Quickdraw Heist

A climber from Shenzhen took 14 draws off two routes that Colton and Tyson had just put up on the Space Buttress. They were planning on sending them after taking a few days off. They arrived one morning together with Spiderman in early December, but the draws were no longer there. I guess it is fair to say that they were pissed, at least one of them was out for blood! With so few climbers in town it took about one hour to track down the thief and after a threatening encounter with a few irate foreigners, he reluctantly produced the draws and left town on the next bus with, luckily for him, his nose still intact. Ah Ban called other Shenzhen climbers to tell them what happened and to make sure the guy doesn’t come back. Guess he’ll have to take up snooker or majhong or something because he won’t be climbing in Yangshuo or Shenzhen again.

This is the first time I’ve heard of gear, other than bolt hangers, going missing. I understand the guy probably doesn’t have a lot of money and the draws were irresistible, but give me a break! Doesn’t he have an imagination?? Turns out some friends of mine from Shanghai were climbing with him that afternoon and warned him not to take the draws explaining that they were on new projects. He waited till after dark, climbed up and took them and then called Speedy for a ride back to town. Speedy overheard him talk about the draws he’d nicked as well! More than that, his belayer was a young YS climber and he was staying with one of Spiderman’s guides! The noose was unavoidable: he got what he deserved.

One of the best things about Yangshuo is that there are so many local climbers getting into climbing and even resetting their life priorities with climbing near the top of the list. It’s great to see their excitement and ambition. There are few other areas of life in China where I have found common ground with the locals, other than drinking and gambling but that is a universal thing. They respect the sport and also other climbers. That is why it was so important to all of us that Colton and Tyson got their draws back.