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max2extreme
Apr 7, 2008, 1:42 PM
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Registered: Mar 28, 2008
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**After reading other TRs, I see how bad mine is. So I'll edit it tonight with an actual TR**
Ive been indoor climbing some, but it's been a while since my last time. My friend is a pretty experienced climber, about 15 years now. Well we live in Beijing and he gives me a call to go down to YangShuo for the weekend to do some climbs. I had a great time. My first outdoor sport experience was pretty awesome. I must admit, I was quite surprised that I actually got the shakes while I was climbing. Im a pretty no fear, just do it, kinda guy but I must admit, It was a little scary. :) We hit some good routes and if anyone is ever interested in going, feel free to send me a message. I have a book of routes, which I can tell you where to purchase the updated one. There is an awesome place to stay among some good climbs. And the good thing, it is cheap! We didnt stay in the cheapest hotel and for 2 nights, all breakfasts and lunches, and mtn bike rentals for 2 days, our hotel costs a total of $100. The only bad thing is that there was only 2 of us, so it was hard to get some good photos. If you want some questions like weather, best times to climb, etc, let me know.
Max
(This post was edited by max2extreme on Apr 7, 2008, 11:25 PM)
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Myxomatosis
Apr 7, 2008, 11:31 PM
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Registered: Jun 12, 2007
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Hey dude.. good to hear you got outdoors and the bug seems to have bitten :)
Im planning on coming over to China next year, when do you think the best weather is? Im thinking on coming March/April
How far is it from the hotel's to the crag?
Are there many people putting up more climbs?
... post up some pictures...  Id like to see them
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flint
Apr 7, 2008, 11:56 PM
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Registered: Jun 21, 2007
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I went there in the middle of last summer... way to hot, but you should be good in the march/april range. the hotels are good for china standards and the crags are not to far away depending on the choice. Some you can bike to, others you will want to take a taxi to, which is cheep and the drivers all know the crags by heart, they pull you up to less than a 5 min walk to the rocks... Hook up with the team at chinaclimb... the will set you up with everything from a taxi from the airport in guilin, hotel, taxi, and they all speak english and chinese well so they can get you what you don't know.
A guy named paul from Maccow wrote the guide and the update and he puts up a lot of routes down there and keeps the updates going, you can find him hanging at the chinaclimb spot at least 2 weekend nights of the month with a guy named bob. Anyway, Si (Simon) is one of the heads at Chinaclimb so try to talk to him...
as routes go, there is enough down there to keep you occupied for well over a month, there are probably in the 500 range, and if you bring your shit (drill/bolts), you can play fuck up the rock as well (I.E. they let anyone bolt as long as you don't interfere with another persons shit). combined with the fun chinese culture and amazing swimming/rest activities, I could spend 3-6 months down there no problem...
Just get ready to climb limestone, and don't plan on buying gear there as it is a little expensive...
and true to my trad love, I still think 90% of the climbs could go with a big rack of tri-cams...
j-
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max2extreme
Apr 8, 2008, 12:33 AM
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Registered: Mar 28, 2008
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March/April is great time. Flint pretty much said it all. Paul Collis is the guy Flint is talking about that puts out a book every year. The book is pretty much a must buy. The one I have is 2 years old and has like 22 different crags/cliffs and has a lot of different routes and levels. My friend bought the new one when we got down there and it's got some new stuff listed. Chinaclimb guys are pretty good. They have a cool little bar on west street (xijie) which is a good hangout, watching some good vids and they have a small wall. The place I stayed at is http://www.yangshuomountainretreat.com/ Its in a great location. We rented mountain bikes and biked to all the climbs. I recommend it. A lot of the places you'll be best with a mtn bike to get to anyway. We didnt take many photos/videos but I'll post what I do have. He already had a lot from his previous trip and I just wanted to climb.. :)
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carryontravel
Apr 12, 2008, 10:51 AM
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Registered: Apr 12, 2008
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Been back from China for about 2 weeks now. I was in Yanghshuo from around March 8-24th. Unfortunately, the weather was horrible. It rained nearly everyday. I only got 3 days of climbing in but I was with my kids and got bronchitis. My husband managed to climb nearly every day. The rain is not a problem if you are a decent climber. You can climb on the overhanging cliffs. The problem is not so much the rain but the fog and mist. If it's raining and humid, then the walls "sweat" and you slip off the holds.
The hotels are very cheap in Yangshuo. We stayed in a guest house for $7 a night for a family of 4. The rate that a group of chinese climbers were paying was about $30 week per person. If you want a western breakfast, it will cost about $3-$4, if you can eat a chinese breakfast it will cost less than $1. Yak Cafe is excellent. It's run by a Chinese/Tibetan woman and her canadian husband. They are a wealth of information, and can arrange transpo, tours etc for you. There are 2 climbing shops on the same street and these Chinese climbers are great, very friendly. To get around the cliffs, you can rent a bike (about $1.50 a day to $3 for better bikes at Yak Cafe), fill up a "taxi" (small little van that seats 5 comfortably but you can cram in 9-10 climbers for about $6-$7 roundtrip for the van) or take the local bus (which costs anywhere from $.30 to .$.75).
Yangshuo is a tourist town for Chinese as well as Asians from other countries so it's a bit touristy but in hindsight, i really liked it. One last thing, I would highly recommend getting a Mandarin phrasebook. Learn the phrase "bu-yao". It means "I don't want it". You need to say this all the time (when you are eating, at the bank, walking down the streets, even at some of the crags - there are hawkers everywhere coming up to sell al kinds of stuff).
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max2extreme
Apr 12, 2008, 2:00 PM
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Registered: Mar 28, 2008
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I was in YangShuo April 4th or so, only for like 3 days. I live in Beijing though. But yea, I met up with some swedes on one day and they had been there for a week before and said it was very rainy. There are some decent places though that are good climbing, even in the rain, but yea, I know what youre saying. Our first day we got in town around 10am and wanted to do some climbing but it was too wet for where we wanted to go and at the time didn't know of some of the places we did the next day that are climbable in the rain.. one inside a cave opening which is really good in rain, and a few others that are decent when wet.
Isnt it great about the price though!! Im hoping to go back beginning of May. It'll be my last opportunity because Im moving to Stockholm in June. We'll see if I can swing it...
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11ftpole
Aug 6, 2009, 7:55 AM
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Registered: Jul 31, 2009
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I love this place, went there when studying in Shanghai. Took a lead climbing course with X-Climber and had a blast. Cheap and easy living if you know a little mandarin, but do notice that they don't speak the beijing dialect. Otherwise,, well, still cheap and easy. =)
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