Cat Ba - Climb 1

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I slept in the next morning as I wasn't on the tour's schedule anymore. The climbing trip leaving that day was a noon-to-fiver, so I had some time.

The climb was guided which was nice because a lot of the people were newbies and I didn't have to worry about belaying. I wasn't really expecting to climb on this trip, so I needed to rent all the gear, but it worked out in the end.

We bussed to "the valley" site, about 15 minutes, grabbed lunch and walked to the rocks. The walls were eroded limestone - tons of features and cool formations. Even the easy walls had some fun stuff to play with.

Best part of the experience was getting asked to spot a lead climber until she reached the second bolt. After she led and cleaned the route I was able to get a belay up a really gnarly 5.10+ with one of the coolest chimneys I've ever seen.

Also, great people were there. Met 2 people from the States, and the balance of 12 or so were mostly from Canada or the UK. Well all grabbed dinner and swapped pictures, then collapsed.

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