Last Saturday I had my first taste of rock climbing with sis, Dreamcatcher and Dreamcatcher’s sis(as camera lady) at Camp5. We choose ‘Try Climbing’ course at RM45 pax(inclusive of all gear and entrance fee). This is a 1 hour session designed for people like us-first timer to have a first taste of climbing before enrolling in an instructional course.
After having equipped ourself with harness, rock climbing shoes and helmet, our instructor, Noel brought us to the bouldering section. Bouldering is basically climbing on a big rock/boulder without any rope attached to you. Don’t worry, usually you don’t climb very high up and if you fall, you will land on a large matress/pad and a spotter(a person standing on the ground to prevent the climber from landing badly) is usually assigned to guide the fallen climber’s body toward the matress.
We tried climbing this part of the boulder a couple of times…
And then to the other side. Notice that the boulder over at this side juts out, making it tougher to climb. Well, I was stucked at that position and finally my hands gave way. Only Dreamcatcher managed to climb up. Bravo. Even my sis had a tough time…she came falling down too. At that point, my hands were killing me softly.
I guess we were using the wrong method. The correct way is to use your legs to bring you up(climb) and your hands are used to hang on to the colorful stones(what’s it called actually?). So actually you shouldn’t feel the pain at your hands/arms.
Next we tried on another bouldering section once each.
Then we head to the mama of rock climbing, top rope climbing.
First we tried climbing using an ‘auto belay’, a mechanical device that lowers the climber to the ground without the use of a belayer. So if you’re gonna fall, just release both hands and the auto belay will bring you to the ground safely. Very cool indeed. I was suprised that such a thing exist(katak di bawah tempurung la).
A belayer is a person who control the rope so that a climber does not fall very far. The main difference between using a belayer and auto belay is if you release both of your hands, you can still hang in the air if you’re using a belayer but you will be lowered to the ground if you’re using auto belay.
Sis and me were having a horrible time climbing this part of the wall.
Dreamcatcher managed to climb up to the very top. Wooow it was really high up.
Finally, we went upstairs to tried out at another sets of wall. Noel become our belayer for all the climbs. I find it easier to climb at this part of the wall and the next two(pict below) because 1. Alas I’m using the right method 2. The walls over here slant inwards. All of us managed to reach the top thrice. Yipeeeeeeeeee!
Overall, it was a fun, cool and thrilling experience. I want MORE MORE MORE! My hands/arms/shoulders were shrieking with pain right after the lesson. Next stop, GSC(next post).
Camp5 is located at 5th Floor(new wing), 1Utama Shopping Centre. Another rock climbing gym The Summit Climbing Gym is located at Summit USJ Shopping Mall.
I’m thinking of trying out the beginner course at Summit Climbing Gym, just to get the feel of both gyms before deciding on which one I should enrol for the advanced courses. So what ya think ? Wanna join me ? 
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Bryan Says:
July 11th, 2006 at 8:20 amVisit Bryan
I wanna try too, bring me there when I’m in KL, k?
Laksa Says:
July 11th, 2006 at 10:41 amVisit Laksa
wah, daredevil che-cheh!
Wuching Says:
July 11th, 2006 at 11:25 amVisit Wuching
wuah! che-cheh kuat lihai! indeed u r a master jedi!
tj Says:
July 11th, 2006 at 12:20 pmVisit tj
che-cheh boleh!
Pille Says:
July 11th, 2006 at 12:54 pmVisit Pille
I’ve always wanted to do it.
Neo Says:
July 11th, 2006 at 1:31 pmVisit Neo
Good, will give it a try. Last time I tried it in Clubmed, Cherating. BTW, now, you can go climb Mt Kinabalu!
Che-Cheh Says:
July 11th, 2006 at 5:30 pmVisit Che-Cheh
Bryan, I plan to try Summit Climbing Gym next month. When are you coming ? Laksa, ohhh so weak.
Neo Says:
July 11th, 2006 at 11:17 pmVisit Neo
Rock climbing rocks!
moz monster Says:
July 12th, 2006 at 12:31 amVisit moz monster
Wah … this is getting popular ah … rock climbing … my office mates have been asking me to join them at Summit … But if I climb, they may need steel cables to support me instead …
Che-Cheh Says:
July 12th, 2006 at 7:30 amVisit Che-Cheh
Neo, couldn’t agree more.
Che-Cheh » Superman Returns Says:
July 12th, 2006 at 1:02 pmVisit Che-Cheh » Superman Returns
[…] Soon after our rock climbing session @ Camp5, we went to GSC for Superman Returns. I dare not expect much from this movie and still I came out feeling like I’ve wasted my time in there. It was boring. Boring story, so-so special effects, a not so evil Lex Luthor, no ‘wow’ soundtracks and no onscreen chemistry between Lois Lane(Kate Bosworth) and Superman@Clark Kent(Brandon Routh). […]