Thailand Tonsia Beach Limestone

[billcoe]

Hi all:

 

I'm in Thailand right now. A quick note on the climbing in Thailand. First, note to self to remember that training in advance is not just de regior - but critical. I always seem to have this flat lull at the end of the year, so shaping up in Thailand at the back end of that lull makes a startling reminder that being old, fat and out of shape isn't something one wants as a starting point. Trashed at the end of 1 day. I met some great Aussies who invited me to go climbing yesterday and it trashed me so bad I'm taking a rest day to lay on the beach today! It turns out that grades have advanced while I haven't! When I was getting into climbing, (spoken in an old man voice wherein it was uphill to school both ways and 8 feet of snow to boot) 5.10 was the top of the scale, but a lot of 5.10s were still called 5.9 becasue folks didn't know what 5.10 was. I was feeling kind of guilty about the rest day today until the 2 germans whom the Aussies had tried to coach up a route yesterday afternoon, lets just call them Adonis and Abercrombie and Fitch dude because of the way they looked, walked by me laying on the beach on the way home early today before 10 am with their tails between their legs on the way to a rest day themselves.

 

Getting in yesterday was a shock. It's like this is where all the Victoria Secret chicks go to relax or something. No kidding. 9s and 10s were about it. They all seemed to have Euro boyfriends who looked to be built like brick shithouse looking stud muffins though. I'd say the population is running 70 percent Euro, 20 percent Aussie and the rest North americans. And about 90 percent Victorias Secret models. In fact, while eating sticky rice yesterday I did in fact see a perfect ass in a thong - I mean perfect. (insert old guy leer here)

 

Everything here is steep, overhanging, very physical and mostly hard. Pretty much everything I'm not. It doesn't fall to guile either, (one of the tricks I occasionally can pull out of my bag), because each hold is super chalked, only a blind man would be stumped where the routes go. This is left right left right 1,2,3 just follow the chalk trail. The Aussies saw me bouldering yesterday am and invited me to climb. They asked what I can get up and I say @ 5.10, which is generally true. The invite was awesome and greatly appreciated too as I really wanted some mileage. The first route went well and I cruised it, but being already pumped from the bouldering, in addition to being old and out of shape *cough *cough* well, I got even more pumped on it. They suggested I then do the route to the right of that one, which they said was easier. It went OK till the last clip and I hung like a whipped puppy my forearms were so pumped. Later, they tell me the names and I look them up in the guidebook. Route one was 10c, but the description for route 2 (whipped puppy might have been a good name), says " this is the easiest route on this wall". 6a which infact translates to 10.a. They decide that doing the route next to it was a good idea, and after they dog their way up it, offer me a toprope. It looks harder than both of the others combined and it was. Grateful, I make it less than half way up, totally trashed. The book listed it at 7A or 5.11D. So on Tonsai, it's 10A and up, lots of 5.11 and 12.

 

Of course, I'm getting to hang out in a great spot, nice warm tropical water etc etc as well. No pics, I'll try to get some at some point. It's too warm to climb in the sun right now or even hang out on the beach mid-day, like 78-82 degrees in the shade. The routes I was on had this sticky amalgam of chalk and sweat that resembled dried bird guano and made the holds slippery. But this is some good shit here, even more so if you love gym climbing in an amazing setting.

 

I've heard this before, "I'm climbing harder than I ever have, but I've noticed the route grades are significantly easier:-) " and it sure seems applicable.

 

 

 

[JosephH]

Good for you Bill. When I was there back in '92 Tonsai was completely wild with no development of any kind; can't imagine what it's like today and look forward to the pictures. I was there for about six weeks, but so fat I spent first three just swimming twice a day from Railay to the point between Tonsai and Ao nang. That and eating just rice soup/porridge until I lost enough weight and got some muscle tone back. I suspect that was also the last time there was a full trad rack in town as well.

 

Have fun, you miserable wretch...

[kevbone]

Have fun Bill....

[crimper]

hey bill. i sent you a couple PMs last week with beta on some 5-10s that are dead vertical, not overhanging.

 

again, go to the keep! (the least steep climbing i found)

 

and have you climbed any boltless, threads only, routes? i did take a 15 footer onto a thread (i got off route and there was no downclimbing - i later found out that was a common "tourist" mistake on that route, as i had an audience of locals watching it all unfold and cheering after i whipped) and it held.

 

(thread equals fixed natural pro in the form of a knotted sling threaded through a limestone tunnel - a little spicy when they are clearly abraded and salty in some cases)

[JosephH]

Yeah, there is tons of natural pro. I was pretty much exclusively trad climbing while I was there and about half my pro was just slings. I was mainly climbing with a couple of locals who hadn't really seen much trad gear / climbing at that time and they loved all the natural placements. Hell, they'd laugh hysterically at about every placement they cleaned...

[crimper]

i made sure to bring a set of stoppers with me. used them on some slabby stuff. but never on the steep stuff, which usually sports fixed pro every 5-7 feet (as if i could hang on long enough to slot gear anyway on those routes!)

[crimper]

oh and bill, be sure and climb "humanality" the 5 pitch 5-10 starting at the freedom bar (unless it was washed away by the tsunami) and which also ends with a free rappel that lands you on top of the freedom bar. it's as good as everyone says. the first pitch is a tree (yes, tree) with 5-9 hand jams you climb 50 feet to gain a ledge system. threads only of course.

 

also, there is an optional 6th pitch i led that i recommend if you feel adventurous. picture a horizontal traverse of the inside of a 30 meter wide toilet bowl, with 400 feet of overhanging limestone and sandy beach under you. and all on threads, at 10a or so.

 

start in the dark to be the first on the route.

[billcoe]

You might not recognize the place Joseph. Just clip and go now, wall to wall folks. This shirt I picked up over there may explain some of the trip for me. At 54, 33 is so far in the rear view mirror that I can't even remember what that was like. Coupled with NO training and my natural dislike of crowds, clip climbing and climbing with strangers ....well, it was a good time, but I didn't get a lot of climbing in. Still, it was 80 degree warm and clear everyday, with warm sunny beaches and hotties in skimpy bathing suits for a view, then to come back to the Seattle airport, all flights canceled due to shit snow weather, I rented one of the last cars in the town and drove down to PDX past all the wrecks on I-5.

 

 

The green roofed building is the restaurant next to the bar, pretty much where I ate breakfast every am on the deck right there.

 

View from that deck.

 

Here's an overview of the walls from the viewpoint further down the way.

 

Typical climb, steep to overhanging with interesting stalagtite features.

[ivan]

so....you didn't achieve enlightenment along the way?

[billcoe]

Does a 1 hour long $6 full body massage by a comely Thai lass sans "happy finish", paired with a foot massage and extra oil count?

[ken4ord]

Nope. That does not sound like enlightenment.

 

 

I had fun there last time I was there, considering I am not really a bolt clipper. I still managed to get up on some routes and looking forward to getting in more next time. Like you said though it is not a bad place to sip Chang and take in the views.

 

Thanks for posting.