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Remember the one about “Little Red Riding Hood”? Here’s a nice little recollection for the Rockrats written by Simian Boy…

Our story begins on a long yellow route. It was an ordinary looking route in an ordinary gym called Gymsville, facing a mundane looking pillar. There was nothing special about this route. It was just another 6B route, like most other 6B routes except it ended with a big grey boulder at the top. It is said that if you pass by the gym today, you can still see the boulder looming high above this climb.

Well, it was on this route that our heroine, Little Red Riding Hood was climbing one day…

But wait, what was a newbie climber doing on a 6B route, you might ask. Well, boys and girls, what you do not know about this route, because I have not told you yet, is that she has been tricked into climbing it by a Big Bad Wolf, who knows that this route hides a deep dark secret. For it is said that when a person falls off that route at the very beginning, there is a scary swinging action that brings her right into the path of her belayer, causing a great catastrophe.

On the fateful day that Little Red Riding Hood was climbing this old route, the Big Bad Wolf offered to belay her, and so she tied in and began her ascent.

“My, what big footholds these are,” said Little Red Riding Hood when she reached the first foothold. “All the better for you to step onto,” said the Big Bad Wolf. And so she continued her climbing.

“My, what big handholds these are,” said Little Red Riding Hood, when she reached her second handhold. “All the better for you to hang onto,” said the Big Bad Wolf. And so she continued her ascend.

“My, what a big bulge you have under your belay loop,” said Little Red Riding Hood when she looked down from the third hold.

“All the better to…”

Before the Big Bad Wolf could finish his sentence, his speech was slurred as he started salivating. For he saw that Little Red Riding Hood was beginning to peel off the climb, just as he knew she would. She started swinging into his path and he just stood there waiting impatiently, perhaps hoping to …arrest her swing.

Unfortunately for Mister Big Bad Wolf, the training from all the self-defense classes Little Red Riding Hood’s been taking suddenly kicked in - literally!

There was a flash of light and a loud crashing sound, and all was still in the gym for a few moments. When the chalk dust cleared, Little Red Riding Hood was seen standing there looking embarrassed while the Big Bad Wolf lay on the ground clutching his groin.

And then something began to happen and there was movement. Something awful. Something wonderful awful. What happened then?

Well in Gymsville, they say the Big Bad Wolf’s bulge shrank two sizes that day.

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From Holdbreaker after viewing the picture below…

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing everyone that he didn’t exist.” - from the Usual Suspects.

I believe that line is now not true. We see ur true colours you evil, evil man.

The picture above is a shot during Holdbreaker’s birthday. He was trying out his new harness and Simian Boy was “giving him a hand” to hook the strap at the back…

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Perspectives on Rock Climbing - a POV from Lelek Le Grunt:

Okay, here’s my take on climbing… Won’t be as organised as the others, just my mental diarrhoea splattering all over the screen….

It all started out as a simple “let’s try out climbing!” right after a short day hike up bukit tabur when I was first introduced to FYC. At bukit tabur, there were a few 3rd and 4th class climbing and at that time I thought it was pretty damn cool…

So a few of us decided to try out the indoor gym at summit.

Me, Moo Moo, Small Person, Angie, AiLi, Joel, Tow, Eleen, (all from Makro) along with some of the regular FYCs, Mike P, Gan, etc…

Of course we bought the new climbers pass that entitled us to one month’s free entrance.

However, after that one month, more and more of the Makro people dropped out until there were only three hardcores. Me, SuChin and KiatHong.

I used to have a plethora of hobbies… PowerKiting, Photography, Hiking, Badminton, Cycling, Hamsters (yes, the small cute furry animals) but after I started climbing, they have all been reduced to mere pass-times… Merely training my cardio vascular system for endurance or for losing weight (so I have to pull up less).

The books I read are mostly climbing books now. My great authors used to be the likes of Authur C Clark, Isaac Asimov, Piers Anthony… Nowadays, names like John Long and Jon Krakauer dominate. 2001 Space Oddessy, or Into Thin Air? The choice could not be clearer.

A new aircon for the new place, or a new climbing rope? Once again, a no brainer…

The last trip to Penang was absolute heaven… Life doesn’t get sweeter than this. I think it was Combat Girl that said that a road trip was the best way to get to know people… I agree with her. Before that trip, I considered you peeps, (Holdbreaker, Thin Man, Combat Girl, Fearless Leader) as my climbing buddies…. After that trip, you guys got elevated to true friends… There’s just something about holding someone else’s life in your hands and putting your own life into someone else’s hands that makes you start to trust that person intensely. I mean, after you trust someone with your life, the rest is nothing…

I used to think Combat Girl was a snobbish cow. Now I wish I had her determination and passion…

I used to think Holdbreaker was a foul mouthed (sensored)… Now I wish I had his sense of humour and strength.

I used to think Thin Man was a skinny bastard… Now I wish I had his figure….

I used to think Fearless Leader was as blur as you could get… Now I wish I had his great heart…

Err… I still think Fearless is blur though… kekekekekekeke…..

I am glad to be able to call myself a CLIMBER!!! And to be associated with the rest of you!!! I don’t care if you guys keep on knocking me for my groans and moans during climbing, I’ll still climb with you peeps! And still keep on moanin’!!!!

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Meet the Rockrats…

Thin Man working the crux of “Stupid with Manners” at Fumakilla, Nyamuk, Batu Caves.

Small Person on belay duty at Jesselton, Penang.

Simian Boy after narrowly escaping an encounter with some falling rocks at Shieldtox, Nyamuk, Batu Caves.

Mutant Man goofing around at Comic Wall, Batu Caves.

Lelek Le Grunt grunting his way through the crux on “Parang Butas” at Comic Wall, Batu Caves.

Holdbreaker “breaking in” the new route “800 bucks down a hill” at Ridsect, Nyamuk, Batu Caves.

Fearless Leader blazing a trail at Damai, Batu Caves.

Cover Boy making a cover shot on a boulder along Batu Ferringghi, Penang.

Combat Girl chilling on Muay Tai Wall, Krabi.

5C Master conquers another 5C at Damai, Batu Caves.

Moo Moo, queen of the rock, claims her stake at Comic Wall, Batu Caves.

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April 2003, the Rockrats sent a series of posts on their individual perspectives on rock climbing. I will be posting them over the next few days. Here is the first one from Capulettes:

I believe that everyone we meet, every opportunity taken or missed is part of a large picture of life that we cannot see yet. Every action we decide to take and every person we meet has a role to play in our lives. I don’t believe in coincidence.

For example in my case, climbing is part of weaving the larger picture of my life. I started climbing when my uncle had an ex-girlfriend who was a very good climber. They took me to Nanyang to climb. I got hooked because to me it was exciting and something different that not everyone does. Now neither my uncle or his ex-girlfriend climb anymore.

Through climbing I got to know you guys, and my friend here in UK which is the reason I am here now enjoying life. Without him I wouldn’t be here today, and being here in UK backpacking is a life long dream.

Through climbing I met Holdbreaker in Genting who assisted me in preparing for my back packing trip, without Holdbreaker I could have still made it over here but I wouldn’t have been fully prepared. Through Holdbreaker I met you guys. Through climbing I met this guy in summit who advised me in applying for a Working Holiday permit. Without this permit I would have not be able to work here legally which may cause me problems in the future. Through Summit Gym I got to know about the MATTA fair which saved me about RM1800 on my flight ticket which is a heck lot of money.

Through Holdbreaker, you guys met me and I introduced you to climbing in Penang and Gua Kelam. It’s not a big deal but it adds colour to climbing for you guys. As you guys know from climbing with me I am not hardcore. Most of the time, I laze around rather than climb but for those of you who understands me, that is the way I like it. I take my time, absorb the environment, get in the mood then I do it.

To me rock climbing is not only about climbing a rock. Rock climbing to me is split between relaxing, meeting people, going to new places, appreciating nature, appreciating the rock, appreciating life, having a good laugh, spending time with a bunch of crazy people, learning new things (like organizing trips, being a leader, being careful, gaining the ability to think under pressure when leading a hard climb, thinking rationally about taking risks). I enjoy it better this way. To me climbing is only 30% of the whole process.

What ever happens after this trip is another story, but to me climbing is just a small part of a big picture of my life. At this point I believe that climbing is meant to be part of my life from the very beginning.

The saddest part of this trip is that you guys are not here to share climbing with me. Every site I go to I think to myself something like, “Hey, Thin Man would love this,” or “Hey Combat Girl would go crazy with this.” Since sandstone climbs have no bolts, it also crossed my mind, “Hey, Fearless can’t step on bolts anymore!” And I was laughing to myself.

Anyway, I am glad to have known you guys…..

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A training tip from Simian Boy on “The Virtues of Down-Climbing”

If you are a climber, and you have spoken to me in the past week or so, you would have heard me harp on the virtues of practising downwards climbing. While some of my friends have tried it and felt no big difference at all, some have come to love it. In my case, I feel that it has made me abetter climber. While I cannot guarantee it’ll work for everyone, if you are like me and have a heavy reliance of deadpoint moves (especially male climbers), you might want to consider climbing down from your toprope climbs. Here’s why I think it works…

More options

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I have been climbing for over a year now and I’d like to think of myself as decently capable when it comes to moving upwards and traversing left and right, but I recently discovered I don’t know how to climb downwards properly. It should have been clear to me much earlier what a gaping void this in my climbing. Imagine a car that can only move forward, and turn left and right. How often would this car get stuck? Now that I can move down, I can correct an error and remain clean for redpoint attempts. This also helps me remember my errors better (much better than, say, when I just let go and hang on the toprope, and then come back onto the climb with my hands and feet magically moved onto the correct holds, which of course, is cheating).

Static moves

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The most obvious limitation imposed by moving downwards is that you cannot deadpoint. You have to do everything in a controlled way, or you will just keep accelerating downwards. If you rely heavily on deadpoints, this balances out the variety in your moves.

Route reading

——————–

You often have to plan two moves ahead before moving downwards (one hand and one foot usually, as opposed to just throwing a right-handed slamdunk onto a big jug) or you will end up having to backtrack upwards again to correct your error. You learn a lot more about body positions and balance this way. I notice that I place my feet correctly on the first try a lot more often now compared to before I practised climbing down.

Endurance

—————-

Because you are climbing up as well as down, you are climbing more before each rest, so your endurance gets built. Also, climbing down takes longer than climbing up, so in effect, you are spending more than twice the amount of time on the wall before each rest.

Resting

———–

When climbing downwards, you are catching up with the slack in the rope rather than waiting for it to catch up to you, so often rest on your own accord. You will inevitably find new ways to rest, even if it means only resting one exhausted hand. This has been great for me because it made me stay on climbs that I normally would have just let go off prematurely, knowing that the rope is tight. Sometimes, all you need to rest is that one hand.

Confidence

—————-

People who climb solo practice climbing down to avoid getting stuck in a bad situation. I don’t intend to solo, but if the technique is good enough for them, it’s good enough for me. If you get good at climbing downwards, it helps you feel more solid on your lead climbs because you have a real chance at getting yourself out of trouble. I do realise this might be a bad habit for sport climbers who should rely on the rope for safety so they can push themselves to the edge of their limits. However, in my case, I am trying just still too neurotic to trust the rope completely, so I am trying to conquer one fear at a time and my current big fear is going above my last clip on a lead climb, and knowing how to climb out of trouble has helped that tremendously.

It’s easy

————

Since you already know how to climb up, learning to climb down is easy to master. All you really need to do is remember your moves on the way up and then come down the same way. I used to do climbs quite blindly and then when I am asked how I crossed a crux, I’d have no answer to offer. Now I remember my moves better and this, in turn helps me understand how my body moves so less mistakes, more onsights.

If you have been climbing for a long time but have been neglecting climbing down, give it a try. You may not like it at first, but you’ll get the hang of it very quickly and maybe even find yourself looking forward to the climb down instead of the climb up.

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Looking through the old archives, it has suddenly dawned upon me how much stuff I had collected over the past on climbing. It wasn’t just the photos we took and the trip reports that were written after a rock climbing trip, but there were other things. We talked about ways to climb better, how to overcome our fears, the jokes, our passions for climbing and, of course, the infamous quest for the zone.

Sometimes I feel a sense of wonder looking back at the old archives. We are a far cry now from where we were back then and yet it seems inevitable that life has progressed in this manner. Deep down inside, even during the height of our rock climbing, we all knew it would come to end and we would all move on with our lives.

Just for a short, magnificent moment, The Rockrats had created something that was larger than life and it has become one of my best memories. There are times when I look back and I miss it. I used to wonder how we could have made it continue, but a part me realises that perhaps it died because it took too much from us.

Regardless, I am glad that I was a part of it and that I have a chance to record it so that this wonderful part of my life would not have died buried in some obscure hard-drive.

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I dropped this post to the Rockrats on the fear of leading some time back, seeking some feedback on coping with fear. It follows with Le Grunt’s POV on coping with fear in rock climbing. I hope you find it useful.

23 June 2003

Although I labeled this thread “Climbing Phobias”, I realize now that the word “Phobia” is excessive. It isn’t so much a phobia because there is a reason behind the fear. By definition, a phobia is something you are afraid of for no apparent reason. There is no logic behind the fear and no amount of reasoning can remove the fear.

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Excerpt from “Circus Oz”:

What I regret most is when I get lowered from a climb because I was gripped. My mind should always be under my control – I should not be controlled by it. Being able to break through the mental barrier of “I can’t” or “I’m scared” carries with it an ecstasy that goes beyond the high of a drug.

Even though I dislike the fact that I have to struggle with this fear, I think it is this feeling of impotence that creates the bliss that I feel when I am able penetrate the limitations of my mind. Without the fear, there would be no bliss. That is the balance of nature, for it is only through our greatest hardships that we are able to realize our fortunes. Similarly, it is only by enduring the fear that I am able to realize the joy of success.

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“Circus Oz” was one of my personal analyses about climbing and fear which I wrote after the Krabi trip. I’m sending this out because I often wonder how everyone else feels about leading, or maybe not even leading, but how you control your fear when you climb. Write whatever comes to mind – how you feel, what you think, how you psyche yourself up.

Even though I feel that the fear makes the end more worth while, I also feel that there must be a way to get past the fear. What I mean is there was a time when even top-rope could make me pee in my pants, now I don’t even think about it. How does one get to this state of “enlightenment” with leading? Everyone has their theories – I hope you’ll share your thoughts.

Although I give the excuse that the fall on “Tiger” has made me more afraid to lead new routes, I still remember being gripped on a climb called “Name of a Woman” and I did this before the winger on “Tiger”. The only reason I made it to the anchor was because I kept telling myself that Adrian was belaying me and, as a belayer, he’s pretty much “bomb-proof”.

Perhaps what happened after “Tiger” was not the development of the fear, but a realization that I could get hurt. It was almost as if, up until that stage, I was immortal. The danger of being hurt was so far removed because I had a “these things don’t happen to me” attitude. But I DID get hurt, I WAS injured. Not seriously, thankfully, but it was still a reality check not to be escaped from.

Adrian once said leading is about being able to commit your moves. I concur - often the reason for down-climbing is not because I can’t make the move, but because I’m afraid to make the commitment. So just how do you suppress the fear long enough to commit the move? What can you do to remove the fear, besides reciting a litany?

The Litany Against Fear (from Dune, Frank Herbert)

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

Below is a reply from Lelek Le Grunt on coping with the fear of falling:

This is my personal opinion, and in no way do I proclaim it to be the gospel truth. Please take it with a pinch of salt.

I just believe that we should have MORE leader falls. Before the guns emerge, hear me out…

There was a time when I first started leading and was PISS SHIT SCARED out of my (fore)skin… I spoke to bird about it, and he recommended something. He told me to lead an easy 5c. Ooookay. Well, I was about to clip into the 3rd bolt when he calls out to put the draw back onto my harness, take a deep breath and let go. Yes, let go. Drop. Fall. Wing…

I said “Ok…. ready….falling…..ready…..going to let go…..falling….you sure you’re ready?… ok… falling…..”

I never let go. Bird yanked me right off. I instinctively tensed up into the ready position and slammed into the wall feet first, then palms. Shaken, I was told to continue the climb… and do it again.

All in all, I took 3 moderate wingers that day. That has helped me to really really put my faith in the equipment.

However, we have to realise that sometimes, shit happens. All we can do is learn from others’ mistake and do our best.

I do realise that there is no one unfazed by leader falls. Oh, probably the likes of Holdbreaker’s buddy Chris, or someone like him, but the rest of us, I guess we’ll be s*** scared of leader falls for a loooong time to come. Having total faith in your equipment is one thing… having faith in yourself is another. I guess faith in yourself will grow as you become a better and better climber.

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There seems to be a debate on what really happened at Comic Wall that fateful day when Fearless Leader took a leader fall and decked. According to an old trip report from Lelek Le Grunt, it was a combination of Joanna and Zeyus (not stating who the belayer was) that saved Fearless’ hide that day…

25 August 2003

Well, looks like the Rockrats found a new hunting ground.

Comic Wall, with its mostly overhanging routes now dominates our RC thoughts. From my limited experience with that wall, I’ve tried out only 3 routes. Most of the names are in Malay, so I thought I’d rename them to suit our experiences.

The easiest was quite far to the right. I call it “Cobwebs”, by virtue of the fact that you can tell who’s tried it out by the cobwebs in their hair after the climb. Its the longest route there and the book grades it a 5C, although crossing the mini chasm to the start scared the bejeesuz outta me. Lowering from that route is pretty scary as well, although Holdbreaker Ng thumped his chest in masochistic bravado and grunted, “Who me? scared?”

The next two that I tried were pretty much at the top or beyond my range.

“Reachy”, by virtue of the fact that most of the moves there are pretty reachy and SmallPerson Tan will have trouble with this route. Combat Gurl made it to the top with a bit of hanging. Holdbreaker is projecting this route. Thin Man canes it with no problem. I vote we break one toe on each foot of his la, he’s making things look too easy…

“Disaster”. I’ve saved the best for last… First incident at this route was when I arrived at the shop lots on sat afternoon and called Holdbreaker for directions. His response? “Hold on, a bit of trouble here, will come get you in a sec.” Apparently ThinMan did a dive monkey right then and ended up upside down. Holdbreaker hangs once and canes the rest of the route, leading it with no problems. Next, combatgurl cleans the draws, again with no problems. I try it next, but because its been cleaned there were no lunners holding me to the wall (overhanging, remember?) First time I drop, I drop and swing and in mid-sentence, smash into the rocks _behind_ me… (I think the chalk marks from the exploding chalk bag is still there) Hokay, I try 2 more times before calling it quits.

The next day, we’re back at the rocks and more incidents happen at “disaster”. Firstly, Holdbreaker must have been extra worn out (MooMoo, MooMoo, told you…. give him a break) because this time round, he cant lead “Disaster”. Combatgurl leads again but takes a winger halfway, slamming Kerk (belayer) into the rocks where she bumped her bum. After that I finally managed to make it to the top, ripping skin from my fingers and living up to my name of Le Grunt. I also took a small toprope fall, but apparently, at that moment, Holdbreaker (belaying me) put his hand down to steady himself, banging it in the process on the sharp rocks jutting out all over the place.

Ok, next to try was Shameless, which leads us to the sterling performance of the day. Grabs the rope, pulls it up, cant clip in, falls and bangs his head on the rocks below. Kudos to Joanna and Zeus for a combined effort of bombproof belaying. I shudder to think what would have happened if Joanna had moved even one foot…

Next up was SimCity. Tries a few times and takes a massive winger that sees him giving up. “I’m alright!” He cries, for fear of my infamous spray-on dressing…

Finally MutantMan leads the thing, although I think he didn’t make it clean. Correct me if I’m wrong… I know at one stage he had to hang, but that’s my fault, I slipped, banged my shin on those blasted rocks and fell, accidentally pulling him off… Very sorry Muts…

After that, Shameless manages to put his demon to rest by clawing up the route.

No ones managed to clean the damn thing… (again, correct me if I’m wrong)

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A couple of nights ago, I was having a Christmas party at my place and the conversation shifted to accidents in rock climbing. Someone recalled an incident at Comic Wall where our infamous Fearless Leader decked after missing the bolt at the crux of “Parang Butas”. We couldn’t recall who the belayer was (although if it wasn’t for her, we suspect that Fearless wouldn’t have walked away with just a few scratches).

After scanning through my archives, I found the following trip report detailing that particular incident we talked about. It was written by our resident, straight-faced joker, Simian Boy, complete with tongue-in-cheek. It also included the name of the belayer we couldn’t remember.

I’ve always wondered if the climber is safe when clipping into the 2nd and 3rd bolts on the climbs that we do, since an extra meter or two of slack has been pulled up to bring the rope to the runner.

This question was answered yesterday by … you guessed it … our Lai “Climbing Cult Icon” Yong Kong. He fell off the third bolt of a 6B climb at Comic Wall and hit the ground after failing to clip in. Don’t worry, he’s fine.

Here’s what I think happened, but this is all pieced together in retrospect, so if you want the first person account, you know who to ask…

“Shameless Leader” pulled up enough slack to meet the runner, but I think in his exhaustion and haste, decided to grab the runner with two (three?) fingers of his rope hand (his right hand - not his most dextrous). With a big part of his weight already on that clenched fist, he was unable to move a finger to clip the rope in. His left hand then attempted a rescue operation and went for his backup sling at a speed that would have left Clint Eastwood dead in his cowboy boots but alas, unfortunately for “He-Who-Went-CM”, the carabiner was screwed shut. DOH! With his right hand getting more pumped by the second, it was beat-the-clock with the screwgate biner. He didn’t make it!

…

Fortunately for “Mister Dive Monkey”, the fall was cushioned by his head (Don’t that try at home. Please!). He got away with just a few scratches, a big bruise on his nogging and another mention in the history archives.

Actually, the rope must have slowed him down quite a lot too although you wouldn’t have been able to tell just watching the fall. He hit the ground faster than Adrian could say the F-word. The belayer Joanne was bomber though, and kept the rope locked in nicely despite the huge jolt, so that must have been a tremendous help.

Of course, the fall was merely a life-threatening one which, as we all know, isn’t quite enough to put “Fearless” out of action. He was back on the wall after some rest and some food and conquered that climb without incident the second time around. He even did an

equipment rescue climb on a 6C to end the day. If that isn’t true grit, I don’t know what the hell is.

All in all, a good scare on what I thought was a good climbing day, pending some head x-rays.

Lessons learned: Actually I don’t know what we are learning from this except … Lai you lucky prick, you always climb so fast and I’m not going to ask you to slow down because I know I’d have a better chance getting cows to quit grass. Just please don’t get yourself into that kind of situation again where you have to make rushed decisions on lead. Very scary, if not for you, then at least for us. When we think back about it now, it seems you had so many options but of course with only like 5 seconds to think, there are fewer options. I hope you see the virtues of being the tortoise in some of these situations.

And also you might want to get your head checked. Um, no I don’t mean you have some screws loose in there (that goes without saying), but just get it checked by a doctor because it’s good to be sure you’re okay. Then we can all start joking about this.

Oh wait, we already are.

Phew!!!

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