Rocks, Friends, and Views

2/17-2/20

On the seventeenth , Robyn and I woke up and met Kelsey, our friend from Canada, for breakfast. After chowing down, we made the decision to take it easier and stay closer to town for climbing. This meant only one spot, the Cave, a fun crag with only a few climbs on it. We cruised over to the site on our motorbikes and parked them just outside the house we had to go through to access the climbs. We head


ed up the hill and decided to start on a 6a+ (5.10b). It was short and sweet with one hard move at the top. Next, we jumped on a 6b (5.10c) which through me for a loop at the top. I miss the holds needed to make it to the anchors successfully. Trying to grab on to small crimps to clip anchors, I took a few falls before finding the right ones. I clipped anchors finally and lowered feeling a bit let down that I had not climbed more smoothly. I soon shook it off though and realized that it was still a blast. Climbing meant more to me than just getting every climb clean. It was more about the idea of facing fears and getting to places only few get to experience.

Kelsey wanted to hop on a few more climbs before calling it quits, so she hoped on a 6b (5.10c) and a 6a (5.10a) on the other side of the cave. Robyn and I were feeling the days prior pretty heavily and decided to call it good and rest. I offered to belay Kelsey on her two final climbs. They went well, except for the first few bolts of the 6b (5.10c). High above her second bolt making her way to the next clip, she grabbed a dirty pocket causing her to slip off the climb and fall almost all the way back to the ground. Seeing this and hearing her yell “FALLING”, I was able to suck in a bit of rope in my belay device preventing her from decking (hitting the ground). She was inches from a boulder at the bottom of the climb. Being such a huge fall, it literally jerked me off the ground and left us both suspended and swinging around. After realizing how close of a call it was to a serious injury, we took a deep breath and continued on with the climb. Being both full of adrenaline, we were on a our “A” game. She made it to the top with out any other problems or falls. Seeing her pass the second bolt again, I was extremely nervous but as she clipped into the third I was able to calm down knowing that a decking potential was now out of the picture. 

View from the roof of our Hotel

Having enough excitement for the day, we headed out and grabbed a bite to eat. Kelsey chilled out in town the remainder of the day and Robyn and I cruised out to the National Park for a hike to a mountain peak. When we arrived, we walked to the ticket counter to buy passes. Robyn was told “No it was too late” . After a quick look at my watch, I was shocked to see it was nearly 4pm. Where had the day gone? Since we were already there and nearing the end of our time on the island, we reasoned with the lady in the ticket booth telling her we could easily make the 2km (under a mile) hike to the top and down with in the hour before they closed. Without argument, she sold us our tickets, told us to be back before 5pm and off we went. Walking at a fast pace we made it to the top in about twenty minutes. We took a couple pictures and took in the view of all the mountains all around the island. As far as you could see in every direction were jungle covered mountains and towering limestone karst. To say the least, it was breath taking and not just because we had practically run up the mountain. We soon left and were back at the front gates with 5 minutes to spare. Getting close to sunset we cruised back to town for a bite to eat. 

The eighteenth was our last day climbing in Cat Ba Island. We again went back to Butterfly Valley to tackle a few more climbs that I wanted to check off the list. Having climbed everything 6b (5.10c) and easier, there were a few harder climbs I wanted to go after. We started on a climb called “Brooklyn Buddha” a 6c+ (5.11b). Usually, I would warm up on an easier climb but today I decided against it to ensure I had every bit of muscle energy for each climb. This particular climb was a good one to start with because it was easy going at first leading to a hard sustained finish. All was going well for me as I clipped my way up through the bolts getting closer and closer to the anchor. About  half way up the climb I hit first of two crux, again this being the hard parts of the climb usually giving the climb its grade. I stood on a solid ledge for a few minutes puzzled by the movement  and wanting to get it dialed in before advancing up the climb. After a few goes at the next bolt I finally got the movement and headed upward. From the ledge, I moved into  a crack that was only good for just your finger tips to get all while standing on a slab with crap feet. I quickly moved higher and higher moving into the last crux which I successfully placed my quickdraw into the bolt before attempting. Getting exhausted, I had to move quick and as I committed to the move, truly believing that I was going to get my first 6c+ clean on the first go, I slipped off the hold taking a small fall. Feeling a little defeated yet excited that I was so close, I jumped right back on the wall and made the move advancing to the anchors finishing the first climb of the day. Although not perfect, I lowered off the climb with a big smile feeling as though I had made huge progress throughout my trip here in Southeast Asia. Once to the ground, I also had learned from a fellow climber and employee of our go to climb shop that the climb was once considered a 7a (5.11d) but recently had been down graded for whatever reason. With this news, my smile grew even larger. Kelsey hopped on the climb next and ran up smoothly until the very end where she took a fall in the same spot. 

Cat Co. 4 Beach

Robyn feeling wrecked (sore muscles) from accomplishing her climbs the days before, opted out of this one. With this, we moved on to next climb which I had already done once before. “Buffalo Love” is the name and 7a+ (5.12a) was the game. I wanted to give it one last go simply because it was such a fabulous climb, plus I wanted to see if I could do it without any falls. A 25 meter climb up a perfect layback crack led to a big move over a roof in the route before moving into the last technical balanced moves at the anchors. Kelsey gave it a go first and looked smooth as she approached the crux, the move over the roof about half way up. Unfortunately, she did not get high enough feet and took a fall. Wanting to get it clean, she decided to lower down and get a rest while I gave it a go. I put on my shoes, grabbed a few quickdraws, tied in, and chalked up. I took a deep breath and a double checked everything before I started up the climb. I moved smooth through the first half of the climb and soon found myself at the crux where just minutes before Kelsey had fallen. For some unknown reason, my nerves started taking over and my right leg started to “Elvis” (shake uncontrollably). I had to replace my foot as it was wiggling off the crucial hold I needed to make the big move. Having wasted energy and feeling as if I needed to just go for it I went for the jugs (big holds) above the roof. Not quite being high enough with hands and feet yet, I came up short causing me to take a fall. After a big scream and a quick laugh I decided to just go for it again rather than lowering knowing I had one more good climb to come afterwards and needed energy for it. I was able to finish the rest of the climb without any further falls, which in my mind was AWESOME…being that I never thought before this trip I would be climbing 7a+ (5.12a) much less leading them. Kelsey went for it again but again took a fall at the crux. Knowing we still had more climbing ahead of us, she happily finished the rest of the climb calling it good. Again, Robyn decided to listen to her exhausted body and take her harness off and head into town on the motor bike for some exploring rather than risk injury from overuse. 

Down a bit from “Buffalo Love” was a climb that I have been looking at for a few days and had on my “want to climb” list. “Chasing Double Rainbows” was another 6c+ (5.11c) which also had been down graded from a 7a ( 5.11c). I was told it was one of the best quality climbs at its grade and a must do even though not considered one of the classics of Cat Ba (a list of favorites from past climbers and employees of the rock shop). And that it was! A beautiful climb moving through three completely different climbing styles as you moved up the wall. It started off with a blank face with only enough holds to get you through it, over a small roof, into balance moves on tufas, and ending with a tricky crack with limited good holds. Although tired already from the other two climbs, I was able to send it on my first go with no issues. Exhausted mentally and physically, I made it to the top and clipped my last anchors of Cat Ba. Being such a smooth and enjoyable climb, I wanted to end it there on a high note. Even if I had wanted to project another climb, Im not sure if I would have been able. Kelsey gave it a go and did well on it too. 

Afterwards, I got her to get on “Cracker Jack” a 6c (5.11a) and a classic that I found to be pure fun. She kicked butt on it and it kicked hers as well. Before leaving the Valley for our last time we both needed to get a warm down in so we opted for one of the easiest climbs but yet most unique called “Roots Reggae”. This climb literally goes up the roots of a tree growing off the edge of the wall. Once done we packed our things and enjoyed our last walk through the field of cows talking about the amazing day we had just had climbing. Before leaving, I took a few more minutes to sit in the grass and admire the beautiful piece of rock jutting out of the valley. Smiling, I thought about the near 40 climbs I had done in the two weeks while in Cat Ba.

On our last full day, we decided to spend it relaxing, packing and exploring a little more of the island. We cruised over to Cat Co 4, a beach with an abandoned resort on it that is empty most of the time. We had bought a paddle ball set in Tonsai and when ever we needed an off day activity, paddle ball was the answer. You would never guess that we have been playing it for almost 3 months with our back and forth but it’s all good fun. Kelsey randomly pulled up to the beach as well and joined us. Then not to long later, three young kids just out of school came running down with pellet guns shooting each other. Kids on Cat Ba love saying the english words  when they know them and are around westerners. Usually this is just “HELLO” but these little guys had a few more fun ones like “what the hell!” They were hilarious! They showed off by arm wrestling and doing a pretend boxing match. We tried to show them thumb wresting and rock-paper-scissors but they liked arm wrestling better. When they got bored with that, they stole our phones and tried to add us on Facebook. Before they left they tried to teach us to count in vietnamese and laughed at our poor attempt to speak a tonal language. 

That night we headed out for drinks with the “climbing crew”. We went to our favorite bar/only bar we ever went to just above the rock shop. We drank beer, played cards, shot pool and shared a few laughs and stories of the past few weeks spent together. 

Yummy...Frog Legs!

Today was simple. We woke up, ate our last meal on the island, and headed off back to Hanoi. We ended up taking a bus to a ferry to another bus. Five hours later and a lot easier than getting to Cat Ba, we were in Hanoi. We went back to the same hostel we had stayed in when we first arrived, dropped off our gear and headed out for a walk around the city. We had a mission to find the only two legit outdoor stores in Hanoi and buy really awesome climbing/hiking pants for super cheap. I would have to say we definitely accomplished that mission! Robyn scored two pairs of pants and myself one, costing less than a forth of what we would pay in the states for them. 

Getting close to dinner time, we headed back in the direction of our hostel to find some street food, the only other goal for our short visit to Hanoi. We again succeeded and found a nice spot with some interesting items on the menu. These included fried frogs and whole birds (not chicken). I decided I had to get something weird and unusual so I opted for fried frogs which I was a little nervous for. It was a plate with legs, skin, spine, and other parts of the frog I could not quite figure out, all which was really tasty. It really proved that you can fry anything and it will taste amazing. 

Tonight we went to the free beer happy hour and enjoyed our last moments in Vietnam. Tomorrow we head back to Thailand for a tour of the northern region. We start off at a climbers’ camp just 2 hours north of Bangkok before heading further north. Stay tuned for we are headed back to the land of curry, bahts, and well established climbing sites.