Life Beyond Chamonix! Rock climbing holidays Autumn 2009

Rock Climbing Adventures – Mallorca & Thailand

Chamonix’s rock climbing is awesome, and life in the Adventure Base office is sweet! But sometimes you just need a little limestone jug pulling and a break from the Valley to keep your sanity intact. So, this autumn has been dedicated to cragging by the beach, and the eternally frustrating pursuit of ‘just one more grade …’

Mallorca – October 2009:

Cliff Climbing Mallorca Style. Great climbing once we'd decided to just deal with the fact the grades were hard - not that we're rubbish.

Mallorca was a girlie mini break at the start of October with Jane, which did wonders for calming our hectic minds after a full-on summer. It was just a shame that we didn’t luck out with the weather! While the sun shone every day in Cham, apparently it had been the wettest September in history in Mallorca, which meant – when it wasn’t drizzling – the crags were pretty damp. It quickly became clear that between slimy slabs, some pretty stiff grades, and a few airily spaced bolts, Mallorca was not going to be the place for us to push our limits! Needless to say, it was great training, and we found some truly spectacular routes, managing not to fail too miserably without our trusty rope guns (the boys!) to bail us out.

Jane coping without the rope guns

While Mallorca doesn’t come close to Kalymnos in terms of ease of getting to the crags – most days we were in the car for 30-40 minutes – it’s only an hour’s flight from Geneva (or the UK) and a quarter of the price to get to, so there isn’t much not to like. The climbing for the most part is excellent, especially when we’d downgraded our expectations and opted to enjoy mellower routes rather than scare ourselves stupid!

Steph - the new belay hat!

We stayed in Porto Pollenca, with its beachside strip of tea rooms (great cakes!) and ‘Full English Caffs’, contrasting with the town square’s jazz band and upmarket restaurants. Some climbers at one of the crags we visited recommended Soller as a good alternative. In 4 days, we barely scratched the surface of what’s on offer, and I can safely say I’m not done with Mallorca! Next time it’s raining in Cham, and that familiar itch to get out of the valley starts niggling away, I know where we’re heading.

Thailand:

Tonsai Beach - Thailand. The things we put ourselves through in the name of climbing.

It really is hard to imagine a more perfect holiday: Idyllic white sand beaches, beautiful turquoise sea, hot sunshine, fresh and healthy food, seriously spicy curry, and some of the most spectacular limestone cliffs to play on. Rock climbing Thai style takes some beating.

Guy - climbing out of Freedom bar. Overhanging jug jug jug, then BEER!

Guy and I decided as a last minute sort-of-honeymoon to head back to Thailand for three weeks of rock, sun, sand and cragging. We’d spent 6 weeks here last year, so were torn as to whether to explore somewhere new. But then, when things are this good, why change?

Sunset after a hard day at the crag

Tonsai beach can only be reached by boat, and the crags are all accessible by foot. Although it’s actually part of the mainland, the beach, and its neighbouring ‘posh’ resort, Railay, feel like a remote  island. Tonsai itself is a funny mix of ‘Climbing Mecca’ – populated by some of the world’s best sport climbers, and ‘Backpacker Heaven’ (Hell?) – populated by a steady stream of travellers who think they’ve found ‘The Beach’.

Steph - getting to grips with steeeep limestone.

At 7am, beach-side activity alternates between staggering youngsters on the way home from a night of buckets and peace cake, and keen climbers on the way to work their latest project before the sun – or the problem – knocks them back. The two worlds collide – in perfect harmony – at Freedom Bar, where Tonsai Wall starts and you can belay with a beer in hand, or simply lay back and watch the sun set while the experts make 8s look easy.

Guy - 3d climbing. Never forget to LOOK BEHIND YOU!! In Thai tuffa world, the holds come at you in unexpected places.

The climbing in Thailand is a steep, steep jug fest. The holds are huge (at least in the grades we climb!), but the brute force required to get to them requires some serious stamina. An afternoon of battling endlessly in Wild Kingdom is enough to put us both out of action for 2 days. I didn’t know the meaning of ‘pumped’ until cragging in Thailand!

But that’s half the fun. It’s a totally different style of climbing to anything I’ve ever tried in Europe, and once you get your head (and arms) into the idea of a 3d climbing route, where even the 5s are overhanging, heel hooks are your most-used move, and you should never forget to Look Behind You! there’s no going back.

I have a funny feeling that 3 weeks is just not going to be enough …