Beta on thailand

[aussie69]

Looking to put a trip together for this coming Fall. probly head over there for 2 months. Anywho I'm curious as to how the weather is this time a year, what spots to climb at, and any other useful info. Also if any one wants to join us that'd be cool.

~cheers!~

Austin

[rob]

Climbed at Phra Nang peninsula -- tons of stuff, mostly steep to overhanging. There are some good moderate routes at the end of Phra Nange beach that are fun. If you're a harder climber than me, The King and I is supposed to be a great multi-pitch route on the Thaiwand.

 

For sure get a guidebook so you can plan your day to prevent baking in the sun. I was there in late November to early December, weather was outstanding the entire trip. We arrived right before the peak season started.

 

Railey East has nice places to stay (we stayed at Sunrise Tropical Resort). The highlands has cheaper places, and is near the nightlife, so it is a bit louder. Tonsai has some cheap places too, and there are usually lots of climbers over there.

 

Check out the Stone bar and the Gecko bar. If Job 2 Do is playing, definitely catch their show.

 

Oh, and Bring DEET. The only stuff I could find in Railey was some all-natural citronella crap which didn't work.

[suge]

I put up a TR last year, which is way buried.

 

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/659961#Post659961

 

Most climbers head to the Tonsai-Railey area in the south or Chiang Mai in the north. If you head south, fly to Krabi, taxi to Ao Nang, and then boat to Tonsai or Railey. Tonsai is the most dirt bag like, but it is being developed and a lot of cheap places are now way in back, far from the water. You can walk from Tonsai to Railey East, West, and Phra Nang pretty easily.

 

There are two main guidebooks (Sam Lightner, Wee Changrua). Both are ok, though I'd give a slight nod to Wee's book. I'd bring both, though, as they disagree on star ratings and worthiness on some really key climbs.

 

Prices for food/housing are about double (sometimes triple) what you would pay in the rest of Thailand outside of Bangkok.

 

In terms of climbs, the area is, I think, rather soft for the ratings. Of course, some climbs are pretty brutal for their grade, but for the most part I found them easier than at, say, Vantage. Once you get used to the steep, featured limestone, there are tons of climbs. I didn't do any of the multipitch stuff, but people raved about Humanality (4 pitches, about 10d) and Lord of the Thais (5 pitches, about 12b).

 

Try climbing in the early morning before the sun gets hard. I would generally hit the rock around 6:30 or so and get a few pitches in, then retreat for breakfast. The air was a lot cooler and we could hit climbs that were popular with no one around.

 

If you want to try something different, there is good climbing near Lopburi, a few hours outside of Bangkok. You can see some info at

 

http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/faculty/cwillett/thailand2/lopburiclimb.html

 

There is a really good 5-6 pitch 5.9+ called Waltz for a Lovely Wife. There is a harder, but stunning looking 6 pitch 10b/c route called Corcovado on the crag also. You'll need your own transport to get to the crag, which is accessed through a local monastery.