how awkward those harnesses look, and just climb.

Traci Cox is a junior English major.
http://www.thebreeze.org/2007/9-17/op2.html

Runnin' About

2007-09-15T02:40:00.001+08:00

Today the Acrojunkies show that, not only can we climb,

We can even fly. (It's a hyperlink. Yes, you should click on it.)

Bond Bond Session @ Sentosa

2007-09-10T14:09:00.000+08:00

yup yup. i know this is rather overdue.
have already seen the photos of the 2nd half but not the wet first half at sentosa =D

frisbee or volleyball?

monkeys on a rock

our rain goddess

eeeeee

much better. haven't seen mervyn smile like that in a while XD
must have been the mud balls we were throwing at him

vanessa too hyper that the camera can't capture her.

and dear soo leng who refuses to let me take a photo of her

CCA Day 07

2007-08-27T00:45:00.000+08:00

CCA Day 2007 (Start from bottom)

Brought to u by Acro-junkies Production.

Last but not least, 'Transformers, Ryan in disguise'

Group Shot 2

He's attached too. Haha.

Beauties of Climb Team. Sorry guys, both of them are attached.

Group Shot 1

Our Acro-junkies @ work. Dexter looked shagged but that's becoz HE REALLY WAS! Working on his FYP and CCA Day really drained him. Kudos to him!

All smiles on Zhongyi's face. Hm.. Wonder what's he looking at?

Peter, Jason, Tiny and the Chopsticks Sisters

Our Acro-Models

What's Mellie doing at the btm of the pic again?

CLIMB ON Acro-Junkies!

CCA -Day

2007-08-24T00:15:00.000+08:00

Do come down to our booth tmr located opposite the POSB atm~!

Remember to wear your ACRO-Junkie singlet too =)

cya there

Pictures from Krabi!

2007-08-19T14:56:00.000+08:00

Heya everyone!

Here are the pictures from the Krabi bunch!

PHOTOS UP!

2007-08-19T02:52:00.000+08:00

VIVOCITY, 18TH AUGUST 2007

Dear Diary,

Today, I learnt that nothing beats brainless card games. Under the influence of cheap alcohol. And an abundance of carcinogenic junk foods. With untrustworthy and sadistic friends (heh, heh). 2 days before the shit known as school starts.

Bring it on!

Check out what you missed!

CLIMB ON! SINGAPORE 2007

2007-08-17T00:21:00.000+08:00

YES! Climb On! Singapore is here again!

2 whole days of the craziest climbing activities like you know it! Speed Climbing, Bouldering Carnival, Dyno World Record, Flying Fox, Abseiling, Workshops ... even mountain biking and an adventure race ... need we say more?

SIGN UP NOW to be part of this year's rockin' cool games @ Tampines.

8th, 9th September. SEE YOU THERE!

side note: climb asia will be closed from the 6th to the 11th of sept cos of this

Entry Fees
* Individual categories (Main event) - $14
* Speed climbing / Dyno event - $5
* Team event - $56
++ Late payment after 31 August, fees double (Eg. Individual category - $28, Team category - $112)
+++ Registration only complete and place confirmed after payment has been made

Please drop the climb team account if you want to take part =)

New Logos!

2007-08-16T13:08:00.001+08:00

Hello Everyone!

Here are 2 new logos fresh from oven! Kudos to Dex!

Oh, and dun forget our bond bond session this Saturday @ Sentosa! We'll be meeting 11am @ Harbourfront interchange to grab a bite before going down..

Cya all there!

Logo 1

Logo 2

the Next top model. part 2

2007-08-03T11:20:00.001+08:00

aren't we all just such photowhores...

never knew the guy's toilet was so interesting. got ambience XD

3 cheers to those who were down that day!

and of course a hundred praises goes to our shagged out photographer hm
who did such a great job
(still wanna kill you for thinking up the last shot though)

C= Looking forward to more photos =D

Additional Logos from Dexter

2007-07-29T14:37:00.000+08:00

Logo 1

Logo 2

2007-07-27T00:42:00.000+08:00

forum is down for a bit. if anyone is even wondering. something about hard disk crashing? will be up and running once busy noel finds time to fix it. cos i clearly dunno nuts about stuff like that.

Training Times from 30th July 2007

2007-07-20T23:29:00.000+08:00

Yay! We got relatively good slots for the coming term (ie not much change for now) although this is only valid till the new dojo (projected late sept) comes up then there might be changes.

Tuesday: 7pm to 10pm
Thursday: 7.30pm to 10pm (walk-ins)
Saturday: 9am to 11.30pm

(note the slight change. but i'm sure you guys can get up a bit earlier for the sake of climbing right???)

New additions

2007-07-18T10:48:00.000+08:00

Heya,

As you can see from the side bar on the right, we have had various additions namely the "Forum" and the "Library".

We hope that you guys will be able to make use of this extra stuff that we have put together and will be open to any feedback on how we can better improve the climb team to make it a better place (eee... sounds so cheesy... but you get the idea)

We will also need your support in helping to make the things we initiate a success and if you do think that some of the things we are proposing will not work. Do feel free to share with us your opinions too (You can use the FORUM for this =)

Many Thanks =)

Launch of SMU Climb Team Library

2007-07-18T10:35:00.000+08:00

Heya =)

Starting this Thursday, we are officially launching our new climb team library. Many thanks goes to Soo Leng who has painstakenly put together the catalogue and also did up the details on loaning policy which is stated below.

Loaning Policy:

Loan quantum: 1 book per person at any one point in time
Loan Tenure: 2 weeks
Reservation may be made if copies of a certain book is not available for loan
Members are encouraged to return the books on time (no overdue fines shall be imposed; but should there be an overwhelming numbers of overdue loans in future, overdue fines may be imposed. Thus, members are encouraged to return the books on time for the good of all =P)
Members are to be held accountable for any loss/damage to the book borrowed during the loan tenure
Members may contact Soo Leng at climb.sac@smu.edu.sg to check availablity of book and obtain confirmation of loan.
Library is open on Tues (730pm-930pm); Thurs (730pm-930pm) and Sat (11am-1230pm) only.

For the list of books : CLICK HERE

We do hope that you guys can make use of the library to improve your climbing =)

Rockamania

2007-07-16T17:01:00.000+08:00

Our Climbers did us proud in the following competition held the past weekend at the ulu Temasek Poly=). Routes were sick and not too well set. And they made us isolate for sooooo long. But in the end we survived it.

Congrats to Noel for getting into the finals for novice guys with a final placing of 6th and Melly for getting into finals for intermediate girls with a final placing that was seriously chui (dun ask). Huanmin came in close too with a placing of 9th in the novice guys category. And we must not forget Tiny, Zhong Yi and Heng who also did climb the routes rather well too. =D

And thanks goes to Ryan, Huiting (who i think is gonna kill me for posting this photo of her) and Merv for their support =) Wanted to post noel's climb since he got the highest but he threatened to destroy the blog... oh wells. Gave up after uploading tiny's cos i got impatient with the slow uploading.. If you want the rest of the videos just get it straight from me.

A post for the Seniors

2007-07-13T02:22:00.000+08:00

Hello Climbers!

Just some random post and I thought of posting up some pics of the fun days that we had!
Oh, and we also miss seniors like Hailing, Manchi, Apple, Weizhong, Eunice, Roy, Xiuting, Tengli, Stephanie, Danny etc etc... Please drop by when you guys are free okies! =)

Roy, Apple, Eunice & Calvin

Our trip to Batu Caves & Camp 5 last Oct 06

Climb Team won the Dragonboat race during Watershock!
Our feast in Fish & Co thereafter

Our CNY, Halloween gatherings, Sports Fiesta 06

& Vivace 06!

Oh, and be reminded that there will be no training on this coming Saturday (14th July) due to Rockamania..

Do go down and show your support to Heng, Calvin, Mellie, Noel, Zhongyi, Huanmin and Dexter who are taking part in this upcoming competition!

Climbing Videos

2007-07-03T02:06:00.000+08:00

For the folks who are, like me, dying of boredom at home:

http://www.zanik.pl/filmy/

http://www.urbanclimbermag.tv/

http://www.norope.com/video.htm

http://www.modump.com/movies.php

http://www.vertvideo.com/ - check out the Ford Adventure Sport Challenge under 'Competitions' for some really nasty moves.

http://www.drtopo.com/videos

Enjoy!

Rockamania

2007-07-02T21:47:00.000+08:00

Climbing competition around the corner

competition is at Temasek Poly from 14-15 July
will be goodies bag and T shirt

Pls contact Tiny for more details and to sign up
his number is 90997643

theres novice ,intermediate and opens

Drafts of New Club Logo

2007-06-28T00:50:00.000+08:00

Hello Acro-Junkies!

As promised during the meetup session on Tuesday, here are the new club logos that Dexter has drafted. Please note that these logos are not finalized and we are awaiting for all of your opinions, feedbacks, comments to help us create a logo that all of us can identify with to the students/staff population in SMU!

So, keep your comments coming in, whether through the blog, email and/or sms!!

Logo 1

Logo 2

Logo 3

Logo 4

Logo 5

Scalatabel Challenge

2007-06-25T13:52:00.000+08:00

A climbing festival in Thaurac, France as part of Petzl Roc Trip.. Steve McClure flashing 8b, and 8c, 2nd try.. Watch Sharma and Graham make a 7c, drunken and obviously stoned...haha

http://perso.orange.fr/worklessclimbmore/Scalatabelfilm.htm

Da Pro

2007-06-24T22:31:00.001+08:00

Some fren of mine sent it to me

Pretty goodstuff ....this 6 yr old singing
see and u will know why
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En0A8KGMgq8

Pictures - Vertigo on 24th June

2007-06-24T18:57:00.000+08:00

It is the Vertigo competition @ Yishun Safra today. Many many rounds of applause to Heng, Dexter & Jason who took part in it!

Here are some pictures of the competition taken today:

Jason, Dexter & Heng before the competition starts...

All 3 getting geared up for the competition!

All 3 in action

Smiles after the competition

The next upcoming competition is Rockamania XIII on 14th & 15th July. If you're interested to take part, please let Calvin know before 30th June so that he can arrange the registrations for you.

Cya all during trainings then!! =)

Rockamania XIII

2007-06-20T01:36:00.000+08:00

Date: 14th (Qualifiers) and 15th July (Finals)
Type of Competition: Difficulty + Speed
Category: Open (as opposed to close which is for TP people only)
. Novice (strictly less than 1 year climbing experience)
. Intermediate
. Speed

Rockamania School’s Championship: School’s ranking will be based on the best three competitors of each school in each category.

Cost will be subsidized by the climb team if you register through us. Dateline for signing up with us is 30th June 2007.

Contact Calvin or email climb@sac.smu.edu.sg if you're interested in signing up

Vertigo

2007-06-18T05:55:00.000+08:00

Student Speed Challenge in conjunction with SAFRA Open House
Sunday, 24th June 2007
10am - 2pm
25m Walls
SAFRA Adventure Sports Centre, SAFRA Yishun

Individual Category: Above 17 guys or Above 17 gals
School Category: Up to 8 teams of 3 climbers for a total of 24 climbers per school.

Do take note that the closing date for registration has been extended to 23rd June 2007, 2359hrs.

Prize: Fastest climber and the Top 3 Teams for each category

Why you should take part:
- Free-of-charge! No registration fee whatsoever!
- NO ISOLATION!
- No National Team and National Youth Team climbers!
- Free Climb for the rest of the Day @ 25m wall and usage of Bouldering Gym!

Routes are up at Safra already so you can go practise there.

Do not contact me for further enquiries cos you won't be able to contact me. Try tiny instead especially if you wanna register =D

Level 1 Sport Climbing Course - 1st July 07

2007-06-15T01:56:00.000+08:00

Tiny the Birthday Boy

2007-06-10T12:36:00.000+08:00

We celebrated Tiny's birthday during our training yesterday!

For climbers who have missed it, here are some pictures that were taken! =)

Talented Mellie baked this birthday cake! Did you notice that the design is of a man climbing? NICE!

Here's a video where Tiny tried to blow out the candles from a distance away..

Tiny distributing the birthday cake!

Happy Huanmin & Merv enjoying the yummy cake!

1st try on putting the camera on timer..
Hmmm... Merv looks abit weird here.. haaa

While waiting to take a final shot....

Tada! A perfect group picture finally!

National School Climbing Championship 2007

2007-06-05T00:31:00.000+08:00

can't believe pumpfest is over! but not too fret, we can train up for our next comp. let's improve our school's ranking from 4th in Pumpfest to 1st in this =P hahaa

Date:
~~14th and 15th July 2007~~
~~7 to 9 Dec 2007 (note that it's postponed)~~
23 to 25 Nov(change of date again)

"National School Climbing Championship 2007

We will also be organizing the 2nd National Schools Climbing. Last year, 500 students from 38 schools signed up to participate. This year, we are anticipating an increase in registration, as we will be adding a new category to the competition, Lead Event."

so time to train our speed and lead. As of yet i dun have much details but will keep you guys updated when i find out more. more info in august apparently