climbjudtravels

and so i wonder.

I recently came back from a trip to Thakhek, Laos. Its an area full of solid sport climbing routes. It has a similar concept to what Krabi offers. But I feel like I’ve taken a liking to this new place more. ☺ Its really beautiful.

The idea for this trip first came about when I asked Mean where she was going to climb for the holidays. Both of us taught at schools and the only time to go out climbing was during the school holidays. Mean is from Bangkok, Thailand and we’ve known each other for a few years now since we met at competitions.

I was heading to Khon Kaen in thailand with the NUS team to boulder. Mean was going to join Harry, her coach from Sweden, to climb at Thakhek. Harry is from Indonesia and currently lives in sweden with his wife, Fatima and two boys Arifin and Leontin. I havent done some sport climbing outdoors for about 4 years. Its been boulder trip after boulder trip. So i thought i’d take this chance to go to this place at the Green Climbers Home to check it out.

When we got there, the temperature was about 20 degrees, pretty cooling. The campsite was pretty neat and clean. Mean and I slept in the dorms. They had slacklines and one main restaurant at the campsite.

This place is filled with people from around the world who come to climb. We met and ate with people from malaysia, philippines, japan, finland, canada, and just about anywhere in the world.

Access to the crags required us to cross a few small streams behind the campsite. The bridges were pretty cool and some even a slackline. The trails are pretty obvious so you'll hardly lose your way.

Climbing at Thakhek is full of different routes. There were face climbs and overhangs, and this one mega roof that everyone hangs around at in the evening. Sun and the heat are not so much of a problem, as there are lots of walls in the shade to climb at.

Eventually we worked on each of our individual projects.

Here is a list of routes that I climbed:

Unbreakable 6c+, 41m

Sintesizer 7a — flash

Bullenpogo 7b — to be done

Monkey trail 7b+ — to be done

Hans dampf 6b, 35m

Stalker 7a — flash

Konterbier 7b+ — sent

Mon general 6c — onsight

Special forces 7c+ — sent

Kickapoo 7a+, 30m — to be done

Dr Isa 7c+, 20m☺👍🏼 next proj!

We did some exploring under the mountains, look through caves. Laos is famous for their many caves and we even had one in our own backyard.

On off days, or days we feel like we still have some skin, mean and I played around with their campus boards and did some light training. Or we walked the slacklines.

We rented some motorbikes and took a trip out to Thakhek town on one of our rest days. We rode to find a cave and just spent some time outside of climbing. Watermelons are sold by the side of the road for only 10,000 kip. Thats like 40 baht. Very refreshing. Thakhek is quite a quiet area, but filled with scenic landscapes and a relaxing town. Its really a beauty to climb here.

Heres a video that Mean and I made of our trip there:

Till next time!

boulder

Khonquering heights

December 20, 2016

Im writing this as I’m waiting for my flight to Bangkok. My Khon Kaen trip with the NUS team is just over, and I’m headed off to meet Puntarika (Mean) before we go to Thakhek to lead climb. Shes going to train with her coach, I’m just going so I get to climb with my good friend. :)

I just had a rather fulfilling day of climbing. Came to the airport straight from the boulders. #dirtbaglife

I spent 5 climbing days at the Nam Phog National Park with the team, had 2 massages, drank coke everyday, ate mango sticky rice and ate onigiri for lunch at the boulders. I managed to FA 2 new lines: “All Alone” V8 and “Agriculture” V6. Agriculture was an inside joke, and All Alone was named as such because I went to work on the route alone once, and managed to pass the crux. It was quite a calming feeling, with one crash mat and trying to video myself without a tripod. Lol.

My first climbing day, I cleared some of the classic routes like Pinker Tips V6 and the big dyno on Happy Buddha V8 and was pretty bumped out and sian that there werent anything obviously challenging haha. I know, not such a good mentality. But im proud to say that it changed over the days. The NUS club were here in Khon Kaen too, and they helped cleared the overgrowth, which helped identifying boulders and working on new routes easier.

As the days went by, it got pretty satisfactory just climbing on the simple boulders. The rock here is good, not too sharp on some, and solid. Some of the moves were really interesting. Like a big side dyno moving into the press up mantle. Totally my anti-style, but I did it anyway because I knew it would help me become more versatile. There was also huge huecos and shit crimps.

After about 6 boulder trips, starting from 2011, I finally understand my style. The types of routes that I know I’m good at. The flat, shit crimps and invisible footholds. Stained Glass in Bishop was a clear sign. Haha.

Anyways, I worked with a group of guys on some of the problems here and it was super funny and enjoyable to have them around. They were full of psych and noise, and I was used to working on routes on my own. Both still worked for me somehow haha. I was just glad I could join this family to go on a climbing trip. Much need crash mats haha.

Khon Kaen left an impression in me, and I really hope I can come back here again. Theres a festival in January and Gavriel is already waiting for Liting. I told him to show her roof routes haha.

Till the next team trip! Wonder where they will go to next. :)

What is your next 100km goal?

December 01, 2016

Today marks the end of my trip with my school ODAC. Its my first ever camping trip. I slept and carried my tent, i didnt bathe for 5 days. And i cooked out and ate small things. Plus, i walked and climbed up and down slopes. ALOT!

I didnt train for this, despite knowing that it is 100km in distance and will need to walk over 8 hours a day. So here are some of my reflections:

1. Know your body

The first day, first 30 minutes was the same feeling I had when I ran my 10kish run at Vail this year. No training and a sudden shock to the body. Everyone was walking really fast, no obstacles, and I could barely keep up.

By the end of the day, we had walked through sunset. In the dark, I struggled to keep my legs moving. The posterior semi-medial part of my knee hurts like crazy. And the muscles above my knee was starting to cramp. I figured I had pushed myself abit too much. I slept uncomfortably that night, not because it was cold, but my legs were uncomfortable sore.

Knowing your body helps you keep pace of how much to push. Throughout the next few days, I made sure I had my isotonic to keep me from cramping, and knew when to go slow and not chiong too much when my muscles were tired and giving way. As an athlete, knowing your body keeps you out of injuries, but also places you at a good balance of where to draw the line.

2. Mind over body

One of the students wore a shirt that said along the lines of:

When the pain kicks in, the mind gets stronger

This trek wasnt as easy as I thought. I could climb slopes, but to carry a 15kg or so backpack, I could barely walk. The packs rested on my hips and limited my movements, giving me some nasty lactic build up in my hip flexors. On the steepest, most incline hill, I climbed up the last. Every 5 steps I stopped to clear the lactic. It was alot for me to bear. Me, who does not like to rest on boulder circuits or fingerboard — rested while walking up those stairs. I kept telling myself that if I could do a 20kg pullup, I must walk with this 15kg load on my bag.

3. Together versus alone

The students mostly reflected about how it was good that the morale was high and everyone helped each other along. I on the other hand, liked it when I ran ahead, or walk far from the noise and chatter. I liked being alone to admire nature. Its like there are two kinds of people: those who run with headphones and those who run without. I am the latter, and I believe that I always will be. It is not that I do not like company, but I prefer the silence. I do need the company, but I am also fine if no one talks to me because I am too tired to talk anyways. Haha.

4. Again

Its nice to hear reflections about how this trip was awesome and it made an impression on each other. To me, this is one of the most physically challenging thing I have done over a span of a few days. Its on the same epicness as going to the north face cup in japan. Its crazy, but i will do it again. Ive been outdoors to climb, trekked to boulders and peed in the bushes. But both has allowed me to see the beauty of the world from sunrise to sunset. And that is what keeps me wanting more and more. Its not about who I am anymore, its about what is out there for me to see.

5. Next 100km

After completing this 100km, someone asked us to think about what our next 100km goal is. What is that goal that we want to accomplish. It may take a few days or weeks, but bit by bit, through perserverance and resilience, we will get there.

My 100km mark is 2018 Asian Games. To reach that end, I need to prepare myself for all kinds of weather, big steps that challenge me, logistical nightmares etc.

boulder

Climbing happy

June 23, 2016

Sometimes in the midst of work and life, we forget our passions and settle into the mundane actions of our daily lives. Sometimes I even forget why I climb — why I head to the gym every evening and bust my ass on the training boards and get injured from time to time. I believe, a rock trip is what a climber always need. And that is what I went for.

Arriving on my first day at Bishop, I remember feeling unprepared though. Here I am, at one of the best climbing areas in the world, and I didnt have a clue which area I wanted to go or what I was going to climb. Thankfully I had Heng Hong with me, he was my guide and “psych kick” for this trip. Without him, I would have been in that desert all by myself!

I went through a tour of the classics and really climbed through the routes as if it was my last day on earth. My body had missed that feeling of rock under my fingertips, the yank on my muscles, the tension to stick my feet. Each day, I wrote a list of routes I had sent or tried. Strangely, each day it also grew shorter as my body started to feel fatigue, and I started to work more tries into the harder routes.

There were times when I questioned if I should settle onto a hard route just to get that send. I was doing too many V3–5s and I wondered if people would respect me the same if I did a V11. Much as I had trained, I felt that I needed the time to work a route if I wanted to bag it, and time was not what I had. It took me awhile to settle my inner demon and be contented with touring the classics. I do love them and it makes me want to go back and do them again. Some I flashed, some I struggled.

There were only 3 routes which I gave countless attempts. The first was Stained Glass V10. It was unbelievably impossible the first time I touched it. It was also mentally torturing when it was only me working on the route, as HH felt he wasnt in the best shape to try it.

I eventually got up until the last big throw to the lip of the boulder, and I could do it twice consecutively. I watched Alex Puccio do that move on replay — she barely caught it! That progression was sweet, although it came at a cost of my fingertips, I could barely climb the day after. I worked two days on this route.

My second “project” was High Plains Drifter V7. It was a classic and I stuck the first few moves with ease. But the one big move which required a left sit in and hip dig upwards — I failed again and again. I was pretty bumped out about it. It was a static full lock PLUS a sit in, not my best skill set there. Plus the other girls from Singapore had done it easily! (This comparison thing always gets to me). I chose to move on after awhile, I didnt come to Bishop to get stuck on a route, although it would mean I get more 7s in the bag, which might make me seem like a hardcore climber haha. I worked two days on this route.

My final work was on Junior’s Achievement V8, which had a similar profile to Stained Glass, so I thought I would definitely enjoy it more. Once again, I worked on it on my own. My psych kick had just ran and was dozing in the shade. Haha! I didnt send this route though, I realised that I had almost gotten the beta but it was my last day at Bishop. I worked 1 day on this route.

Thinking back, yeah… I didnt send anything hard. But I had loved the fact that I was out there climbing. I was already blessed to be out there. I left Bishop feeling strong and quite ready for the IFSC Vail World Cup. Abit anxious about the altitude effects, but my body was ready to take the beating.

I managed two bonuses, I definitely could have top both sending me into semis with ease. But I was satisfied nonetheless.

I dont know when my next trip/competition will be. But I’m looking forward to it!

10m mark

Thakhek

Khonquering heights

What is your next 100km goal?

1. Know your body

2. Mind over body

3. Together versus alone

4. Again

5. Next 100km

Climbing happy

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