Bouldering in Phuket: unlock the potential...

Even though Phuket Island doesn't have any climbing spot, all around the numerous beaches on the west cost there are a lot of big granitic boulders to be explored...the video below shows a little example of the amazing potential!

Stay tuned....

Climbing in Koh Yao Noi – The Grateful Wall!

I have been living in Phuket one full year now and I went out Climbing in Koh Yao Noi so many times that I cannot count them on my fingers.

Since I usually prefer climbing on sea side walls, so far my preferred spots were the HD Wall and the Big Tree Wall. Of course The Bee Wall is also very nice and certainly The Mitt is a great spot…however, still I was probably missing the best of it…The Grateful Wall!!!

The Grateful Wall is an amazing cliff standing a few meters above the sea level only reachable by boat and considering it is facing north, thus constantly on shade, it is possible to climb the whole day!

Climbing in Malaysia: Batu Cave and Bukit Keteri....

Climbing in Malaysia is perhaps not so popular among the international climbing community, especially if compared with Thailand, however it has a huge potential that I believe should be taken in a closer consideration.

Being very honest, my personal knowledge was confined with the classic spots of Batu Caves which, beside its famous temple, has a decent number of bolted routes however, a part of it I decided to visit also the areas of Butik Keteri in the province of Perlis next to the borders to Thailand, which seemed to be very interesting and not very popular.

Being surrounded by highways and immerse in the urban district, Batu Caves is probably not the best climbing spot in the world. Nevertheless, even though you will be very far from feeling lost in the middle of a forest or immerse in the deep wild, many walls are featuring very nice lines.

Climbing in Vietnam: A new climbing frontier in South East Asia…

Have you ever heard about Cat Ba? Huu Lung? Quoc Hoai? Mai Chau? Not yet? Well, you better start having a look on Google map then!

For many years Vietnam has been associated with a terrible conflict that notoriously brought the name of this nation all over the media around the globe. However, after the end of the American War in April 1975 this amazing country has been protagonist of large series of dramatic changes. From the application of the Doi Moi in 1986 onward and in particular over the very last decade, its economic growth has pushed forward the resurrection of this country in all the possible direction, including of course Rock Climbing!

Climbing in Phuket: after work climbing session in Kata...

Despite the lack of a proper Climbing Gym in Phuket, as we can see the Phuket Climbing Community is growing fast, both because local climbers are popping up like mushrooms both because new friends are approaching this amazing community.

As always everybody is welcome to join our Thursday Evening After Work Climbing Session...the boulder wall is small and it's perfect for beginners to learn some basic movements, however I can guarantee it can be tough enough also for more experienced climbers!

If you are a regular climber do not forget to bring your shoes and chalk with you. If you have any secondhand old shoes...bring them as well, maybe someone else can use them!

If you are a beginner, no worries, just come and have fun! We will take care of you! 

Check our latest PICTURES and join our growing 

Phuket Climbing Community!

Climbing Session in Phuket are free and open to everybody every Thursday from 7h00pm in Soi 7 Patak Road Kata Karon, Phuket!

Climbing in Phuket: The blog on Phuket Gazette...

Click HERE to see the online version on, or click on the picture below to read the paper version!

Climbing in Southern Thailand: The Raining season has started…

Climbing in Southern Thailand represents for many climbers the perfect match to escape from cold winters, climb along enchanting coastlines and enjoy water activity such snorkeling and diving.

Climbing in Railay Beach in particular it’s probably the perfect match for all those who want to have a proper nice exotic holiday with all the comfort such nice accommodation and a variety of food and at the same time do not renounce to climb the whole day moving from a crag to another within walking distance.

The best season for Climbing in Southern Thailand is surely from November to April that is officially the dry season and the possibilities of rainfalls are very scarce.

On the other side this period of the year is generally characterized by higher prices and terribly crowded crags, in particular for climbers leading below 7a grades.

Raining season officially starts in May and last till October. This is probably not the best period to plan a Climbing Trip in Southern Thailand however it doesn’t necessary mean that you will be stuck under the rain for the whole day.

During the last month I went to climb in Koh Phi Phi during the weekend and I got one full day of sunshine and one half day of rain while the very last week I went to climb in Railay Beach for 4 days and we got only one afternoon of heavy rain that didn't allow us to climb at all, and one morning of on/off light rain that didn't really bother us.

Obviously considering that I am based in Phuket this is not a big deal for me, however I am conscious that if you are travelling from oversea having too many days of rain might piss you off.

Nevertheless, if you plan to stay no less than a week at the same spot you can be sure that the weather will not affect your holidays that much.

Koh Phi Phi, Tonsai, Railay and Ao Nang offer valid alternative to fill in the raining days and easily get ready to climb as soon as the rains stop. On the other hand, if you plan a Climbing Trip in Koh Yao Noi be aware that the road condition might be critic. In this case I suggest you to reach the spot by long tail boat.

All in all do not forget to check the Thai Meteorological Department and always have a poncho in your climbing bag.

Thanh Ha on the first pitch of The Lord of the Thais 6a+, Thaiwand Wall, Railay East

Eric on Scenic Bulimic, 6a - Tonsai Tower, Koh Phi Phi

Riccardo on his on-sight attempt of Up to You, 7b at Phra Nang Cave, Phra Nang Beach Railay

Supranee May on Pai Noon Mai, 5c - Tonsai Tower, Koh Phi Phi

Climbing in Railay: back to the Mecca…

I came back from Railay yesterday evening. My hands are painful, my arms are still pumped but if I close my eyes I can clearly visualize all the movements of those amazing lines and be ready to climb them again straight away!

I arrived in Tonsai beach on Wednesday afternoon to join my friends Caroline, Ben and Trang coming directly from Vietnam, members of the well-known VietClimb community and we basically climbed like crazy every day from the morning till the evening.

We found accommodation at Railay Garden View Resort on Railay East, a very nice bungalows complex immerse in a nice garden far from the noisy bars. Price was reasonable 600baht/night but make sure you book in advance.

We sent routes all around Fire Wall, Wee’s Present Wall, Escher Wall, Diamond Cave, Pranang Beach, 123 Wall and Muai Thai Wall…even though in my previous post I discouraged these last two crags, I must admit that in fact those two walls have very nice lines! Fortunately not so many climbing schools were operating due to the low season.

Among all the beautiful lines we climbed I would like to suggest:

• Muai Thai – 6b+ at Muai Thai Wall, the first route of the crag
• Ling Rong Hei (Monkey Crying) – 6b+ at Wee’s Present Wall, a beautiful line with a surprise at the end
• Best Route in Minnesota – 6c at Escher World, an infinite vertical black wall inside the cave
• Don’t Grab the Krabi – 7a+ at Escher World, a short line with a violent boulder on the last 4 meters
• Don’t buy toys – 7a+ at Pranang Beach, an overhanging tufa ending on a flat micro feet session. 

By the way do not miss the very nice hike from Thaiwand wall to Escher Wall passing through the cave climbing Twenty Kilos of Steel! Bring a torch and enjoy the priceless view!

 Riccardo clipping before the crux of Don’t Grab the Krabi – 7a+ Escher World, Railay West

Ben cleaning Best Route in Minnesota – 6c at Escher World, Railay West

Priceless view of Railay West and Tonsai Beach from the top of Twenty Kilos of Steel at Thaiwand Wall

If you want to see more pictures check my Facebook page

Climbing in Koh Yao Noi: back again...

Climbing in Koh Yao Noi is definitely becoming a weekend routine now!

We went there during Songkran holiday together with our friends Eric and Jenny and we came back again last Saturday evening to spend a full Sunday of climbing together with Minx and Kafill.

During the last two trips we have extensively climbed at the Bee Wall which has shown to be great even under heavy rains, the Dump Wall where we climbed an amazing 6b+ characterized by two huge stalactites, and spent long afternoons at the HD Wall which stay on shade from 12am on ward and it’s easily reachable walking till the end of the beach, tide permitting.

I would like to report also the presence of a very inspiring boulder right on the middle of the beach. I saw that rock before but I never understood its line until yesterday after having noticed some marks of chalk on it I have started figuring out some movements.

Here below a short video and some pictures. 

Eric on the good holds of Leaping Lizard 6b at Bee Wall, Koh Yao Noi

Riccardo on the crux of Golden Flakes 6c at Bee Wall, Koh Yao Noi

Supranee May on the red holds of HD Wall 5b, Koh Yao noi

Climbing in Railay – The climbing mecca

I went to Tonsai beach for the first time in my life in October 2009 accompanied by my Thai friend Saran following the intrepid footprints of a Sardinian climbing myth, Enzo Lecis.

I remember we couldn't climb for the first two days due to the heavy rain however the rest of the stay was just amazing.

A few weeks ago, after almost 4 years, I decided it was time to go back to this corner of world and since I was travelling with my girlfriend I decided to head to Railay instead seeking for easy routes.

What I have learned from this trip it’s quite easy: do not go to 1,2,3 Wall or Muai Thai Wall! A shopping mall during X-Mas holiday is surely less crowded!

This part of the peninsula has become the head quarter of all the climbing schools of area offering climbing services from sunrise to sunset seven days a week. 

If you really want to climb in this area you better wake up very early!

Considering I planned to stay in Railay only one day I was quite disappointed, but still we didn't give up and we headed to the Diamond Cave North Face.

Even though also this spot was monopolized by a climbing school, we were lucky enough to find right behind the corner 4 untouched lines: 6a+/6b/6b+/6c

All the routes were very well protected with titanium bolds or treads and the anchors were also set up with titanium bolds. The rock was great as usual and in particular the 6b was just amazing.

What else can I say? I will surely come back, however do not go to 1,2,3 Wall or Muai Thai Wall!

Climbing in Phuket: A short break in Koh Yao Noi

Koh Yao Noi is a small island located between Phuket, Phang Ngan and Krabi.

From Phuket, the best way to get there is to drive up to Bang Rang Pier and from here take a long tail boat or a speed boat up to the Manoh Pier. From Krabi, the embarkation port is called Ao Thalene. From both departing points, the price will vary from 120 THB to 200 THB and every 30 minutes there is a boat running up and down from 6h00am to 4h00pm.

Since the climbing area is located on the extreme north on the island, it is necessary to rent a motorbike, and drive for 20 minutes through some scenic hills surrounded by rubber plantations and wild forest. Do not be surprise to meet monkeys, snakes or monitor lizard on your way!

Once you arrive at the end of the road, you can safely leave your bike at the parking of the Hotel Paradise Koh Yao Noi and from here start a nice and easy trek! Do not forget to bring loads of water to drink...you will be sweating a lot!

Climbing in Koh Yao Noi is absolutely great! Most of the routes are protected with super safe Titanium Bolds and the quality of the rock is super!

The two most famous areas are surely The Mitt and The Grateful Wall, however, since the first one is indicated for strong harms holders and second one is reachable only by boat, I would suggest The Bee Wall, or The Breakfast Wall instead.

The Bee Wall starts with a 6a+ and a 6b next to each sharing the same anchor and it goes further with an amazing second pitch of 7a+.  The crag continues with two more 6c and one 6c+ all of them around 25m.

More information can be found in this database however the best idea is to buy the local climbing book!

Climbing in Krabi: Discovery Ao Nang!

If anybody talks about climbing in Southern Thailand, the mind immediately goes to the climbing meccas of Tonsai and Railay!

Nevertheless, this time I went out just to discover the new crag called Spirit Mountain located in Ao Nang on Chong Plee district, only 5 minutes driving from Ao Nang downtown and 20 minutes from Krabi.

The crag stays in shade until 1pm however if you have loads of water and you manage to resist the peak hours, it gets again better from 4pm till sunset. All the routes are bolted with titanium bolts and vary from 5a to 8a however you can find also many of them equipped only with threads…be careful!

The access is super easy, you can have a look to the pictures below.

The crag offers a very nice mix of climbing styles and grades, which make this crag a perfect spot for beginners, a very inspiring habitat for intermediate climbers and a great playground for expert climbers.

On the picture below, Khun Supranee top roping Ego Free Zone 6a+

Climbing in Phuket: First Climbing Session

On Saturday 16^th FEB I have proudly ran the first Phuket Climbing Session.

Considering that at this stage it would be too difficult to follow up too many beginner and considering that I still have a limited number of climbing shoes, I could not invite too many people therefore we were only in 4: 3 strong and motivated beautiful girls, and myself.

As always I gave them a short introduction about the philosophy of climbing, about the big difference between indoor and outdoor climbing and most important, the concept of movement, which in such a small climbing wall is definitely essential!

The result was impressive! I think there is some potential here….enjoy this short video footage and join our next session.

Climbing in Phuket: The wall is ready...

As everybody knows, Southern Thailand is surrounded by rock!

Krabi, Ao Nang, Tonsai, Koh Yao Noi, Koh Phi Phi are definitely rock climbing paradises well known all over the planet.

However if you you want to climb during the week after working hours and you live in Phuket, you'd better find a solution because there are no climbing walls at the horizon...

Considering I am exactly in the situation described above, the only solution I had was to find my own way and therefore...I built my own boulder wall!

I developed the idea of building a small boulder wall inspired by the experience of my good friend Jean Verly whom from a dusty climbing room in his home in Hanoi ended up setting up and managing the first Climbing Gym in Vietnam.

I am not that ambitious, however I am happy that I made my small dream come true and I am glad to invite you to contact me if you fancy share some movements with me!