Access Update

Before leaving Yangshuo on Dec. 24th, climbing was been open at all crags in Yangshuo and we enjoyed fine, cool climbing weather as is usual for this time of year. There are still unresolved access issues at both the Wine Bottle and White Mountain crags and these will require more time to settle. Overall, the access situation is quite good and relationships with villagers at most crags is improving. We encourage you to talk to villagers near the crags and to eat your meals and buy lunch and drinks there whenever possible. Relationships between independent climbers and villagers is one of the most important factor in continued unrestricted access to our crags.

Various rockclimbing /guiding companies have also approached villagers with an offer to rent the land in exchange for exclusive rights to climbing there. Some villagers still believe there is money to be made from the crags and climbers must compete with commercial operators and developers to protect access to climbing. We must also compete with some guiding companies who seem to have given up on making money from guiding and instead see that there is money to be made charging climbers and other guiding companies for access to the crag while offering little or nothing in return.

In addition to avoiding the hassle of administering a fee system, the villagers should realize that climbers are unlikely to pay to climb at White Mountain. On the other hand, climbers must spend money for food, accommodation and transportation while in Yangshuo and the YAI is working with villagers to enable climbers to spend more of their money for necessities directly in the villages. If possible, we want to avoid setting a precedent by directly purchasing access rights but at this time it is unclear what is the best long-term solution.

The situation at White Mountain has not changed over the past months. I will recap the main points here. Two villages dispute the claim to land-use-right ownership to the area at the base of the crag. A development company in Guilin has approached the Yanse Village and offered to develop the area into a tourist destination with the main focus on a large cave behind the village. Recent conversations with village leaders lead us to believe that climbers will have unrestricted access once the bigger ownership issues have been resolved. The YAI has worked with villages including the one that disputes Yanse Village’s claim to land-use-rights at White Mountain. Early January has been given as the time when official legal proceedings will begin that should eventually lead to the resolution of the ownership issues. Climbers, including Jonathan Siegrist and Ah Bon, climbed at White mountain for 3 days in mid-December but no climbers have returned since due mainly to the cold weather.

The situation at Wine Bottle is still unsettled. There are signs at the base of the crag saying the area is closed to climbing, but climbers have used the crag regularly without any interference.

A group of villagers have acquired the rights to the land in front of the crag and they have sent two younger members to negotiate a rental arrangement with the Yangshuo Climbing Association (an organization that only exists on paper). Since ChinaClimb has opened its own guiding crag near Fuli, and other guiding companies have said they will not longer take clients to Wine Bottle, the economic value of the crag has fallen precipitously. They village interlopers were surprised that guiding companies could just walk away from the crag. There are still a few commercial guiding operators who take large groups climbing and refuse to put in the time to open their own crags. They bulk at paying the villagers a fair price for using the crag to make money and have even negotiated behind the scenes for exclusive access to the crag intending on charging other guiding companies to take clients there.

The solution is not so difficult if you realize that if guiding companies would agree to pay the villagers as little as RMB10 for each client they take there, this income would more than meet the villagers’ demands. The villagers have little recourse other than closing the crag to climbing till the companies pay up. The guiding companies who are making the most money using this crag are holding out, maybe even hoping they can get access on better terms or hoping that independent climbers will step in and solve the problem for them. The YAI has worked with both villagers and the commercial operators and, for the most part, cooperation and understanding has been very good. We have personally taken villagers climbing and shown them which routes guiding companies are using to make money. Once both sides fully understand each other and the money involved, it should be easier to reach an acceptable solution.

Access Updates - White Mt and Wine Bottle

White Mountain and Wine Bottle access discussions with local villagers who control the land in front of the crags are moving forward.We are pressing for clear, long-term resolutions and cannot hurry the process.

Inter-village conflicts near the White Mountain crag are coming to a head over access. At this time it is difficult to predict when issues can be resolved. We have begun working with one village to manage our toilet and to open a small store near the crag. This is to be followed by food and lodging services. As mentioned earlier, the formal land-use-rights to the land at the base of the crag is unclear. In fact, villagers do not have a legal claim to crags adjacent to their land as all such lands belong to the government and the land-use-rights have not been allocated to anyone. Villagers have been allocated lands for agricultural activities and crags are outside of this scope.

YingZi, the second nearby village,have moved strongly to prevent climbers from using the crag: they spend the day in front of the crag, harvest is over, and they have, once again,removed bolts from the bottom of most routes. Climbers who do show up are being politely turned away. The first village has begun talking to the government to press for resolution. In fact, this was their plan all along: to force a lawsuit or confrontation and compel the government to step in and make a determination about access rights. We are in the middle of this process. It is possible that White Mountain will be closed to climbing for the remainder of they year, possible longer.

Wine Bottle looks much better. After one of the climbing shops negotiated with villagers who claim they have acquired land-use-rights at the base of the crag from the villager, the local association of guiding shops, the YSCA, empowered the same shop to negotiate on behalf of the association for access by all members. I attended these meetings and all guiding shops were supportive of these efforts and pledge financial support to resolve the access issues; they are pressing for a 5-year contract.Once the guiding shop issues have been resolved, the YAI plans to sign a contract for access for all independent climbers and in return we will invest in improvements at the base of the crag including toilets and benches.

New Line on the Great Wall

I made a trip out to the Great Wall near Stone City last week with Eben Farnworth and Alex Honnold. We had great, cool weather but the adventure was cut short by shortened daylight – this is a better spring crag. Alex got on lead on a new line up a crack system that proved too chossy and loose. We bailed after placing only one additional bolt and headed over to the arete at the top of the approach pitch to the main ledge.

Eben got to lead the pitch up to the Heather Terrace and we agreed that it is probably the best line on the wall so far. Alex liked the face just to the east of the arete and he rigged a line and rapped down and tried to find moves on top rope. He marked the bolt placements and I cleaned and bolted the line afterward but we ran out of daylight and did not finish it. There is still some loose rock that needs to be taken care of, including a death block near the top, and the route needs the white lichen to be brushed off before I attempt to send it.

The route is a full 40 meters long and will end on the Terrace so we can use existing rap anchors to descend. Alex thinks the line will go at 12+. This will be the hardest FA I’ve attempted and it is at the top of my list once I fill in my next pyramid. Pulling this off would make an excellent Christmas present to myself.

Fall Tick List

After reading The Self-Coached Climber I constructed a pyramid and listed 50 routes I wanted to tick in Yangshuo this fall season on increasingly harder routes. My hardest grade climbed at that time was an 11c so my new pyramid had eight 11a’s at the bottom, then four 11b’s and two 11c’s before an 11d (7a). I started at the bottom and by the time I was attempting the c’s and d, I felt fit and ready. I got them all in 2 or 3 attempts. It is a great system to get me climbing closer to my potential while not spending too much time flailing on stuff that is just too hard for me right now.

Now I’ve constructed my next pyramid with a 12a at the top and I’m climbing more 11b’s, 11c’s and 11d’s to get ready for the top. I want to complete this one before I leave Yangshuo for the winter; this gives me another 3 weeks at most. Should not be a problem if my progress continues apace.

I did jump on the Todd Skinner 12b at Banyan tree on TR the day before yesterday and got a good taste of just what it means to be a fit 5.12 climber. I gave it three burns and was wiped out by the end of the day and still feeling sore the next. I did make it out to Wine Bottle late yesterday for some easy routes and one go on the 5.11c Great Wall route. After the 12b, it felt relatively simple and I’m confident I can send it first try, probably tomorrow morning. Then I’ll do the other 5.11c at the crag before going after five more 5.11b’s. Filling inn the bottom of the pyramid will get me prepared for two more 5.11d’s before I step into the realm of 5.12. Good stuff for an old guy!

Climbing Festival

The 2009 Yangshuo Climbing Festival went well and largely according to plan. Friday night was a gathering in the sports stadium where the new bouldering wall was open to all climbers. Saturday started the treasure hunt: prize tags were hidden at the top of 70 routes at 8 different crags; there were also a number of clinics at the Wine Bottle Crag including those by Black Diamond athletes.

The afternoon saw more open climbing before the evening activities in the sports stadium including a dinner and slide presentation by Alex Honnold on speed climbing – he mostly talked about his recent free solo adventures. A local rock band provided the music and there were many gear give-aways. Entreprises, the climbing hold company, donated all of the holds and a finger board they had brought to the festival to the Yangshuo Access Initiative (YAI) and we auctioned for a good price. It went so well we will consider having more auctions at next year’s festival.

After the auction the bouldering competition got underway and lasted till well past 10pm. It was exciting and holding it in the stadium allowed us all to be together in a comfortable environment. Using the stadium proved a great decision as we woke up Sunday morning to rain and cold; many climbers chose not to go to the crags and waited for the final rounds of the bouldering competition held that afternoon, only Chinese climbers were in the mem's final round. The route setting was much better on the second day.

What was missing from was the outdoor group activities we had last year climbing competitions. I hope we can combine the two aspects next year focusing on the outdoor climbing that makes Yangshuo one of the top destinations for climbing in Asia and being together in the stadium in the evenings.

Climbers arriving for Festival

Alex Honnold and Ellen Powick were the first two Black Diamond athletes to arrive for the festival and we climbed in hot temps yesterday at White Mountain. It was great to watch them shred routes up to 13a, they stand on stuff I cannot even see let alone think about putting any weight on. Kind of opens up new realms of the possible in my mind. One of the local farmers came over to watch and asked me why Alex climbed so effortlessly while I seemed to struggle. And I thought I climbed the pitch pretty well.

There are a few other groups of climbers here but it is not like I was anticipating as the festival kicks-off in just a few days. Skies are gray this morning and temps are at least 5 degrees C lower. Light rains are forecast for today and tomorrow and I hope this will bring and keep the temps down for the rest of the year.

I'm still very busy with getting the YAI launched, and working with the local villagers as well as moving into my flat and working on the festival, so I haven't gotten out to climb much at all. I've been climbing within my comfort zone since I arrived in YS about one month ago, filling in climbs at the bottom of my pyramid (11a/b) and progressing well. Now, most spaces are filled up and I need to start on the harder stuff. Yesterday, after flailing on an 11b I'd redpointed a few times before, I got on a TR on China White (12b) and got a good wake-up call for just how much more strength I'll have to bring to the game real soon! I haven't even tried to pull-down that hard since the spring as most of the stuff I've been climbing has been smaller face routes whereas China White has huge jugs, but BIG moves. I'm psyched to get on more stuff like it, I think I just decide on 3 or 4 12s to project at a few of the crags and get on them each time I climb there, even if it's just draw to draw; I can figure out the moves and get used to climbing more strongly.

Festival Projects o n Track

The Second annual Yangshuo Climbing Festival is scheduled to kick-off the Friday and the YAI crag sanitation projects are all on track for completion. Toilets at White Mountain and the Egg should be painted and in use in a few more days. We have gained a lot of positive momentum with the village communities through these projects and I hope we can keep it up with. Villagers have been expressing interest in joining us for some climbing and I'm trying to get some of the guiding companies to take them out.We'll probably have to put it off till after the festival.

We've got 4 more toilet projects in mind and, depending on how much money we collect in our membership drive, we will be looking into alternative, more eco-friendly designs. Any input from people with expertise or experience in this kind of thing would be greatly appreciated.

Chinese Guidebook Now Available

The Chinese translation of Paul Collis's Yangshuol guidebook, 阳朔攀岩指南，has been out for about one month now. Make sure you pick up a copy next time you are in town.

Toilet Project Updates

The YAI finally got its crag sanitation projects kicked-off, mostly using funds left over from last year's climbing festival. We have begun building permanent toilet facilities at the most popular crags and construction is now underway at White Mountain and the Egg. Structures should be done in time for this year's festival, Nov 13th-15th, and I am looking for people to help paint murals on the outside so they blend in with the environment.

These are some of the first projects we have done with local villagers and in addition to cleaning up the area around the crags, it has open a dialogue between villagers and climbers I hope we can build on. Just meeting with them we are able to discuss the possibilities of them opening up small food stands and even offering meals and accommodations in the villages. We will have to keep working in this direction if we want continued free access. Our next step will be to negotiate a contract with villagers to maintain and clean the toilets as well as cut back the brush along the path up to as well as at the base of the crags. You can join the YAI to help these efforts.

On another note, the weather has been great for climbing; unfortunately, I have been too busy with furnishing my apartment in Yangshuo, preparation for the climbing festival, getting the YAI up and running and handling these toilet projects to get much time in on the rocks.

The weather is cool in the early mornings and the sun warms thing nicely so conditions are perfect at White Mountain. Bring some warm clothes if you come down to climb for the rest of the year.

Great Wall in Fall

Five of us, Edwin, Melissa and Jessica from Oz, Claire, presently from Taz, and myself, climbed at the Great Wall last weekend. The weather was great and the skies just a bit hazy from farmers burning their fields after harvest. Even with the haze, the views were awesome, as usual. We met at 7:30 for breakfast, got in the van around 8:00 and started climbing just after 9:00. We were able to tick most of the moderate routes and Edwin led a new line on trad to retrieve some gear I had left on it two years ago. I still want to go back and bolt it along with a few others in the same area.

The only climb we did not get on was Paul's 11c (6c+) Blasphemy Crack as we ran out of daylight. We got back to Yangshuo after dark, tired from the long day. There is still a lot of untouched rock above the main ledge, which only covers less than 1/4 of the face. The fall days are comfortable but too short for much bolting new lines due to the travel and approach times required. Spring is the time development there and I've got a few projects ready for next year.

Photo is of Jessica and Claire from the Heather Terrace, about 100m off the deck.

Thumb Peak at Night

I've been wanting to climb Thumb Peak at night for a few years now and the weather and moon aligned perfectly last night for a nearly flawless moonlight ascent of the Happy New Year route. We got on the rock at about 8:30 and the wall was illuminated by a brilliant moon. Cool temps, no wind and great nightscape views were enjoyed for the 3-hour adventure, this allowed ample time to soak in the scenery. This one will become a classic and I'll make sure it gets mentioned in the next guide book.

Headlamps were needed even with the bright moonlight, mostly to confirm the footholds as handholds were clearly visible and the bolts easy to follow. The crux was half way up the 4th pitch were some of the footholds were difficult to judge. We climbed trailing a second rope in order to avoid the high hanging belay and to get off in two raps. Our planning seemed flawless until we were standing on the ground again trying to pull the ropes which got caught just below the middle belay ledge. We left the ropes and retrieved them this morning.

Reclimbing the lower two pitches this morning was not any easier than I remembered them from last night when I climbed slower but made sure every move was in balance. It was great practice. Some locals spotted us up on the crag and alerted the local police who met us at the bottom of the crag to ask if we needed help. We told them we were practicing rescue technique as most rescues happen at night. They seemed to accept this and left us alone.

Lower night-time temps will make a nighttime ascent less attractive till the spring. We were not the first to climb Thumb Peak at night: it has been simlu-climbed and also by at least two teams in the buff.

White Mountain Open and Rebolted

Went our with Drew Hedesh and Tan Xi on Monday and finished the job on Wednesday with Ah Chen and Maria Frau, all but 3 less popular routes have been rebolted and relationships with the villagers are on good footing again. I anticipate seeing a lot of climbers out there this weekend as Hong Kong has a 3-day weekend coming up.

Photo are of us getting a ladder from a local villager and of Ah Cheng re-bolting the bottom of Abinormal, the site of a recent ground fall that resulted in injuries.

Temps are also down and we've climbed at White Mountain and the Space Buttress for the past two days and enjoyed cool overcast skies. I'm excited to see what I can send this season: the hold all feel a bit bigger this year - a good sign!

White Mountain Access - Rebolting

Met with villagers again today and we agreed that we should replace the bolts that had been chopped on the bottom of all routes. We plan to finish the work by the end of the week.I still need the help of some more strong climbers to rebolt the difficult routes.

We are working out arrangements for continued access and will need to discuss a few open points before we can conclude anything. The village has assured that they want to work with us and that access can continue as is till the end of the year at which time we will begin to finalize long-term agreements. I have started the Yangshuo Access Initiative YAI and the website is up at http://yangshuoaccess.org. Please look there for further updates.

October Update

Climbing is in full swing although it has been a bit warm the past two days with temps reaching 30 degrees. Climbers have been at all the popular crags including White Mountain where we have just begun replacing the bottom bolts that were removed by the local villagers.

Ah Cheng and Ah Bang finally sent the project at the Chicken Cave. Paul and I bolted it over one year ago climbing aid on lead. The consensus grade is 13b/c. Ah Cheng said it was one of the best climbs he has ever been on: very technical with a few unlikely knee-bars. They are still trying to come up with a suitable name.

A new 'beginner' crag has been bolted - the Swiss Cheese - located just outside of town on the way to Wine Bottle. There are 8 routes from 5.6 to 5.10. I'll post the route topo here and we will include it in the upcoming supplement to Paul Collis' Yangshuo Rockclimbs.

Climbers are out today attempting to establish a route up the picturesque overhanging line on the crag across from the village we pass through on the way to the Egg. They will need a few days as the lower section is sharp black rock and must be climbed before the music starts on the exposed orange rock above. Many climbers have talked about getting on this line and Andrew deserves to bag it with all the work he has put in on the Swiss Cheese. He is also working with the YAI to document the bolting situation and come up with recommended bolting standards for the area.

White Mountain Accident

A climber fell to the ground from low on a climb at White Mountain and sustained a serious arm fracture earlier this week. The fall took place after a foothold broke off while the climber was clipping the third bolt, the lower two were missing, just above the tufa on 'Abinormal'.

The bottom hangers had been removed from all White Mountain routes by villagers who are attempting to get money from climbers there. Had the hangers been there, no ground-fall would have happened. This is the first serious accident resulting from the villagers removing hardware.

This ongoing access issue is complicated by unclear land-use-rights for crags because, previously, there was no economic value associated with the cliffs. Disagreements between nearby villages compound the complexity of the problem and negotiations lead us into a morass of long-standing feuds that have nothing to do with climbing.

I have founded the Yangshuo Access Initiative YAI to try and address these issues from the point of view of independent climbers. We are still not formally established as an organization in China but a website is under development where I will be continuing this blog: http://yangshuoaccess.org. You will be able to join soon and we needs your fee contributions to help resolve some of these issues. At the very least, I hope to have a cool T-shirt for members to entice them to join.

Trip Preparation

Still in Shanghai but ready to travel to Yangshuo for an extended fall trip starting next week. I've been in touch with climbers and there is nothing new to report on the access front other than to confirm that most of the hangers have been removed from the bottom of all White Mountain routes. Probably best to show up at the crag ready to stick-clip the higher bolts just to be safe. I'll go to the hardware store this morning to pick up some small hand clamps and maybe even a telescoping metal stick if I can find one.

I've arranged to meet with at least one village head to discuss continued access to White Mt. but I understand that we will have to meet with a second village to get them on board as well. This is important in preparation of the upcoming climbing festival mid-November. We want to avoid any hassles between locals and climbers during the festival as word will get out about how 'friendly' the area is and this might influence other climbers' decisions about coming here. I'm still not sure why Rock 'n' Ice published the Sharma article which dealt more with the body climbers found in in Odin's Den and less with the actual climbing or what it was like to hand out in the laid-back ambiance that is Yangshuo.

As for me, I think I am about as prepared as I can be for the fall climbing window. I'm fit, except for a bit of elbow tendonitis that I always seem to aggravate with too much gym climbing, and I have a long list of climbs I want to get on to build my pyramid geared toward sending some 7's this season. I've actually started focusing on my sport grade numbers and working routes so we'll see if this pays off in performance. I'm still most psyched about hopping on a few new crack lines on Birdman; I'll try to get the first ascent on trad gear. I feel the anxiety along with the excitement just thinking about it.

YAI and the Guiding Companies

I have been working on Yangshuo Access Initiative, YAI, documents for the past few days and have English and Chinese drafts ready to discuss next week in Yangshuo. I’ve put together what I believe to be a viable approach to economic development together with the expansion of climbing in Yangshuo and I hope most of the important players will support us and get on-board. I’ve talked on the phone with many climbers from all over China and there is much interest and support. I still have to build a website and am open to assistance if any web designers have some free time. I’ve got artwork and a basic structure, just need to realize it.

There has been some movement in the position of the local climbing association with regard to the question of open access. Most guiding companies now agree it’s best to save their money and let the YAI buy land leases for the crags. Guiding companies still need to develop new guiding and training crags they can manage themselves but these discussions have been going on for many years and we hope to see breakthroughs soon!

Only a small portion of Yangshuo climbers ever use guiding companies and the companies cater mainly to beginners and travelers without partners. Very few experienced climbers ever use them. More directly, it needs to be asked, what have climbing companies done for you and me? Why should we be concerned that they stay around, other than that they are our friends and we sometimes tie in together? I’ve probably bolted more routes than all of the guiding companies put together, except for ChinaClimb who are no longer in the day guiding business, and Spiderman Paul. I’ve help to develop entirely new crags and put early routes on a number of important crags such as Space Buttress, Chicken Cave, the Egg and the Great Wall. I’ve contributed hardware and time, I’ve translated the guidebook, I write this blog and generally do what I can for the community. The guiding companies are free to utilize all of this. So, why should I support them to make money from my work?

Guiding companies need to stop their bellyaching and put together a basket of services, both to their customers and to the community at large, that we can all use and appreciate! Even if it just means putting up new lines for us to get excited about. Furthermore, only when companies concentrate on improving their skill level and their services will they be able to survive economically from climbing - something that is hard to do anywhere in the world.

Crags like White Mountain and Wine Bottle were developed by independent climbers to share with other climbers: they have a 'public park’ status and have been in the public domain for a long time. If guiding companies had their own crags they could set up regular training programs to systematically train new climbers and to help experienced climbers get to the next level. I’d pay if I thought I could learn something useful from a qualified trainer but, presently, I don’t think the guiding companies have this ability or the place to teach.

Yangshuo needs strong, well qualified guides and the guiding companies need to become serious teachers if they are to expand their customer base beyond beginners. Yangshuo is a sport climbing area and it would make sense to teach the technical and strength training side of the sport. It also makes sense to start training a climbing team that could attend national contests because this would be a big draw for Chinese climbers. Perhaps the new bouldering facility will make this easier. Trainers need to focus on developing their students. Their effectiveness will be seen in their student's success and make marketing easier. This might be a possible road to financial success for at least a few of them.

Chinese Translation of Guidebook

I've been working on a Chinese translation of Paul Collis' Yangshuo Rock Climbs for awhile now and it is just about finished. I made final changes today and can send it off to the printers next week. It should be available before the climbing festival in November. It's been along time in the making but I believe the effort will prove worthwhile. So many people helped out that it would be impossible to list them all. Thanks to you all!

Climbing is growing quickly in China and more people are wanting more information not only about Yangshuo, but also about other areas in China. After this translation, I would like to look at creating Chinese guidebooks for other areas as well. The guide book serves more purposes than just listing and describing routes. During the process we had to agree upon a whole list of terms and ideas that had yet to be standardized within the local climbing community; the list includes terms like: 'flash', 'crag' and 'arete'. The community really came together in this effort and it was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.

Photo show Radka bouldering on the Great Wall outside of Beijing.

Land Use Issues

The Yangshuo Access Initiative is still not formally established so I will use this forum to communicate my thoughts on crag access issues in Yangshuo. Presently, guiding companies are competing to secure for themselves long-term leases to the base of Wine Bottle and a few other popular crags. Guiding companies are commercial entities out to make profits; their guiding businesses have never been profitable enough to afford anything near a stabile lifestyle and many of the owners have been trying to improve the situation. Fair enough.

One potential way for them to earn more money is to acquire rights to use a crag and then to monopolize access and to charge fees to anyone who climbs there. If they have a legal claim to using the land exclusively, these claims could be protected by the courts and ultimately by the police. Most laws in western societies are exactly that, they protect property rights. Property rights were obtained for Golden Cat Cave and quite a few people believe it has been turned into a gold mine for the guiding company that operates there. Thus, the race might be on to acquire the rights to other popular areas: Wine Bottle, Thumb Peak and White Mountain have all been mentioned in my discussions.

If this is the future pattern, we can expect the villagers near the other crags will also want to lease the land-use-rights to their crags; it may become the norm both in Yanghsuo and in other parts of China. If this is the way things are going, I do not think the climbers, even if we all band together, can stop it. I do not see the government getting involved in the issue on the climbing community's side. I am proposing that the YAI actively get involved in the process and try to secure the leases to the crags and to ensure that these leases will be upheld in a court of law.

Up till now, we have not really tried to grapple with this access issue because we were not forced to. That might be changing. The YAI will represent independent climbers in crag access issues and it is our goal to open access to all independent climbers. Guiding companies may want to use some of the crags to make money and I think this is acceptable as long as there is an understanding that the rights of independent climbers come first. In fact, I imagine the guiding companies will want to become members of the YAI. I need some feedback on this so your comments are welcome. I could also use some support in getting a website off the ground. Thanks, BK

Fall Climbing Season is Here

It's raining now but the cooler weather and low humidity are on their way to Yangshuo so get ready for the best climbing conditions of the year. I usually try to start going to YS just after the October 1st National Holiday and then spend as much time there till rain and cold fingers of mid-December make other locals more attractive. I've pulled down on my most difficult routes to date in early December after working hard all fall. Actually, February this past winter was my all-time best because we had 3 weeks of mild winter temps and very low humidity, and I was able to rearrange my (non-)work schedule around it. Plus, the days are noticeably longer by that time of year.

The climbing festival was held the first weekend of November last year and many climbers stayed around till early December, including some of sponsored professionals. This was a great experience that I hope will continue this year. This year's festival is in mid-November and I'll plan to hang around till mid-Dec, or until it get too cold to get anything down. I've got an espresso maker that helps extend my days at the crag by at least a few hours, so if I can get a crew up early enough, putting in a full day climbing should not be a problem. Hope to see you there.