Why you come to Thahkek

1/10-22/2016

After a good nights rest we woke up late and headed downstairs to grab some grub and figure out how we were going to get to Green Climbers Home. As we walked outside to grab a table we ran into some familiar faces, two guys we had met in Tonsai. We had a nice catch up chat during breakfast and were able to get some good information on how to get to the Green Climbers Home as well as some good climbs to jump on once there. 

We sat around a bit longer using internet before heading off to the mountains. During this time we met our new friend, Erik a cool guy from Sweden. Erik was also heading out to Green Climbers Home, so we decided to all share a tuk tuk to make it cheaper. After a few more errands we all grabbed our bags and waved down the nearest tuk tuk and headed off into the mountains and away from the hectic city of Thahkek. 

Can't ask for an easier approach!

Green Climbers Home is tucked away in a small valley about 18 or so kilometers outside of town. There are two separate camps made of a few bungalows and tents that all surround a nice bamboo restaurant filled with wonderful pillows and mats to lounge around. Outside of the two camps, no more than a ten minute walk away are over 200 climbs to choose from. Plenty to keep you busy during your stay.

We spent our first two days climbing two easier crags so that we could get use to the rock and the style of climbing in Laos. Erik, who was traveling alone, needed a climbing partner so we invited him to join us. The climbing was interesting, a lot different from Tonsai. The rock was sharper and less steep, the bolts hung different, and the anchor setup was something we never seen before. The one thing that was similar to Tonsai was all the dry cave formations hanging on the wall. As you climbed you had to negotiate your way through tufas and stalactites. 

Having fun on cave formations

On our third day we decided to get up extremely early and tackle the four pitch climb called Chinese New Year. We (Robyn and Austin) headed out of our campsite with headlamps glowing and climbing gear on our backs. After a short walk we were at the bottom of the climb just as the first light of day began showing itself. Once racked up, we were on our way up to the top 130 meters away. We traded leads as we made our way through the four pitches of enjoyable climbing. We took a break at the top of the first pitch to enjoy the sunrise peaking up over the mountains in the distance. The last pitch totaled 44 meters which Robyn cruised up. Once at the top we took a few pictures, high fived each other and enjoyed the view over a shot of whiskey from the bottle awaiting anyone who tops out. We hurried to get our rope sorted out for the five rappels that were between us and the ground. We were in a race with the clock to make it back to the restaurant for breakfast. 

Robyn climbing a 6a

As soon as we coiled both ends of the rope and prepare them for the first toss over the edge the winds picked up and started gusting into the mountain. ROPE! we yelled as we toss the rope coils out. They went out, stopped, and slammed back in the wall just a few meters below us on a sharp block of rock. We laughed and retried being successful the second time. This was soon the start of a big adventure. We were moments away from realizing that the getting off was more difficult than the getting up on this adventurous climb. We both made it down to the next set of anchors with little to no problem. We got safe and pulled the rope to continue down the route. As we expected the rope got caught which required one of us to climb back up freeing the rope so that we could continue. The rope decided to continue misbehaving as it was encouraged by the wind to grab pieces of sharp rock. The problem with trying to free your rope was the risk in cutting it on the razor sharp edges which we all can agree is no good. I (Austin) even had to re climb most of the 6b pitch to free the rope one last time before finally getting to the ground. Lets just say we did not make breakfast, in fact we barely made it back before lunch hours started. In total it took just under five hours to finish this epic adventure. Two hours to get to the top and three to reach the ground again. For those unfamiliar with multi pitches this is usually not the case at all to have the rappel take longer than the actual climb. Lunch tasted really good that day as we rehydrated and stuffed our faces with enough food to feed a small army.

We are one week into our stay at Green Climbers Home and have a little more than a week left before we head to Cat Ba in Vietnam (another climbers hotspot). We both have our individual goals we are pushing for. Lets see how we do!