Climbing in Phuket: The blog on Phuket Gazette...

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Climbing in Southern Thailand: The Raining season has started…

Climbing in Southern Thailandrepresents for many climbers the perfect match to escape from cold winters, climb along enchanting coastlines and enjoy water activity such snorkeling and diving.

Climbing in Railay Beach in particular it’s probably the perfect match for all those who want to have a proper nice exotic holiday with all the comfort such nice accommodation and a variety of food and at the same time do not renounce to climb the whole day moving from a crag to another within walking distance.

The best season for Climbing in Southern Thailand is surely from November to April that is officially the dry season and the possibilities of rainfalls are very scarce.

On the other side this period of the year is generally characterized by higher prices and terribly crowded crags, in particular for climbers leading below 7a grades.

Raining season officially starts in May and last till October. This is probably not the best period to plan a Climbing Trip in Southern Thailand however it doesn’t necessary mean that you will be stuck under the rain for the whole day.

During the last month I went to climb in Koh Phi Phi during the weekend and I got one full day of sunshine and one half day of rain while the very last week I went to climb in Railay Beach for 4 days and we got only one afternoon of heavy rain that didn't allow us to climb at all, and one morning of on/off light rain that didn't really bother us.

Obviously considering that I am based in Phuket this is not a big deal for me, however I am conscious that if you are travelling from oversea having too many days of rain might piss you off.

Nevertheless, if you plan to stay no less than a week at the same spot you can be sure that the weather will not affect your holidays that much.

Koh Phi Phi, Tonsai, Railay and Ao Nang offer valid alternative to fill in the raining days and easily get ready to climb as soon as the rains stop. On the other hand, if you plan a Climbing Trip in Koh Yao Noi be aware that the road condition might be critic. In this case I suggest you to reach the spot by long tail boat.

All in all do not forget to check the Thai Meteorological Departmentand always have a poncho in your climbing bag.

Thanh Ha on the first pitch of The Lord of the Thais 6a+, Thaiwand Wall, Railay East

Eric on Scenic Bulimic, 6a - Tonsai Tower, Koh Phi Phi

Riccardo on his on-sight attempt of Up to You, 7b at Phra Nang Cave, Phra Nang Beach Railay

Supranee May on Pai Noon Mai, 5c - Tonsai Tower, Koh Phi Phi

Climbing in Koh Yao Noi: back again...

Climbing in Koh Yao Noi is definitely becoming a weekend routine now!

We went there during Songkran holiday together with our friends Eric and Jenny and we came back again last Saturday evening to spend a full Sunday of climbing together with Minx and Kafill.

During the last two trips we have extensively climbed at the Bee Wall which has shown to be great even under heavy rains, the Dump Wall where we climbed an amazing 6b+ characterized by two huge stalactites, and spent long afternoons at the HD Wall which stay on shade from 12am on ward and it’s easily reachable walking till the end of the beach, tide permitting.

I would like to report also the presence of a very inspiring boulder right on the middle of the beach. I saw that rock before but I never understood its line until yesterday after having noticed some marks of chalk on it I have started figuring out some movements.

Here below a short video and some pictures. 

Eric on the good holds of Leaping Lizard 6b at Bee Wall, Koh Yao Noi

Riccardo on the crux of Golden Flakes 6c at Bee Wall, Koh Yao Noi

Supranee May on the red holds of HD Wall 5b, Koh Yao noi

Climbing in Railay – The climbing mecca

I went to Tonsai beach for the first time in my life in October 2009 accompanied by my Thai friend Saran following the intrepid footprints of a Sardinian climbing myth, Enzo Lecis.

I remember we couldn't climb for the first two days due to the heavy rain however the rest of the stay was just amazing.

A few weeks ago, after almost 4 years, I decided it was time to go back to this corner of world and since I was travelling with my girlfriend I decided to head to Railay instead seeking for easy routes.

What I have learned from this trip it’s quite easy: do not go to 1,2,3 Wall or Muai Thai Wall! A shopping mall during X-Mas holiday is surely less crowded!

This part of the peninsula has become the head quarter of all the climbing schools of area offering climbing services from sunrise to sunset seven days a week. 

If you really want to climb in this area you better wake up very early!

Considering I planned to stay in Railay only one day I was quite disappointed, but still we didn't give up and we headed to the Diamond Cave North Face.

Even though also this spot was monopolized by a climbing school, we were lucky enough to find right behind the corner 4 untouched lines: 6a+/6b/6b+/6c

All the routes were very well protected with titanium bolds or treads and the anchors were also set up with titanium bolds. The rock was great as usual and in particular the 6b was just amazing.

What else can I say? I will surely come back, however do not go to 1,2,3 Wall or Muai Thai Wall!

Climbing in Phuket: A short break in Koh Yao Noi

Koh Yao Noi is a small island located between Phuket, Phang Ngan and Krabi.

From Phuket, the best way to get there is to drive up to Bang Rang Pier and from here take a long tail boat or a speed boat up to the Manoh Pier. From Krabi, the embarkation port is called Ao Thalene. From both departing points, the price will vary from 120 THB to 200 THB and every 30 minutes there is a boat running up and down from 6h00am to 4h00pm.

Since the climbing area is located on the extreme north on the island, it is necessary to rent a motorbike, and drive for 20 minutes through some scenic hills surrounded by rubber plantations and wild forest. Do not be surprise to meet monkeys, snakes or komodo on your way!

Once you arrive at the end of the road, you can safely leave your bike at the parking of the Hotel Paradise Koh Yao Noi and from here start a nice and easy trek! Do not forget to bring loads of water to drink...you will be sweating a lot!

Climbing in Koh Yao Noi is absolutely great! Most of the routes are protected with super safe Titanium Bolds and the quality of the rock is super!

The two most famous areas are surely The Mitt and The Grateful Wall, however, since the first one is indicated for strong harms holders and second one is reachable only by boat, I would suggest The Bee Wall, or The Breakfast Wall instead.

The Bee Wall starts with a 6a+ and a 6b next to each sharing the same anchor and it goes further with an amazing second pitch of 7a+.  The crag continues with two more 6c and one 6c+ all of them around 25m.

More information can be found in this database however the best idea is to buy the local climbing book!

Climbing in Krabi: Discovery Ao Nang!

If anybody talks about climbing in Southern Thailand, the mind immediately goes to the climbing meccas of Tonsai and Railay!

Nevertheless, this time I went out just to discover the new crag called Spirit Mountain located in Ao Nang on Chong Plee district, only 10 minutes driving from Ao Nang downtown and 20 minutes from Krabi.

The crag stays in shade until 1pm however if you have loads of water and you manage to resist the peak hours, it gets again better from 4pm till sunset. All the routes are bolted with titanium bolds and vary from 5a to 8a however you can find also many of them equipped only with threads…be careful!

The access is super easy, you can have a look to the pictures below.

As a whole I would say that this spot is not the best of the world however it is definitely worth a visit! I am sure I will come back very soon to send some uncompleted lines!

On the picture below, Khun Supranee top roping Ego Free Zone 6a+

Climbing in Phuket: First Climbing Session

On Saturday 16^th FEB I have proudly ran the first Phuket Climbing Session.

Considering that at this stage it would be too difficult to follow up too many beginner and considering that I still have a limited number of climbing shoes, I could not invite too many people therefore we were only in 4: 3 strong and motivated beautiful girls, and myself.

As always I gave them a short introduction about the philosophy of climbing, about the big difference between indoor and outdoor climbing and most important, the concept of movement, which in such a small climbing wall is definitely essential!

The result was impressive! I think there is some potential here….enjoy this short video footage and join our next session.

Climbing in Phuket: The wall is ready...

As everybody knows, Southern Thailand is surrounded by rock!

Krabi, Ao Nang, Tonsai, Koh Yao Noi, Koh Phi Phi are definitely rock climbing paradises well known all over the planet.

However if you you want to climb during the week after working hours and you live in Phuket, you'd better find a solution because there are no climbing walls at the horizon...

Considering I am exactly in the situation described above, the only solution I had was to find my own way and therefore...I built my own boulder wall!

I developed the idea of building a small boulder wall inspired by the experience of my good friend Jean Verly whom from a dusty climbing room in his home in Hanoi ended up setting up and managing the first Climbing Gym in Vietnam.

I am not that ambitious, however I am happy that I made my small dream come true and I am glad to invite you to contact me if you fancy share some movements with me!