Back in the winter of 2019, Feroz and I made a trip down under to the Blue Mountains and froze our fingers off climbing in subzero temps. Us softies, coming from tropical Singapore, weren’t built to handle the cold well. Since then, we had always talked about returning in spring or autumn.

3 years later, we finally made our way back. This time, we were a team of 4, joined by Kat and Julia. Sunny autumn climbing was on the itinerary but mother nature had other plans and decided on cloudy with a chance of foggy rain. Being in the Blue mountains at an elevation of 1000m, we were literally in the clouds, with visibility being no more than 10m at times. At this stage, many would have probably climbed indoors or taken a forced rest. Not us. Our adventure-hungry missionitis souls eyed a classic 6-pitch 120m multi named Sweet Dreams.

Call us crazy, but the decision wasn’t made on impulse! Hard sport climbing wasnt an option as even the most overhung routes were damp. Sweet Dreams however, despite being a mixed sport and trad route, was one of the easier multis in the Blue Mountains which we figured would still be climbable in damp conditions.

We were greeted in the morning with a nat geo worthy view of a cloud layer covering the entire valley floor. No photo could have done justice to how sublime and beautiful it was. After a brief moment of taking in the view, we started our approach navigating the steep slippery terrain, descending carefully into the abyss.

An hour of careful treading later, we found ourselves at the base of the Sweet Dreams. “Damp” was however a GROSS understatement to what was infront of us. “Waterfall conditions” was probably more apt with collected rainwater dripping down the entire wall.

I stood there a good while contemplating if it was still wise to proceed. Climbing Sweet Dreams in those conditions had higher stakes. There were additional considerations for placing trad gear on the wet rocks. Chances of feet slipping was also much higher too and we weren’t keen on taking lead falls on those trad placements. Accessibility to our location was also difficult say if a rescue was needed. On top of all that, I wasn’t even sure if climbing in those conditions was even possible at all!

Despite the doubts and mental demons, there was still that spark of belief that the 4 of us were badass and capable enough to tackle the climb head on in those conditions. We knew that it would have had been one for the memories if we could pull it off successfully. Plus, the approach did take 45 minutes down steep muddy terrain and none of us were too keen on going back up the same way.

I put on my gloves, geared into “serious climbing” headspace, and pushed up the first pitch. Leading up in waterfall conditions was extremely nerve-wrecking, yet somehow exhilarating! It required an intense amount of precision and control as there was no margin for error. Many of what were normally decent footholds were impossible to step on in those conditions. On top of that, we had to be extremely deliberate with body positioning and directional loading of each handhold to avoid slipping off! At one stage I even had to wedge half my body into an offwidth, getting drenched in the process, just to gain extra stability while fixing protection.

Julia seconded up shortly after with high spirits while Kat and Feroz waited nervously below. A couple of selfies later, Julia and I continued up pitch 2 while Kat and Feroz followed on our tails up pitch 1. Pitch 2 was a full trad pitch up a corner which required size 3 and 4 cam placements. The biggest cam i had on my harness was a size 2. Thankfully i carried heaps of single and double length slings with me which allowed me to improvise protection around protruding rock features throughout. After about 15 minutes of careful climbing, I gained pitch 2’s anchors and Julia joined me shortly after.

At this stage, Feroz and Kat were making their way steadily up pitch 1 behind Julia and I. We decided then to continue pushing on up! Pitch 3 however was not “up”. It was a massive diagonal traverse cutting through a scooped 70-80 degree slab! Imagine a concaved side of a giant spoon. The shape of the wall, along with an abundance of big ledges, made it a perfect rainwater collection basin with water trickling continously!

At that point, our gloves were drenched and water had seeped down to our elbows beneath our jackets. We were cold, very cold. But it was far from misery with everyone in good spirits! My belay stance from the anchors of pitch 3 was an eagle eye view of Julia seconding with Feroz leading Pitch 2 in the background shrouded in the foggy mist. Epic was what it was!

The rain got heavier as we climbed the upper pitches. Thankfully the second half of the route went by uneventfully and Julia and I eventually found ourselves at pitch 6’s anchors. We figured it would have been nice to get a group photo of the 4 of us at the final pitch anchors before topping out to the treeline above. Hence we endured close to another hour of cold and wetness in a hanging belay, distracting ourselves with conversation, song and even dance. It was well worth the wait as we managed to get some amazing shots of Kat and Feroz on pitch 6 and could cheer them along the way.

And the deed was done! Sweet adventure, Sweeter company 🙂 Team Red and Team Blue out, Goodnight and Sweet Dreams!

The last time Feroz and I were in the Blue Mountains back in 2017, we had then already set our eyes on doing this route – Hotel California, 355m and 10 pitches. A 4-star megaclassic known as the longest sport multipitch in Australia.

Our main worry 2 years ago was with the first pitch of Hotel Cali. It was 45m long and described as a stiff and sustained grade 22 (6c/+). Some even swear its a 23 (6c+/7a). To have a better understanding of what 45m of the Australian grade of 22 felt like, we did a 3 pitch multipitch named “Subliminal” with a second pitch consisting 45 to 50m of sustained grade 22. We were destroyed after that pitch and decided it was best to save Hotel California for the next time we return when we’re physically ready.

We’re finally back in the Blue Mountains 2 years later to continue where we left off. We knew that 10 pitches required us to move fast and efficiently. 10 minutes wasted on each pitch would mean spending an extra 2 hours on the wall. And because daylight is short during winter (sunset at 5:20pm), that gave us even more of a reason to move fast!

We started the drive at 6am, cold and dark, and started our long approach to the base of the climb at 6:45am. Seeing first light hit the orange sandstone in such a beautiful place was truly indescribable. Photos do not do justice.

The thing with many multipitches here in the Blue Mountains, its opposite from the norm in the sense that you rappel first into the valley and then climb back out. Its extremely committing because after pulling your rappel ropes, the only way out is up! Despite feeling confident of our climbing ability, one thing that Feroz and I learnt from experience was never to underestimate a multipitch regardless how easy or how many times we’ve done it. So we made sure to bring plenty of water, food, climbing rescue equipment, and even brought emergency supplies like our pocketknifes, lighters, headlamps and emergency blankets in the unfortunate event we had to be benighted on the wall.

The entire approach consisted a walk, 2x50m rappels and more walking to the base of the climb. Took us a total of 2 hours (got abit lost for awhile trying to find the climb), and I started up the first pitch at exactly 8:50am.

10m runout to the first bolt climbing up a pinnacle, followed by sustained 6c+/7a climbing from then for the next 35m through rooflets, slopey crimps, and bad feet. Even with a half rope system to minimize the rope drag, the drag towards the top of the climb was quite substantial due to the pitch’s meandering nature! I pumped out at about 3/4 of the climb and and clipped on my PAS for a short rest. It was that or risk falling and having to prussik back up. After unclipping my PAS, I climbed slowly though the last tricky section and gained the pitch 1 hanging belay. Feroz soon joined me at the belay and morale was high then. We had just finished the crux pitch!! Now only 9 pitches to go!!!!… (cries)

Second pitch was led by Feroz, a technical 20 (6b) up a friction groove. I kid not when i say that in the blue mountains, gradings are crazy stiff. The moves would have been at least 6b+/c at onsight! But after the tricky bit, Feroz cruised up the last 1/3 of the pitch to gain the anchors. Pitches 3, 4 and 5 went by smoothly and i could clearly remember Feroz saying as he seconded up pitch 3, “Bro if only all the pitches were like that!”

We reached pitch 5 anchors at noon! We were in good time. After a short rest and lunch, at 12:30pm feroz pushed on for the famous traverse pitch 6, the MONEY PITCH!

Pitch 6 was 50m long, with 25m of straight horizontal traverse and another 25m of climbing diagonally up and right. The runout on the traverse was easily about 4m. Fall on the traverse and you would need to prussik back up as youd be hanging in free space! Positive handholds, good footholds and EXPOSURE TO DIE FOR! Seconding pitch 6 was exhilirating as well as the second was no less at risk of taking pendulum falls compared to the leader!

I soon joined feroz at pitch 6 anchors, looked up and saw pitch 7 anchors in the sun. Sweet warm sun! We havent had sun the entire day. The previous pitches were all in the shade. I chalked up and pushed on. About 30m and a few big moves later and i was enjoying the warmth of the sun! Feroz joined soon after and we took a few minutes to bask in the warmth, snap some photos, and enjoy gorgeous views of the Grose Valley!

Pitch 8 anchors was a comfortable spot under a cave! We knew we were left with 2 pitches, a scramble and a grade 16. Because we were making good time, we had another quick break and thought it might have been fun to videocall the third musketeer from the Krabi multipitch dream team! Video calling was something Nellis and I first did to Feroz when we topped a multipitch in Blueis back in 2018. I guess the tradition carried on!

2 pitches later and we were sitting at the top of Hotel Cali overlooking the entire Grose Valley. Total time elapsed, 6 hours 40 mins! Morale was at an all time high! We had just accomplished yet another one of our major climbing goals! Happy and humbled by the amazing face climbing in a beautiful place. Perhaps that was why the first ascensionists named it Hotel California; such a lovely place, such a lovely face.

Taking a break from multipitching today, time to get out and get on some hard sport climbs! Stay tuned for more adventres!!!

Lord of the Thais, 121m
5 pitches (6a+, 7a, 7a+, 7b, 6b)
Thaiwand Wall, Krabi

Said to be the best 7b multipitch in the world.

3 years ago, Wan came across a YouTube video of Sasha DiGiulian and Nalle Hukkataival climbing this exact route and immediately shared it with me. It is a route that spans nearly the entire height of the majestic Thaiwand Wall and consisted of amazing climbing on quality limestone with surreal views. Since that day, we knew we had to do it.

However, looking at the 3 consecutively hard pitches made the climb feel extremely daunting. We knew that in order to do it and still be able to enjoy the process, we needed to get solid on grade 7s. Three years on, we finally felt physically and mentally ready.

On 18 May 2019, we arrived at Tonsai Beach, checked into our accoms and immediately shoot off for Thaiwand Wall at 10am. The plan was simple (or so we thought). Do the hour long approach in the sun and start climbing when Thaiwand was in the shade. Climbing in the shade was CRUCIAL, especially so since it was the fasting month. Not being able to drink before, during and after the climb was definitely a serious consideration.

However, during our approach, we noticed that the entire face of Thaiwand was still in the sun as it was off peak season.

Nonetheless, we decided to push on slowly and reached the base of Thaiwand at 11.30am.

At noon, we decided to start climbing in the direct afternoon sun, in hopes that we will get some shade by 2pm. As we continued, we both realised that the sun was blistering on relentlessly. By the time I reached the 2nd pitch anchor, I was literally seeing stars and was belaying Wan up with my eyes closed. Heat exhaustion was real! I remember vividly how Wan seconded up and was happily singing until he saw the state that I was in. It was then that we took a break and contemplated our next move. Eventually we made the tough decision of rappelling down and possibly saving the climb for the next trip. This was the right decision as Thaiwand remained in the sun for the entire day.

That night, Wan shared a crazy idea with me. A plan that would allow us to climb in maximum shade, and be at our physical best.

As we needed to have our pre-dawn meal by 5am, the plan was to shoot off for Thaiwand Wall at 3.45am to beat the tides and to drink up as much as possible on the go. Once we reached the base, we would rest a little and rehydrate ourselves before starting the climb FRESH and in the SHADE! I thought this was a brilliant plan and realistically the best chance we had to climb it. I immediately said ‘LETS DO IT.’

We woke up at 3am the next day and executed our plan, starting our climb at exactly 5.01am.

Having climbed the first 2 pitches the day before, route finding was not an issue despite only having our headlamps to light up the tiny bubble in front of us.

As we were climbing the 2nd pitch, the sun started rising and we were treated with an amazing orange glow that lit up the entire wall. It was truly a breathtaking sight!

At this moment, we checked on each other and were both feeling fresh, so we had no doubts to push on.

Pitch 3 was led by Wan and was clearly the money pitch. Lots of weirdly shaped holds (Sasha touched those holds!!) up till the base of the roof. Wan was approximately 20m above me when I shouted to him ‘does it go left or right?’ He looked down and replied, ‘IT GOES STRAIGHT UP BROOO!!!’ He was referring to climbing straight through the roof on the steepest part of the section. About 7m of roof climbing on good holds with 100m of exposure below you. A final crux section allowed us to gain the 3rd pitch anchor. Took us roughly 2 hours to get here and we were at an all time high! We both agreed that this was hands down the best pitch we have ever done in our lives!!!

The 4th pitch was my lead and was the crux pitch of the climb. It consisted of very bouldery and burly moves. After reaching the anchors and belaying Wan up, we were both ecstatic as we had just completed the hardest 3 pitches of the climb.

All that’s left between us and the top was a 6b pitch and we knew we had it in the bag! But complacency has NO place on a multipitch so we immediately turned our focus back on the climb and continued on, reaching the top at 9.24am.

After a short celebration, we rigged the rappel and started the descend. Due to the overhang of the climb, we knew the rapps were going to be a challenge and redirectionals were a must. 3 long rapps later, we were safely back on the ground at 10.41am.

IT WAS DONE! 3 years in the making, and we finally accomplished one of our major climbing goals. We were both filled with a mixture of emotions and were thankful to have had a safe journey. No celebratory cold drinks tho as we still had 7 hours to endure before we break fast. Next best thing – pool hopping!

If you’ve read this long post till the end, then you will definitely be interested to watch the video I made of our LOTT climb. Enjoy! Till the next post!

We’ve always talked about how different things might have turned out if we had lived in Swiss or Cham, where adventures in the alps lay right at our doorsteps. Living in this concrete jungle has forced climbing to be limited mostly indoors.

Feroz and I picked up the sport 8 and 7 years ago respectively. We started in an environment where many clocked long hours on the wall not solely because it was a fun social activity, but also because there was often that ultimate goal of performing well in competitions. We are still surrounded by that today.

As for me, I’ve always dreamt of heading outside and going on big climbing adventures; yosemite big walls etc. I used to spend my NS and early uni days reading books on big wall techniques and rescue ropeworks. Yes I was a ropegeek, I still am. I was thankful to have had the opportunity to further my studies in Australia where I got to apply those skills on my first multipitch in September 2015. Feroz, on the other hand, started climbing in TPJC in 2011. Like many others in the local scene, he too participated in competitions. However, he too had always wanted to head outdoors but never got the opportunity. In December 2015, after 4 long years, he finally got to climb on rock at Batu Caves, Malaysia, and we ended up doing a multipitch together the very next day.

In 2016, we had our first real ‘Roctrip’ when Feroz flew down to Australia to visit during winter. We clocked in 3 more multis then, my 3rd, 4th and 5th and Feroz’s 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Those were very early days for both of us and we haven’t looked back since.

Some of the bigger highlights since then was in 2017 when we did a pre-dawn multi in the Glasshouse Mountains Range, QLD, and drove down to Blue Mountains, NSW, for a 9 day roctrip.

Another big highlight was in 2018 when I visited Feroz while he was on exchange in the Netherlands. Drove down to Belgium on 2 weekends to climb on some quality limestone. Lucky, or unlucky for us, it snowed quite substantially on one of those weekends and rocks were covered in snow and ice. Could clearly recall how we wished we had crampons then.

And of course we couldnt leave Europe without experiencing climbing in the french alps! We were thankful to have both had the chance to do our advanced technical alpinism course in Chamonix, mine in winter and Feroz’s in summer 2018. Bigger plans await for 2020 but that will be a story for next time hopefully!

Adventure dosent stop now that I’m back in Singapore after completing my studies. Krabi, being so close to home, has become a happy place for short getaways. We went with an awesome team in early 2019 and left with some pretty epic stories.

And when we dont travel far, we have mini adventures on home soil, at the local choss, i mean crag.

And that’s a wrap! I wish I could put in more details of our epics and adventures, but we decided to keep the first post as a brief summary of why we do what we do. Stay tuned for the next post tho! Feroz will be sharing an epic story of the realisation of a 3 year dream, climbing whats said to be the best 7b multipitch in Thailand and possibly the world!