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ddarko34
Apr 26, 2010, 10:10 AM
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sorry this has probably been posted a billion times but...
will be heading to krabi/railey to do some climbing. wasn't intending to climb (haven't in years actually), but figured i'd hate myself for not doing some climbing during my stay in thailand. will be headed from Bangkok to railey by bust/boat.
as exp'd climbers who have been there, any suggestions on good climbing schools to get outfitted and climbing with? i'm rusty on technique and gen'l rope skills, so it's best i go with a school. plus, no equipment with me, so i need to rent it.
if any of you know of any good, solid, safe schools to gear up and head out to the rock with, please let me know. also, any cheap accommodation would be cool too.
thx in adv!
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blueeyedclimber
Apr 26, 2010, 3:28 PM
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http://www.railaybayresort.com/
We stayed in the Sand Sea Resort and liked it. We bought a package at the Krabi airport and it ended up costing us about $35US/night. Maybe a little less. You can definitely get cheaper accommodations than that, though, depending on how much comfort you want (flushing toilets, shared toilets, if there even ARE toilets, etc.)
http://www.railay.com/...imbing_courses.shtml
We did not use any guides/schools, but there are plenty there to choose from.
Josh
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ddarko34
Apr 27, 2010, 2:31 AM
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ok sweet. gear shops aplenty too? prefer to buy my own shoes.
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blueeyedclimber
Apr 27, 2010, 12:36 PM
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ddarko34 wrote: ok sweet. gear shops aplenty too? prefer to buy my own shoes.
In Railay, I only remember one gear shop. And it was pretty small. I would suggest bringing your own shoes. You would hate to get there only to find out that they don't have your size.
Josh
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rtwilli4
Apr 28, 2010, 8:17 AM
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Railey is a wonderful place to climb, but depending on the grade you climb and your ability to deal with a language barrier, you may have more fun climbing on Koh Phi Phi. Unless you are climbing 6c (5.11), you will get taken to one of the beginner areas, which are very polished, always crowded, and situated in either a mangrove swamp (One Two Three Wall) or next to a trash burning site (Diamond Cave).
Check out http://www.catclimbingshop.com for some info on the climbing on Phi Phi Island, and the services we offer. Our guides are the only guides in S. Thailand to be trained and certified in the United States, and they speak English as a first language.
Moreover, Phi Phi has the highest concentration of 5.6 to 5.9 climbing in Southern Thailand, and there are usually no crowds on the walls.
The prices here and the quality of the rooms are on par with Railey, and the food is actually a lot better and cheaper! The options for food and shopping if your into that blow Railey away, and get this... we have 24 hour power! There is a real Thai community living here, and there has been since long before the tourists arrived. We have a real Thai Market, and locally grown food. The only Thais in Railey are there just to serve you and make a living.
As for Railey, there are a LOT of places to stay, and depending on what time of year you arrive, you can probably find a good place on the day you arrive. Tonsai Beach is cheap and is where all of the climbers hang out. Railey East is ugly, and Railey West has the most upscale and comfortable places to stay and eat.
For schools, I recommend King Climbers in Railey and The Rock Shop in Tonsai. Tex's Climbing School is also good. All of these guys have put their heart and soul into this area and are extremely knowledgeable and safe. Also, "Wee's Climbing School" is no longer owned by Wee, but by his evil and greedy EX wife Elke. I do not recommend supporting her.
The gear in Southern Thailand is outrageously more expensive that it is in the US. Don't plan on buying anything here unless you don't care about spending to much money. That being said, Koh Phi Phi is the cheapest place in all of S. Thailand to buy gear, and it is only about 10% more that retail in the US.
Hope you have a good time and contact me through here or through the Cat's Website if you have any questions!
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blueeyedclimber
Apr 28, 2010, 12:12 PM
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rtwilli4 wrote: Railey is a wonderful place to climb, but depending on the grade you climb and your ability to deal with a language barrier, you may have more fun climbing on Koh Phi Phi. Unless you are climbing 6c (5.11), you will get taken to one of the beginner areas, which are very polished, always crowded, and situated in either a mangrove swamp (One Two Three Wall) or next to a trash burning site (Diamond Cave).
Although I agree that the harder you climb, the more options you will have, there is plenty of sub 5.11 climbing. And remember, the grades are soft  I was only a solid 5.10 climber when I went there and I was getting on 11+. It depends on how long you stay, too. If you're staying longer than 2 weeks, you might start to run out of stuff unless you climb harder.
In reply to: Moreover, Phi Phi has the highest concentration of 5.6 to 5.9 climbing in Southern Thailand, and there are usually no crowds on the walls. The prices here and the quality of the rooms are on par with Railey, and the food is actually a lot better and cheaper! The options for food and shopping if your into that blow Railey away, and get this... we have 24 hour power! There is a real Thai community living here, and there has been since long before the tourists arrived. We have a real Thai Market, and locally grown food. The only Thais in Railey are there just to serve you and make a living.
This is good to know for our next trip.
In reply to: As for Railey, there are a LOT of places to stay, and depending on what time of year you arrive, you can probably find a good place on the day you arrive. Tonsai Beach is cheap and is where all of the climbers hang out. Railey East is ugly, and Railey West has the most upscale and comfortable places to stay and eat.
I agree. We stayed in the West. What can I say, it was our honeymoon.
In reply to: For schools, I recommend King Climbers in Railey and The Rock Shop in Tonsai. Tex's Climbing School is also good. All of these guys have put their heart and soul into this area and are extremely knowledgeable and safe. Also, "Wee's Climbing School" is no longer owned by Wee, but by his evil and greedy EX wife Elke. I do not recommend supporting her.
What happened to Wee? I remember him putting a lot of effort into the bolting of the Tonsai Beach area. And he was super nice.
Josh
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jolery
Apr 28, 2010, 6:05 PM
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Yeah Railay west is the more upscale side, we also stayed at the Sea and Sands or whatever resort, around $40 a day if I remember correctly. This was for a bungalow, very nice, huge bed, AC. Other places on the west are lots more expensive. West Railay has nice views of the ocean, East Railay has massive tides so most of the time it looks like a sea of mud, which it is until tide comes in. That said, East Railay accommodations are much cheaper, with some good value to be found. East and West Railay are really close, like 5 minutes, maybe 10 minutes on foot. If I returned I would probably stay East somewhere. Tonsai was a shithole when we went there, only for the very budget conscious.
I used Hot Rocks for a guide service. I was satisfied, although the rope condition was pretty bad - I'd never seen such a fuzzy rope.
Side note - beware of getting ripped off by the boat taxis - if you go alone, you'll have to pay to hire the entire boat. If multiple people go, this cost should be split between everyone - some boat drivers will just charge each individual the full price. If you wait around for a little while, usually others will show up wanting to go the same place you are.
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rtwilli4
Apr 29, 2010, 6:58 AM
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blueeyedclimber wrote: What happened to Wee? I remember him putting a lot of effort into the bolting of the Tonsai Beach area. And he was super nice. Josh
I'm not completely sure, as I have been spending most of my free time in other climbing areas around Thailand. Apparently Wee and Elke have had problems with their marriage causing a divorce.
After Elke decided it wasn't worth the money to continue the guidebook wars (She was suing King for copyrights to the topos), she came up with the idea to sue Wee. Well, she won, and Wee left to try opening a smaller shop in Ao Nam Mao. The school is now called Basecamp Tonsai, and it seems that she has bought up a lot of Tonsai, including the boatmen! She still uses Wee's name of course, when she thinks it can make her some money.
I don't mean to go on the internet and bash anyone but Elke has never really been nice to any of us. In fact, she still pretends that she doesn't know who I am and I've been spending time there for three years!
And as for Tonsai being a shit hole... it seems to have gotten a bit better this year, but the crowd has gone the way of the climbing gym (that is to say, they talk about climbing a lot more than they climb). Of course the regulars are still there, but so are a lot of gumby gym climbers.
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ddarko34
Apr 29, 2010, 3:27 PM
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damn that's good to know. looks like king's climbers might be the spot. wouldn't mind trying koh phi phi, as i'm probably in the range of 5.8 - 5.9, unless the grading really is soft.
anyone know of any gear shops in bangkok? i went up to chiangmai and the climbing outfit they got there looks pretty legit. seemed like a nice crowd too. i figure if there's no gear shops in bangkok proper, i can always head up to chiangers for the weekend first, i suppose.
any beta on CM? i hear crazy horse is like all beat up and overused now.
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rtwilli4
Apr 30, 2010, 5:16 AM
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The grading here is soft. Most of Thailand is soft but the 6a's on Phi Phi have to be some of the easiest 6a's I've ever climbed. A 6a is supposed to be somewhere around 5.9 or .10a, so factoring in our soft grades, I'd say we have about 10 climbs between 5.6 and 5.8 and another 10 or so in the 5.8 or 5.9 range. It really depends on where you are used to climbing, but I wouldn't tell you to come here if I didn't think you'd enjoy it. My shop doesn't sell gear and I doubt you're going to pay me to take you climbing. I just hate to see people miss out on this area, especially when they are climbing less than 5.10. Remember, Phi Phi was the first place to be developed in all of SE Asia. People were climbing here LONG before anyone ever set foot on Railey or Tonsai beaches.
It's been about a year since I've been to Crazy Horse but I didn't think it was over used. I actually climbed a lot of the easier stuff there and I'd even recommend that area over Tonsai/Railey for your grade.
There are good signs and trails, and a few bamboo huts for lunch breaks, etc. CMRCA offers transportation to and from the climbing, and they include lunch and water. Josh Morris has things well organized up there. A lot better than the madness we have in the south.
I've never looked for gear in BKK but CMRCA in Chiang Mai has the best prices for shoes and gear that I've seen. That being said, they only sell Madrock.
They probably have more sizes available that we do here on Phi Phi, but there are more models to choose from here.
Ropes are outrageously expensive all over Thailand. CMRCA is an official distributor of Sterling Ropes, but they run about $300 for a 60m. Prices are the same on Phi Phi and worse in Railey.
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guangzhou
Apr 30, 2010, 5:59 AM
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I think relocating business might not be such a bad thing in this case. That area sees much more tourist and a entrepreneurial climber could bolt a dozen of less routes on that side of the bay and make a pretty penny for himself. Fr the first season or two, he might even have the cliff to himself.
Working out a deal with the land owner could also limit access so other guide services can't use the area. No boat ride and easy walking distance might mean a few more tourist give climbing a go.
I've considered taking a job in Phuket a couple of times. If so, I would develop some lines on those cliffs inland. So much rock there. The beach scene is nice, but some of those formation could offer excellent routes with a scenery change. Crowds would eventually roam to them and spread the crowd.
eman
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rtwilli4
May 1, 2010, 5:25 AM
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guangzhou... what are you talking about?
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