Tag: Rock Climbing

Bolder Ventures Climbing Gym @ Subang Jaya

I just found out about this place through the Rock Climbing in Malaysia Facebook group.

Ping and I went check out this new climbing gym. It’s deep inside an industrial area. It has boulder and small top rope walls.


Roof for top rope! But no handholds yet


Ping

Two guys were taking care of the place when we were there. One of them was busy with a gaming console while the other was on his laptop. The toilet sink had unwashed dishes. The urinal had a spider. It looked like a bachelors pad to me than a climbing gym!


Uncle Fai showing it how it is done


Panoramic picture of the gym by Carness

Nevertheless, the boulder walls are not bad. The handholds are unique and rough. Boulder roof, however, is a little cramp. Routes are still challenging though.

The only thing I liked about here is that it’s near my place. Entry is only RM15 and there are no strict rules like Camp 5. Place is smaller than Mad Monkeyz.

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Address
11, Jalan Industri USJ 1/2
Taman Perindustrian USJ 1, 47600 Subang Jaya, Selangor
Tel: 03-8023-4948

Rock Climbing @ Putrajaya Challenge Park, Putrajaya

In a galaxy far, far away from Kuala Lumpur lies a rock climbing gym by the name Challenger Park. My usual climbing buddies had to fly a spaceship to reach this gym. It was so damn bloody far!

But the trip was well worth it. I’ve been wanting to climb here since its open. The entrance fee is cheap, only RM6. The walls are great. They have bouldering walls and climbing walls for lead climbing. Each of these walls are divided into beginner, intermediate and expert walls.


Expert Lead Wall


(L) Intermediate lead wall and (R) Intermediate and Expert bouldering walls


At the background, Beginner’s Bouldering Wall

The walls are quite similar with the walls at Camp 5 climbing gym. I heard this gym is build by the same people who built Camp 5.

My friends and I tried the expert bouldering wall. Large part of it was reclining and very high. So high that I don’t dare to climb all the way to the top -_-

The expert routes are also extremely tough. I can’t even finish one -_-

This place is also unregulated unlike Camp 5. In Camp 5, there are many rules one must follow. But here, it’s cowboy town. You can scream all you like and climb in whatever manner you want. It’s basically a lower class version of Camp 5. AWESOME!!!

Unfortunately, the quality of their shoes is poor. Their shoes have big holes on the front tip – probably due to overuse. I wouldn’t recommend beginners to climb here. Intermediate level climbers (with their own gears) are welcome.

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New York City: Central Park – Rock Climbing

The Wikipedia entry of Central Park states that there are rock climbing spots in the park. After weeks of food and no exercise, I was eager to find the place.


We found one of the spots! There was already a climber there 😀

This rock is called the Rat Rock. There’s even a Wikipedia entry on it. According to Wikipedia, this rock is called rat rock because rats swarms the place at night. Euw.

There were not many routes visible at this rock. Some can be seen through the white chalk patches on the wall.

Handholds were most crimps except for a few jugs here and there. Footholds on the other hand were tiny. It was difficult to climb without climbing shoes :/

Other than Rat Rock, there is also Cat Rock. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find that place.


Spotted 2 pairs of legs.

For more information about climbing in Central Park, check out rockclimbing.com’s entry.

Climbing @ Lactic Factory, Melbourne

Before my Melbourne trip, I wanted to climb outdoors. Wei Chen showed me couple of his Mount Arapiles outdoor bouldering pictures and it looked pretty good!

Unfortunately, it was summer time hence it is quite dangerous. A bush fire might happen while we are there. Therefore, we decided to climb indoors instead. My friends brought me to Lactic Factory, a bouldering gym not too far from the city centre. I was there 2 times in a week!

The gym consists of two floors. Each floor has a bouldering wall. The second floor wall has a roof.

The gym also has a very nice lounge with loads of book regarding climbing.

The entrance fee is about AU$13 per entry. First timers are required to sign a disclaimer form (as usual).

Routes are pre-set by the owner and changed from time to time. Dont need to crack your head to set your own routes.


View from 2nd floor

The climb was awesome as they had plenty of routes to try. Most of them power moves. Tire my muscles quite quickly.

Most of my friends were pretty good climbers. Some of them climb 3 times a week. They said there’s nothing much to do in Melbourne hence they climb 3 times a week. Fortunately, fatty Gavin Tan was around and hence I didn’t qualify as the worst climber wahahahha

The only drawback about this place is the toilet. It doesn’t have a place to wash your feet. I had to do some yoga moves to get my feet up into the basin.

Address
1 Studley St
Abbotsford VIC 3067, Australia
Tel: (03) 9416 2508
Wesite: thelacticfactory.com.au

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Mad Monkeyz Climbing Gym – Part III

Fai set up a challenge for us while bouldering at Mad Monkeyz Climbing Gym. Every route we finished on sight (first time without falling), he will do 5 pull ups. If we fail, we would need to do 5 pull ups.

Most of us managed to finish all the routes on sight and Fai lived up to his words. He probably did 50 over pull ups.

So after all the routes, Eddie and I put a challenge for him. He has to do 3 routes non stop without any additional footholds (place to step). Nevertheless, he can step on his handholds. Every time he finishes 1 route, he would need to climb to the next route (with foothold this time). If he manages to do so, Eddie and I will do 50 pull ups. If he fails, he will do 50 pull ups.

Let’s see whether he can do it…

Climbing Accident – Part IV

Yet another addition to my climbing injuries entries.

The first entry was about my foot.

The second was about Cleo’s Most Eligible Bachelor Contestant No 16 Cris’s palm.

The third was about a rope burn I had.

Then few weeks back, I sustained another injury from climbing. This time round is a little bit serious. I over strained my middle finger muscles – both hands – after climbing the entire day and ending it with 200 straight pull ups using my fingers. The pull ups caused too much strain on my fingers until I couldn’t grip anything for few weeks. At one point, my fingers will hurt when it is about to rain.

To avoid ending my climbing career early, I decided to procure the help of a physiologist. Gleneagles Hospital was my first choice as it is near my office.

Before making my first appointment, I had to get a referral letter from a doctor. Getting the letter was quite easy. All I said was, “Dr. I need a referral letter to see a physiologist”.

Located on the 4th Floor of Gleneagles Hospital @ Jalan Ampang, the place is quite pleasant. It didn’t feel like gloomy at all. They even have TV for us to watch.

My physio is a young lady by the name Jeya. When I told her about my problem, she immediately know what to do. She got my hands dipped in melted wax.


Now I know why people like SM with wax kekeke. Notice the tone of my hand?

When the wax hardens, I had to put my hands into a plastic bag and thereafter into an oven mitt. When I wore the oven mitt, one of the nurses said, “you look like you’re going to cook!”. -_-

Thereafter, I have to wait for 10 minutes before taking the oven mitt, plastic bag and wax out. I was told that the wax treatment helps my recovery – perhaps with the blood circulation.

The next treatment was ‘ultrasound’. I always thought ultrasound is for pregnant ladies but this ultrasound helps my recovery. It emits sound waves into my muscles and it hurts sometimes!!


Ultrasound machine.

The treatment, which lasts around an hour, cost me RM58. So far I’ve been to a few rounds of treatment and my fingers are getting better. However, I am getting poor from all these medical fees. GG

Note to self: No more 200 pull ups after climbing!!

Mad Monkeyz Climbing Gym

My climbing kakis and I made a trip down to the newly opened Mad Monkeyz climbing gym. This gym is located at Section 2, Wangsa Maju, far away from where I stay.

Going there wasn’t an easy task for me as I have not been to Wangsa Maju. However, thanks to Google Map which I installed on my Blackberry, I got there without getting lost!

The gym is located in a 3 storeys shop. It covers the 2nd floor and 3rd floor of the shop.

When we were there, the 2nd floor was still under construction. I was told that the 2nd floor will be used to house the climbing gears shop and also the beginner’s wall.

The 3rd floor is where the advance bouldering walls are located. The entire place (except locker area) was covered with wooden planks and handholds. Unlike Camp 5’s walls, the wooden planks are smooth and doesn’t leave you with scratch marks if you scrape yourself on the walls.


ssoooo small!

Toilet hidden behind the walls

The entire 3rd floor (except the locker area) was covered with thick mattresses to cushion falling climbers. There are a number of good places to sleep too!


A real monkeyz in action

The overall ambiance of the place was extremely good. It was very cozy. We could sleep anywhere we want. There were many climbers from our Summit Climbing Gym days.


Home made Monkey chalk bag.

If you had been to Camp 5 for long, you will notice that the place has many rules and regulations to follow e.g no shouting, no sleeping, no fapping. But here in Mad Monkeyz, we could do whatever activities we want to do. For example, playing our all time favourite card game. Loser had to do 10 chin ups, 10 pushups and 10 sit ups.


Since the gym is located in a shop lot, there are a lot of places to eat around its vicinity. For example, Bangi Kopitiam.


The gym will be bringing in some Red Chillis rock climbing shoes.


Packed during the evening!

The gym will be officially launched on 30 April. The entrance fee and membership are probably the cheapest in town!

Location


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Wikimapia map

19-1 & 19-2, Jalan Metro Wangsa,
Section 2, Wangsa Maju,
53300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Telephone: 603.4142 0698
Facsimile: 603.4142 0697
Opening Hours: Mondays to Fridays 2pm to 11pm.
Saturday & Sunday 10am to 7pm.
Website: http://www.madmonkeyzclimbing.com

New Climbing Gym – Mad Monkeyz Climbing Gym

My friend Hon San (also reader of this website) and a few others started a climbing gym by the name Mad Monkeyz. This gym is dedicated to bouldering and movement training for climbing.

It’s open 7 days a week. I can’t wait to check out the place! Here are some pictures of the place.

Location


Click for larger image


Wikimapia map

19-1 & 19-2, Jalan Metro Wangsa,
Section 2, Wangsa Maju,
53300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Telephone: 603.4142 0698
Facsimile: 603.4142 0697
Opening Hours: Mondays to Fridays 2pm to 11pm.
Saturday & Sunday 10am to 7pm.
Website: http://www.madmonkeyzclimbing.com

Nanyang Wall & Comic Wall @ Batu Caves

Anna, Cris, Edmund, Ping and I made a long delayed trip to Batu Caves to rock climb. This time round with new comers Ken and Sam. It was Ken and Sam’s first time rock climbing.

Since our last time outdoor at Nanyang Wall was quite enjoyable, we decided to head to Nanyang Wall again. However, it rained heavily last night and the place was slightly flooded. Further, many of the stalactites there were dripping water non stop hence many of the handholds and footholds were slippery.

We were the first group to arrive Nanyang Wall. There were hundreds of mosquitoes flying around attacking us. Nanyang Wall was not in good shape as one part of the wall was flooded, the second part had hundreds of mosquitoes lurking around and the last part was burning hot from the sun.

Cris was the first to test out the wall. He accidentally slipped after stepping on a slipper foothold. He got himself a blooded wrist.


and he got bird shit on his back..

The n00bs were next. It was quite difficult for them as they didn’t have experience and not even indoor experience. Nevertheless, we managed to guide them and got them to do the route.

On the last occasion, someone put a little bird up on the tree. The tree is gone now. I wonder what happened to the little bird. Hope he RIP.

Few hours later, Nanyang Wall was filled with more climbers. This time with more girls that guys!

We moved to Comic Wall, which is another climbing wall next for Nanyang Wall. Comic Wall has numerous beginners routes but many of the handholds were quite sharp. It hurts like crap sometimes especially when you have a small sharp handhold and that’s the only available handhold. Tunasing!!!

Comic Wall too has a fair share of mosquitoes. Thank god I had people like Anna and Ping to attract the mosquitoes. I think I didn’t get any mosquito bite. wahha

The Soulizen couple, Cicak and Lai, were there as well. We managed to climb 3 routes together.

One of the unique attractions of Comic Wall is an abandoned Chinese temple. It’s located inside a flooded cave. Nothing much is left in the temple except for some ruins. Bats have now claimed the place as their residence.


The temple ruins


Inside the cave..


Unwanted spectators


Ping’s new found love.

We ended our climb early around 230pm, which is quite early considering that the previous occasion we climbed until late evening.


Map to Comic Wall

Rock Climbing @ Nanyang Wall @ Batu Caves

Not wanting to lose our new found skills from our Krabi trip, team Malaysia (consisting of Anna, Ed, Cris, Ping and I) headed to Nanyang Wall @ Batu Caves to climb. It was our first time there. Many thanks to Abner for guiding us there.

Nanyang Wall is one of the climbing spots around Batu Caves. I heard that some climbers pooled in their resources and bolted a lot of new routes. The area is strategically located. It’s next to the main road and within walking distance from a commercial district. We parked our car at the commercial district and walked toward Nanyang Wall.

Unlike Damai Wall, Nanyang Wall doesn’t have a public toilet. Those who wants to do their small business can walk deeper into Nanyang Wall. For big business, you got to head to one of the restaurants at the commercial district. Just buy a few sweets from them and I think they will be obliged to lend them their toilet. I recall there was once a friend who had to knock on someone’s door to use their toilet cause they are no public toilets around. He said the toilet had holes all over the wall. HEHE

Most of the routes in Nanyang Wall are pretty short. However, the routes are quite technical.


View from top!


View from top!


Left or Right?

My favourite route would be the route called “Old Shoes Beware”. As the name suggests, wearing old shoes to climb is not recommended. This route is only made of 4 bolts but handholds and footholds are mostly crimps. You need new shoes to ensure that your feet stays on the footholds.

Me belaying Ping while thinking how to free fall him later.

Hanging by the tip of my fingers and toes.

We spotted a small young bird by the rocks. I guess it fell off its nest and couldn’t climb back up. I fed it with bread and even Mandarin oranges. Someone decided to put the little bird up a tree. He said other birds will feed it too. I hope I won’t find a skeleton when I come back next time.

We had lunch at one of the mamaks nearby. The food and service were terrible. The boss was quite rude as well.

Me: Boss, I ordered maggi sup kosong. (plain noodles soup without any additional stuff)
Boss: yea, that’s maggi kosong.
Me: If it’s maggi kosong, how come I have vegetable in my soup?
Boss: Yea, its maggi kosong. We added vegetable for you.
Me: O_O


Nasi Lemak Ibu . Com – website still under construction

For the first time, we climbed from morning till late evening – from 10am to 6pm. Usually we would pack our bags by the afternoon because it gets too hot. However, Nanyang Wall was quite cool throughout the whole day. Further, the atmosphere was quite fun as other climbers were pretty friendly as well. A group of climbers even loaned us their rope, which was fresh out from the bag.

They were nice enough to let us deflower their new rope. Aah.. Fresh rope..


The rope got tangled. Need 3 fellows to untangle it.

A few of us decided to pack up early and hung around playing cards while waiting for the rest to finish climbing.


Best Belayer evaaa


Triple decker

Eddie hurt himself while descending from a route. He removed his runner from the bolt and jump down. He managed to lodge himself down safely a few times but… luck wasn’t on his side..


GGed

To get to Nanyang Wall, head to Taman Sunway Batu Caves