Bin Cauw Asia

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I met Josh on the second day I spent sweating my arse off under a small covered tarpauline off the guest house row in Chiang Mai.

The Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures (CMRCA) is one of two climbing outfits in the area (the other being The Peak Adventures-which Josh helped establish five years ago). Josh rocks…not just because he is really putting in an effort to establish a safe and aware climbing community in Chiang Mai, but because he spends most of his free time trying to make it better. He’s also the only Thai climbing outfit to distribute Mad Rock gear.

His team of staff all have an abundance of internationally recognized training and first aid, his shop is clean and his gear in top shape. This alone should put most climbers fears to rest, but throw in the visuals of himself and partner “Kat” on the cover of most climbing magazines in the western world and you’ve got a combination of safety conscious business owner and world class climbing ownership.

The boulder wall I hurt my unused muscles on for a few days has a great set of problems ranging on the French system from a 6a on up. He works with a few “local” climbers, most of which guide for him on Crazy Horse Buttress, to set problems and maintain the wall.

When I met up with him, he had just arrived off the plane from the states where he had been on business and literally hours before boarding, had been climbing some sandstone buttress on American soil…I admire the dedication.

We started chatting about how he ended up in Thailand, how I did…etc. Ends up that Josh was down oin Phru Teow village in May to do some skillbuilding workshops with the kids and staff at the orphanage. We started talking about putting up a climbing wall and…….we’ll see.

I left CMRCA and headed to the Night Bazaar in search of the “wall”. The Peak operates this massive outdoor climbing wall and the business card I had for this place does not due it justice!. I intended on getting there early afternoon to beat the crowds and I am happy I did. Malie and I had a solid hour of climbing to ourselves before other visitors started joining in.

Josh knew most of the staff there and had trained a few of them himself. He told me to ask for a guy called “Lek”, or “little” to belay me.
Turns out Lek is anything but, love the humour the Thai’s have in choosing nicknames. Lek is huge for a Thai. He’s solid muscle and about 6’ tall. He was a good belay though, but he had to teach me the Thai words they used for climb on and lower…. Of which I promptly forgot half way up the first route.

It’s pretty exhilarating climbing anywhere, but this was too cool. The crowds from the night bazaar less than 100 feet away were loud and the evening light just starting to paint the wall in a tea-colored hue. Me and the wall….climbing is awesome.

I managed to pull off four good runs clean with only a few real slow spots. The view from the top was beautiful…temple tops and trees beyond the city. …wish I had my camera.

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Comments

[dian mccreary]

Where's you're safety harness? Looks like fun. You gotta teach me!!