I just got back from spending a few days on Ton Sai and Railay. Here’s what went down.
Ton Sai – March 5 Arrived at Ton Sai around 9am. Ate breakfast on the beach then walked over to Ton Sai Wall to try Cowabungalow 6b. I had climbed this on top rope about a week ago and I felt good about leading it today. I was feeling a little pumped before the anchor but luckily there is a super good rest spot. I was able to fully recover and send! When I got down, there were a couple german guys that wanted to try it and one of them had never climbed outdoors before so I also helped keep an eye on him while he belayed to make sure he did not drop is partner. I was a little surprised the climber was willing to get on a climb at his limit with someone who had never belayed before. I guess it’s a different mindset Europeans have from Americans. He got up and down safely. Then we decided to climb together the rest of the day. We headed over to Eagle Wall. I got on Dead Spanish Bolts 5c+ while the Germans did Spiderman 6a. I remember climbing Dead Spanish Bolts 5c+ last time I came to Thailand but am pretty sure I did not do Spiderman 6a. I sent both routes and both of them were a lot of fun to climb. I would have been happy stopping here for the day but another party was climbing Made in Spain 6b and the Germans wanted to try it. The experienced German climber got up with a couple rests so I figured I should be able to do it too. I started up the route and made it to the crux without much trouble. Going through the crux, I thought I was going to fall off but somehow I made it through and sent the climb. I was feeling pretty good because I redpoinged Cowabungalow 6b earlier in the day and Made in Spain 6b was my first onsight of that grade.
We walked back to the beach to find a room. We stayed at Dream Valley Resort and got a pretty good deal on the room at 800 THB per night. The best part was the rooms had hot water and I got to take a hot shower for the first time in a couple months. After getting cleaned up we ate dinner then had some drinks at Chill Out Bar and saw a fire show.
This is what happens to stainless steel in Thailand.
View from the top of a climb.
Railay – March 6 Not quite as good as the day before. We got a bit of a late start then went over to Thaiwand Wall. I futzed around on Primal Scream 6a+ and couldn’t even get to the anchor so rappelled off a bolt. A little sketchy but I’m still alive… I didn’t want to give up completely on the wall. Circus Oz / Lord Of The Thais 6a+ was open so tried that. I onsighted it so I was feeling better about myself. By now it was about 2pm and we were hungry so ate lunch at the same place we always do in Railay then made the long walk over to Escher Wall on Pranang Beach. We did Short and Easy 5 then called it a day. After getting cleaned up, we got much needed massages then ate dinner.
View from the top.
Pranang Princess Cave
Railay – March 7 Back to Railay for the last day because it’s easier to get a boat to Ao Nang. Climbing on familiar territory at Wee’s Present Wall. We did the following:
- I Don’t Know 6a – Sharp rock, awkward start. Not my favorite climb here.
- Roi-Et 6a – Still sharp rock but better climbing.
- Way To The Top 5 – Onsighted this one and I also thought a really fun climb.
- A Man Can Tell A 1000 Lies 6a – Another slightly awkward start but really fun climbing between tufas.
These cats don’t give a fuck.
Next we went to lunch. I don’t remember the name of the place but it was on the way back from the catfish farm. The food was pretty good but the best part was it was next to a creek and under a canopy of trees so it was relatively cool. The weather has been quite hot this week. Getting up to around 37C.
My Life in Thailand 