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FINALS REPORTING TIME FOR BOULDERACTIVE 2010!
Sunday, 14 March
| Category |
Registration Time |
| Novice Women |
0830
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| Novice Men |
1030
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| Intermediate Women |
1230
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| Intermediate Men |
1430
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| Open Women/Men |
1630
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Posted on 14 Mar 2010
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Posted on 1 Jan 2010 Happy 2010 to all! May everyone climb long and hard this year!
Posted on 30 Dec 09
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 Posted on 22 Dec 09
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 Posted on 5 Dec 09
Posted on 4 Dec 09
by Suzanna Tan. Informants with updates please contact her at suz.tan@sgclimb.com
 6km more... Siurana is the name of a tiny ancient village located in the northeastern part of Spain. The climbing areas are all around or “under” the village, within walking distance.
Barcelona is the nearest big city. From Barcelona, one will also pass by Reus, nearer to Siurana. Reus has an airport catering to flights within Europe. From Reus there’s a public bus to Cornudella, a small town just below Siurana. But there are only 2 buses a day, one in the morning leaving to Reus, and another in the evening returning to Siurana.
Travelling
• Via Public Transport
- Fly to Barcelona > Flight/Bus/Train to Reus > Taxi to Siurana or Bus to Cornudella > Taxi/Hitch-hike to Siurana
• Driving from Barcelona to Siurana
- About 160km to 180km depending on the roads taken
- Driving time: about 2 to 3 hours
• Distances:
- Siurana & Cornudella: 8.6km steep roads with hairpin bends. 9 minutes by car, 2 hours on foot.
- Cornudella & Reus: 32km. Infrequent bus schedule. Better to hitch-hike
- Reus & Barcelona: 120km. Bus ride is cheaper but longer than train ride. Flight could be more inconvenient because the airports are out of town.
 Not a soft crag at all! Overall, having a car is more convenient for grocery shopping. Moreover, there are a lot of other great crags nearby. A car is useful for getting to the sea at Tarragona (about 51km away) for a real non-climbing rest day.
1) Accomodation
• Camping, Cabins, Rooms by Toni Arbones
- The only commercial campsite near Siurana village. It’s just 1km from the village. It’s call Camping Siurana.
- Usually ran by Toni’s parents, while Toni prepares for his next climbing adventure.
- Toni has written a guidebook for Siurana and can be purchased there.
- Facilities: The cabins are self-equipped with toilets, showers, stove & cooking utensils, beds, sheets, towels. Smaller cabins have all the above except toilets & shower. Rooms have just beds & sheets. If you are camping, there are communal toilets, hot showers, washing place but no shelter for cooking and storing food. There’s also a bar/café & restaurant and internet in Mr Arbones’ office.
- Most climbers stay here. It’s a good place for meeting people and getting information about travelling or climbing.
- Website http://www.campingsiurana.com/home_eng.html
• There’s a refugio right in the village. But heard that it’s more expensive and not regularly opened.
• There could be rooms for rent in the village or in Cornudella.
2) Amenities
• Camping Siurana
- The restaurant sells enough food but not much variety. It also sell bread, tidbits & ice-cream.
• Cornudella
- Has a small supermarket; a bakery that’s sells very yummy biscotti and Spanish biscuits; a few grocery stall that sells, fresh veg, fruits, cheese, wine. So food can be settled here.
- ATTENTION: The world’s best climbing shoe resole can be found here! The small shop is at a corner along the main road. They sell climbing shoes, chalk and gears too.
• Reus
- Everything from big supermarket to internet & medication. We usually try to hitch a ride there and take the evening bus back, then hitch-hike back.
3) Best time to go
- Apparently, it’s all year round. Summer will be hot but there are enough shaded climbing sectors. Toni said that it’s very crowded in winter but that means climbing whenever & wherever there’s sun. Autumn should be the best.
 Let's Climb! 4) Nearby climbing areas, all less than an hour drive away.
- Arboli : It’s just opposite Siurana if you are standing at the village ruins
- Montsant: Well-known conglomerate rocks, long routes
- La Mussara : We’ve never been there
5) Rest day
- Walk around and explore the treks around Siurana, try walking to Cornudella or Siurana lake through the bush. You’ll pass by olives groves.
- Walk about to different climbing sectors and see if any Rock Stars are hanging at La Rambla (a famous route, 9A).
- Visit the beach at Tarragona. Looks very commercial and touristy. But hey, if you miss the sea… Saw signs to an amusement park too…
- Go grocery shopping in Reus, do your internet…
- Hang around Cornudella and experience true Spanish life, sipping café con leche in one of the “coffeeshop”
- Watch video in Arbones’ restaurant or play with one of the nine cats there, if you can get their interest.
6) Climbing
- The best climbs are in the sevens. Some of the sixes are very hard. So this is not a “soft-crag”
- Not so friendly for prams. Getting to the climbing areas involved a fair bit of walking and scrambling.
- The routes & rocks: Beautiful! Definitely worth visiting and live up to the title of one-of-Europe’s climbing mecca.
7) Guidebook
- Camping Siurana sells the one written by Toni Arbones
- Climbat gym in Barcelona has a comprehensive coverage of guidebooks. http://www.climbat.com/en/index_.php
- Online: Rockfax publisher has one that covers Siurana and a few other areas around Costa Daurada. http://www.rockfax.com/costa_daurada/index.html
Click on pictures to see more of Siurana, Spain.
by Mr.Leong Chee Hoi (MSc, Exercise Science)
Trying to send your project? Planning to give it good burns but it burns back? Then it’s time to figure out how long it takes for your body to recover from an attempt, so that you can finally tap into your energy stores and show your friends what a badass climber you are when SENDING!
 Before we can understand how much rest to give ourselves between burns, we need to first understand that the human body utilizes 3 energy systems at any given time. They are namely, the ATP-PC, Anaerobic Glycolysis and Aerobic sytems.
The ATP-PC system provides energy for exercises of short duration & high intensity.
The Anaerobic Glycolysis system provides energy for moderate duration and moderate intensity exercises and the aerobic system provides energy for long duration, low intensity exercises.
The extent to which energy system is used depends primarily on the intensity of the exercise and secondarily on its duration. That means how hard you’re exercising and proceeded by how long you’re exercising.
Each time we engage in a particular exercise, we will deplete our energy stores and will require time for these stores to be replendish before we can repeat the exercise for any given time. This will dictate how long we rest in order to recover adequate for our next burn on our project.
Let’s deal with the high intensity activity of bouldering…the all so popular rad game most hip hop generation of climbers in Spore engage in. Since most problems only takes approx 10-20s to complete, the predominant energy system that provides most of the energy will be the ATP-PC system. PC stands for phosphocreatine and this molecule helps generate ATP for energy. But without going into too much detail, we need to understand that the PC stores are quickly depleted following strenuous exercise like bouldering and it takes approx 4-6mins for it to be replendished to 80% of its original amount. So what does this tell us? Give yourself at least 4-6 mins of rest in between burns and you will be able to take advantage of your replendished stores to repeat the boulder problem you’re working on. Otherwise, you’ll reach the point of diminishing returns for being an eager beaver.
Likewise for sportclimbing. It takes the anaerobic systems to replendish 90% of its stores in 1h 15mins by removal of the accumulated lactic acid.
So bottomline is, optimal recovery takes at least 4-6mins for bouldering and 1h 15mins for sportclimbing in between burns if you’re performing at your limit.
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Mr.Leong Chee Hoi, or more affectionally known as Spider, is currently a PhD candidate in Exercise Physiology at the University of Utah. He is a Mad Rock sponsored athlete and has his own blog at http://spyclimb.blogspot.com/
Thanks to Andy Su and Leong Song Wei for the Tioman Bouldering pictures. Click on the pictures to see more.
 Climb On 2009 Climb On is 7th time lucky.
No rain, shady clouds, no incidents (except for a certain someone practising to be a medium), and generally smooth running.
Climb On 2009 is perhaps the most successful Climbing Carnival in Singapore to date, and all thanks to PA Water Venture (Pasir Ris) and Climb Asia for continuing to support the local climbing community, and for the chance to bring climbers from all over Singapore together for 2 days.
It has to be said, that the people at the backstage are climbers too. The chief judge, chief route-setter, the judges, the maintenance crew, the MC, the wall crew, the photographers – they are all climbers, and they sure as hell want to get their hands on the swinging giant ball, just like everyone else! But the event needs people to run, and there they are, salivating at the young boys and girls who get to climb.
So thank you all, from the volunteers to the officials, the organising committee to the sai-gang warriors. You gave every climber in Singapore a wonderful day to remember.
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It’s amazing how the politics of reality can cross into the politics of climbing. The issue? Foreign talent.
 Ponti from Indonesia Except for Women’s Elite, all the top positions in other major categories were won by Indonesians or Malaysians. Should SMF “invite” Mr.Ponti to climb for Singapore?
Is that wrong? The reality remains that Ponti IS miles ahead of Singaporean climbers. But is that what sports is about? Winning at all costs? Why doesn’t China buy all their athletes then?
This is a heavy discussion that belongs to another time…
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Back to Climb On 2009. Much has been said and done, operations have been refined, but is it all getting a bit too familiar? Perhaps the biggest cookie points this year goes to the cooperative weather, and the giant swinging volume. Without those 2, Climb On would seem to be…, just another Climb On?
Hey, don’t get me wrong, Climb On 2009 is great, but I’m hoping it won’t remain stagnant. I’m hoping Climb On keeps re-inventing itself and becomes better than it is now. Perhaps an Asian invitation to the big players from China, Japan and Korea? Perhaps holding it at Ngee Ann Civic Plaza? Or maybe even importing a real boulder from Fontainbleau?
 Fontainbleau - Elephant boulder Whatever it is, we need to remember that Climb On is only possible because of all of us. The judges in us, the route-setters in us, the saikang warriors in us, the altruists in us and of course, the climbers in us. Until next year, climb on!
Contest 1 – Win a pair of La Sportiva Speedster!
Tell us YOUR favorite place to travel AND climb, make it at least 500 words and submit it together with at least 3 pictures (<1mb each please!)
Best article wins!
Easy!
Send your articles and pictures to dyno@sgclimb.com. Please include your name and contact number.
This contest is generously sponsored by:
Contest 2 – Win a 1 month Season Pass to Climb Asia worth $70
Just submit questions regarding health, training and injuries to Dr.Rock at dyno@sgclimb.com.
Please include your name and contact number.
This contest is brought to you by Greater Heights: They’ll take you climbing!
Contest 3 – Win a Metolius Chalk Bag + Giga-Bite Chalk Ball
This contest is the easiest! Just register as a member at sgclimb.com/nbl or sgclimb.com/dyno and feel lucky!
Prizes sponsored by the good people at SCA -
- All contests are only allowed for residents of Singapore. Those living abroad must have a representative to collect their prizes from Climb Asia.
- All contests end 31 Jan 2010.
This latest edition is a reminder to all, that pulling on plastic is just a means to an end, and that end is to climb on real rocks!
While Singapore is unique in our lack of minerals, the proximity of good climbing crags around Asia and as near as Malaysia leaves us no excuses to become gym rats! Take the Cebu Pacific flight and you’ll be climbing at Cantabacco within 5hrs! Drive up north to climb at Nyamuk in 4hrs! Climb in Krabi in 2hrs!
So there you are! All the climbing and access information is online, under the category of “The Travelling Climber“. Now, go climb!
*DYNO can be found at SASC (Yishun SAFRA), Climb Asia, Campers Corner and Adventure 21(Chinatown).
DYNO Issue 3 will not be possible without the contributions of-
- Dennis Diaz from Philippines
- Aleksandra Przybysz from Poland (aks Ola from O’Le Climbing, Beijing)
- Denali Barron and Josh Morris from Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures (CMRCA)
- Brian from Slopony Adventures
- And those in the editorial team for putting everything together. You know who you are!
DYNO needs help! We need -
- Marketing personnel – Need people who can sell ice to Eskimos!
- Graphic designers – People who can make moldy bread look appetizing.
- InDesign gurus – Those who can make a school magazine look like an issue of FHM.
- Articles – Contribution of articles on all things climbing..
- Pictures – Climbing related ones
DYNO is a largely self-funded newsletter and will not be possible without the contributions of volunteers. Join us, and be part of the climbing revolution. Email Ben at dyno@sgclimb.com today!
SCA would also like to thank our 2 major sponsors for making DYNO possible. Without them, DYNO would have stopped at issue 2!
Updated on 8 Dec 2009 – Informants with updates pls contact SCA at dyno@sgclimb.com.
Article and pictures by Brian from Slopony Adventures. More information can be found on their site at http://www.slopony.com/
 Approach to the Linh Minh Crag Word is now spreading fast of the newest climbing destination in South East Asia – Vietnam!
Development is concentrated in the north of the country around Hanoi and Halong Bay, however in other parts of the country we can point to a climbing gym in Ho Chi Minh City, some routes around Dalat (run by Phat Tyre Adventures) and bouldering a-plenty along the Hai Van pass to prove the sport is at a healthy budding stage – so much remains to be discovered!
For the development in the north of the country we all have two groups to thank, the climbing community around Hanoi (most notably Jean Verly) and Slopony Adventures (run by Erik Ferjentsik and Onslo Carrington).
 Scoping the holds in Linh Minh As a long term Hanoi resident Jean Verly has explored and developed climbing within reach of Hanoi, and he is now engaged in the daunting task of opening Hanoi’s first climbing gym. However that Vietnam is a rising climbing destination owes most to the efforts of two American climbers, the afore-mentioned Onslo Carrington and Erik Ferjentsik (’Slo’ and ‘Pony’ respectively) who came to Vietnam in 2007 and established Slo Pony Adventures. Based on Cat Ba Island in Halong Bay, Slo Pony are the only licensed commercial rock climbing outfit in Vietnam.
They have established two crags on Cat Ba Island itself, offering 40 odd bomber bolted sport routes ranging from 4a to 8a+, on superb unpolished limestone. There have been many comparisons made to Thailand 15 years ago – the main crag at Linh Minh (also known as Butterfly Valley) attracts praise from every climber who visits for the quality of the rock, the bolting and the composition of the lines. As primary bolter Erik is noted for the occasional ‘what the #£*!’ move in his routes..
Linh Minh is a small community in the heart of the Island, with whom Slo Pony have close ties. One local family provide fantastic lunches and a chill out area for climbers and trekkers and the small access fee paid by climbers helps pay rent on the crag into the village for development. Climbers are encouraged to respect the local environment, and not to litter.
 Polish Pillar Out in Halong Bay they have also bolted a number of lines with beach access, as well as retro-bolting a number of old Lynn Hill and Paul Piana routes at a third beach. There is just one well established trad route on the famous Polish Pillar (so think carefully about whether to pack your rack) and then of course there is the Deep Water Soloing (DWS).
The ease and safety of DWS is highly dependent on the tide situation. There is a tide range of over three meters within the bay which makes access difficult over the wave undercut and then affect safely jumping from height! Any climber planning a short break in the area should contact the guys via their website www.slopony.com in advance and they will give you advice on when to come. Provided your trip is for more than a week you will certainly have an opportunity to DWS. The good news is that boat cruises are a popular form of tourism from Cat Ba so obtaining a junk for single or multi day trips is not an issue. Again the guys at Slo Pony can hook you up with boat captains who know the established DWS areas, or who will be happy to go exploring with you!!
 5 things you MUST do! As a visiting climber you are likely to be staying in Cat Ba town, a popular and neon tourist destination for the Vietnamese during the heat of summer when Cat Ba is generally 5°C cooler that the mainland. Vietnamese tourist season is from June to mid September, during which time hotel room prices soar and you do well to find a room for under $20, especially on the weekend. However for the rest of the year there is a surfeit of rooms, so you should have no trouble finding a basic room for £7 or less!
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Kim Jain – The real Wonder Girl
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