Tuesday, June 27

Impt Announcement

Disgusted at the layers and layers of visible dust on the floor? Tired of the same old routes? sick of slipping off moist tiles?

It's time for a Gym cleanup !

8 July Saturday
- hope to see lots and lots of people there to help out.. If you're free perhaps you could add ur name in the comments page? Hope lots of dinos/regulars come and help out too, especially to put up the tiles :)

9am - Take down tiles and Cleaning Activities
1pm - Put up tiles

Monday, June 26

yishun safra free!!

Sat and Sun climbing at Bouldering +15m + 25m climbing wall was free = super duper shiok!!!

Some ppl were v cheapskate and went there for both days...muahahhaha

Wednesday, June 21

tampin trip

Some fotos of last week's trip courtesy of ryan koh



Sun juz came out after the rain


nus' strongest climber!


nus'2nd strongest climber!


NUS most cmi climber with not enough finger skin. (on a wicked crimp)


The man of many girl's dreams (and some guys too)


The hotel which was right beside china town. RM 88 a day for a double room.


SMU's pride


Driver of SCA8832Y(i think) - in cantonese = business success?


Coach going the wrong way?


Nice and shady.


nicest route of the trip. Nice good slopey gaston


grp foto. Grp = Team weng fai + Others


The ride up


Milk

Thursday, June 15

"Pro" Tip

First off, sorrie san! for not going to CA on today (thurs) really drained at work. BUT. Although wasnt climbing, i was doing paper research on what and how we can improve climbing! And yes i'm pleased to say i made a breakthrough. HAHA! (although i think some would disagree, especially san)

OK! Here comes the "Pro" Tip (drum rooolll!). That is..... EAT MORE CHOCOLATE!

Let me explain. The supporting evidence was derieved from the free hanger that was found on the MRT train carriage rail, titled "Get Your Dose of Happiness", kindly sponsored b
y Cadbury. On that small piece of plastic, it expounded the Goodness of Chocolate

Eat Chocolate for Better Health
Cocoa, the base compound of chocolate contains significant amounts of antioxidants. These antioxidants reduce the risk of heart disease.

Chocolate is Nutritious
Chocolate has nutritional value containing a range of nutrients necessary for good health. It contains Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamine, Zinc, Carbohydrate, Vitamin A and Riboflavin (seriously didnt all these stuff before). If you're looking to increase your Calcium intake, consider adding milk chocolate to your diet. (haha... really... advertisers these days...)

Get Happy with Chocolate

Scientific research tells us that eating chocolate triggers the release of Endorphines, natural opiates in the brain known to reduce pain and enhance one's mood and sense of pleasure
.

Thus, there really is nothing better than chocolate to be the soul food for climbers. You will forget all ur finger pain, feel happier climbing (no more wall banging) and greater satisfaction when you complete a route! Plus all that other health benefits! (though they seem to be pushing it a little...) To top it all, it tastes heavenly...... What more can one ask for... So people, start eating more chocolate (that includes u sandra).



Wednesday, June 14

Vanity Fair

A question of taste, perhaps?

What's your climbing style? What are your strengths and weaknesses? How do you wish to climb? Do you climb to the best of your strenghts, or do you simply try to emulate the greatness of other climbers whose very shadow seem to suggest unfulfilled potential?

Sometimes I think climbing can be the most elaborate vanity fair amongst the extreme sports within our reach. It seems as if we climb to be beautiful sometimes. If you believed that climbing is more than a sport -- it's a way of life, then you'd easily grasp this point. Just as we have struggled to come to terms with our cosmetic alter-egos, we struggle to correct our climbing styles and pursuits to emulate the superstars in our hearts.

But that is not to say that I object to having role models. Take my brother for example, his climbing style and approach to this intricate sport is what I would place as a role model -- nimbleness, grace over grunt, playfulness over power, daring, demeanour and calm flow from his various climbing styles. He probably doesn't think this much of his climbing, but I observe them in his movement, his pacing, his planning; his climbing. No Sharms, Lamas, Loskots, Rouling or Graham for me; just my good ol' brother.

Perhaps what strikes me most of his climbing is the resounding belief that he climbs HIS WAY. Not mine, not like somebody, but very much like himself. He probably started out looking up towards someone for guidance and direction as to how he should be climbing too. Heck, I think some people may even agree that he's got bits of Philip's climbing style embedded in his own.

What I sense in his climbing is a sort of deep seated acceptance of his form. No excuses for not being able to reach this or that, not being strong enough, not being well coordinated etc. Sometimes I think that there's a fevernt belief in him that there's always another (more technical) way around the problem.

Before I loose my point in this entry and start sounding like I've got some brokeback thing going on with my brother, I just feel that sometimes we seem to confuse and complicate our pursuit for competition performance with the true beauty of climbing. For climbers, it's always you, your equipment and the rock; no obsession with power, strength, crimpers, slopers etc... There's no gym and no competition -- just the route and the movement. It's something like returning to the core of the sport, the fundamental power of your body's spirit.

Perhaps Uncle Ben was right when he once mentioned this to me: "why do I climb?", with reference to a route he did in Thailand.

"To be beautiful," was his reply.


JKLM

Friday, June 9

new appt holders


Hi guys, it's that time of the year when the new exco takes over..so for those of you whom don't know yet, we proudly present to you exco for AY2006/2007!!

Captain: Ning Feng



Vice Captain: Mei Fen


Guy Manager : Liu Li


Girl Manager: Sandra

Monday, June 5

Thoughts on Thailand

Back from my second trip to Thailand, I'd just like to share some thoughts on climbing there.

  1. General trip timings: Avoid the months of May and before -- it's likely to still be within the rainy season. Locals say that the rainy seasons usually last till about between mid to late May. Rainy season is marked by waves of heavy rain or stormy weather starting at night and sometimes stretching into the next day. During these times, you'll get to see perculiar local habits like keeping all activities to a minimal and staying indoors. The most activity we've seen at times like these was our neighbour smoking weed and other people at the local restaurants channel-surfing. June and July are still during the tourist low seasons, so prices shouldn't get jacked up too high. Nevertheless, your cheapest sources of food and drinks will still be from Ao Nang.
  2. Guidebooks: Get the one that Climb Asia carries -- Rock Climbing in Thailand. It's got the best picture-to-crag guide you can get your hands on. The sketches are more accurate than the ones in King Climbers. You'd do well to get as many guidebooks as there are climbing parties. Basically you don't want to have 3 groups of climbers sharing one book. And of course, you wanna have a spare one in case it gets wet or dirty too.
  3. Equipment: Depending on where you climb, watch your equipment. Tonsai has got lots of sand and Railay has got lots of dust. You might wanna give it a brush at the end of your day and make sure that the ropes don't get soiled while you're climbing. Bring enough clips and ropes for all climbers cos renting is gonna cost a bit. Nevertheless, you could rent from places like Wee's Climbing School at Tonsai, near to the Banyan Tree Resort (look for Elke, an english-speaking german lady who runs the school).
  4. Good Climbs: Hardest send of the day were Tidal Wave (7B+) by Jups. No hardest red-point yet, but we were close to it on Tiger Queen (7B?). For boulders and people who have been packing it in at the Gym, Tonsai wall is great for short and intense climbs. The wall's steep and consistent overhang makes for almost long boulder problems, with single or multiple cruxes depending on your climbing style and strength. Fire wall has got some nice long routes too. A must try there is Groove Tube (6A), which packs an interesting segment where you'd need to chimney your way up an almost completely closed rock tunnel -- great fun.

    We've found a bouldering cave further down the road from fire wall (if you're coming over from the direction of Dream Valley Resort, that is). It's almost 12m long and packs several nice and sustained lines, from a flat wall to a wicked long roof to an inclined wall. Plenty of lines available at the cave, from juggy routes and obvious holds to slopy surfaces and even crimps on the roof -- worth a trip. Dum's Kitchen has got several nice routes too, like By Way of Deception (7A) which packs a tricky start and a sustained finish. Do spend more time on the Tonsai and neighbouring walls to really enjoy the more technical and harder routes. These are the lines that are really beautiful and worth the trip. However, try not to go running into the hard grades without adequate warmup and some easy foundations first. Most of th 6Cs in the area are still worth a go, like Vikings in Heat and Cowabungalow. They're nice routes to get you familiar with the rock and adequately warmed up.
  5. Relaxation: I think you could find some of the longer term residents smoking weed around; they're usually quite friendly and willing to share. There's a book cafe along the inner coastal road in Tonsai. Great food at Andaman Resort and generous helpings at Dream Valley Resort. Freedom Bar is still a great hangout anytime of day. Oh, and bring along the mahjong set -- it makes a great before-bed game for the restless souls.

JKLM



Sunday, June 4

Photos

An orgy of photos first ... to stir your imaginations ... and whet your appetites for the impending exodus to the holy-ground for regional climbing ...
Nuts and bolts to follow soon ... need to climb some ... and organise notes some more ...


Friday, June 2

KRABI - TONSAI

----> DREAM valley!!

----> The Food!!

---> The CLimbS!

Thursday, June 1

quote of the day (not by me)

Dropping knee is for girls, real men campus!!

What TYPE