Cheeky autumn sun day

So by some miracle we get 20+ degrees during an October weekend so we did a little trip to horshoe quarry armed with our helmets.  We ticked off most of the routes to the left of the main wall and made a start on those right of the main wall bumping into Ilona and her climbing partner.

Collette spotting me on a 6b+

And concentrating the whole way, well trained

Ilona leading

Thailand 2011

With some time spare before starting my new job I couldnt resist heading back to Thailand again.  This time I wanted to explore beyond the Tonsai/Railey crags to Koh Yai Noi and Koh Phi Phi.  Unfortuantely several days of severe weather and flooding meant I only managed to head to Koh Phi Phi and Tonsai this trip.

Koh Phi Phi had mainly grades under 6c with a mixture of slabs and overhanging routes.  I found a small seciton on Tonsai wall with some very newly bolted routes and a local guide told me one of which was a 7b.

Overhanging route (6c) on Tonsai wall, Koh Phi Phi

Leading a new route on Tonai wall, 7b

I demolished all the routes on Koh Phi Phi so we headed back to Tonsai in the rain.  Once the rain cleared we did a few routes and coll insisted on climbing back through the cave through Thaiwand wall for a bit of adventure!


Coll seconding up Thaiwand wall so we could walk through the cave onto Phra nang beach



At the top of the route into the cave, torches at the ready for the bamboo ladders





Where has the sun gone in Thailand??

Leading ladder 2011

I thought it would be good to mark my progress by entering the leading ladder again.  As before I qualified for the finals which were held in Cardiff this year.  The organisation of the final was pretty poor with lines overlapping and people falling off very close to the climbers beside them, which meant i really did not enjoy the day at all.  However it wasnt a wasted trip and I came first this time.

On the 7b route

Looking gormless trying to pose