Rock Climbing at Crazy Horse Near Chiang Mai

Crazy Horse rock climbing crag was a big part of what enticed us to stay in Chiang Mai for a few weeks. The crag is located about 40 km east of Chiang Mai where the landscape quickly turns to countryside and rice paddies. Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures (CMRCA) is a rock climbing shop where you can rent or buy gear, guidebooks, and apparel. They also offer guided climbing classes. For those who don't need a guide, but need transportation to the crag CMRCA charters red taxis for the day (8:30 am to 4:30 pm) and provides lunch for 300 baht per person. Or you can rent a motorbike and make your own way to the crag, which we enjoyed doing after taking the red taxi the first time out. 

Route from CMRCA to Crazy Horse

CMRCA has done a lot to develop Crazy Horse. The trails to the rock climbing walls are fairly groomed with bamboo railings to help ascend and descend the steep areas. The climbing walls are a 5 to 20 minute hike from the parking lot. The routes are new and well bolted and the anchors are safe. The gravel parking lot has two squat toilets and drinking water is provided by donation. It's a small area that is still being developed (the guidebook could be a little more user friendly), but the organization is better than in Tonsai. It's really cool to see a rock climbing community growing in Chiang Mai. 

Access to Heart Wall thru a bamboo forest

CMRCA gear shop

Crazy Horse is named for the horse-like rock formation peering down over the parking lot. I see the horse, but I also see a more prominent moose formation. But I think horses are more common than moose in Thailand. 

Crazy Horse (the two peaks on top are the horse ears)

Crazy moose. The middle boulder looks like a moose head and the two large rock structures above it with the greenery in between look like antlers to me. Anyone else see it? 

Our first day at Crazy Horse we climbed the following routes: 

• Heart Wall: 
• Duang Jai (Heart), 6a+, 25 meters, led by Brandon
• This route had a really neat crack line to follow on the way up
• Ruam Jai (Together), 6a+, 36 meters, initially led by Katie and then finished by Brandon
• Katie led the very overhung, frustrating part at the beginning. Because of frustration and time constraints in getting to lunch back at the parking lot, Brandon finished leading the route and made it all the way up the 36 meters with impressive endurance. 
• Furnace Wall:
• Love Me, Love My Route, 6a+, 23 meters, led by Katie 
• This was our favorite route of the day with interesting moves and multiple features to work through
• Solarise, 6a+, 24 meters, led by Katie
• Katie had 7 or more falls while projecting the 4th bolt crux. She eventually triumphed over the crux (extremely proud moment), but was too tired to continue onward with the route. Brandon tried to continue leading, but agreed it was difficult for the end of the day. Instead he finished and cleaned the gear by taking a detour after the 4th bolt crux and leading the rest of the route to the right called Fire In The Mind, 6a, 24 meters  

Katie topping Duang Jai

Part of the Heart Wall

Heart Wall had a lot of what we thought was dark brown/reddish rock. As it turned out, it wasn't the color of the rock if was the color of hoards of ladybugs hanging out on the rock!

Brandon cleaning a route on the Furnace Wall, which was well named in the scorching sun

Our second time at Crazy Horse was a really fun day. We climbed the following, which you can read about in more detail with pictures here: 

• Furnace Wall
• Sideshow (1st pitch), 5c, 27 meters, led by Katie
• Backburner, 6a+, 24 meters, topped with the anchors from Sideshow 
• The Rooftop
• Heun Fah (Ascending the Sky), 5b, 21 meters, led by Katie
• Skyscraper, 6a, 29 meters, led by Brandon
• Crazy Horse Area
• The Muppet Show, 5b, 27 meters, led by Katie

On our third visit to Crazy Horse we explored a lot of cave climbs. Climbing in a cave is really cool, literally and figuratively. 

• Crazy Horse Area
• Reindeer Request, 6a+, 22 meters, led by Brandon
• This route had interesting moves that we've done in the gym, but had never experienced outside. Super fun.  
• Magic Drop, 6b, 18 meters, topped using the anchors of Reindeer Request 
• Very balance and slab driven, playing to Katie's skills
• Anxiety State Crisis Cave
• Beautiful Mess, 6a, 19 meters, led by Katie
•  Simple climb made cooler by being in a CAVE! 
• Windy Cave
• Morning Glory, 6a+, 31 meters, led by Brandon
•  To access this cave we had to squeeze and squat our way through a tunnel which opened into a large room with one small skylight. The route had a lot of features for both hands and feet, but we had to climb with a headlamp on to see where we were going! Such a cool experience! 

Reindeer Request (right) and Magic Drop (left)

Beautiful Mess route in a cave!

The skylight of the cavern was the same hole we saw from above at Gatekeeper Buttress 

Katie leading Beautiful Mess

Over halfway up

Brandon looking down from the top of Beautiful Mess

Brandon surveying Morning Glory in the dark cave

Morning Glory route with a small skylight at the top

With all our gear it was a tight fit crawling in and out of the tunnel to Windy Cave

We were considering getting out for one more day of climbing, but both Brandon and I agreed that there wasn't much else at Crazy Horse that we were interested in climbing. And then on top of that, yesterday we were able to sell our rope to an ecstatic fellow traveler, which was a huge blessing. Now we don't have to lug the rope around anymore or pay extra baggage fees on our flight home in the States. The rope served us well, gave us flexibility in choosing our climbing days, and was cheaper to buy then rent (now that we've been able to sell it).  

Rock climbing had been a huge highlight of Chiang Mai and of Thailand in general. We've certainly had some wonderful adventures together. 

Our Anniversary Adventures

November 15th was our anniversary. We're not the types that usually take much merit keeping a close track of such things or do much of anything special to celebrate. I'm not sure why exactly. Maybe because we try to make everyday a worthwhile adventure together. Or maybe we're just bad at keeping track of time. In fact, I'm pretty sure we would have forgot last year had it not been for my mom who reminded us a few days before. But this year we were a bit more keenly aware of dates due to how it affects our current set of travels. As a result a few days ago, when looking ahead to our plans for the week, we realized our anniversary was coming up. So since we happened to remember, we tried to make the day a little extra special.

The day started out with Katie posting this really awesome web-comic she found to my Facebook wall along with some other really kinds words. Many of you probably already saw it. I really like web-comics, and this one was cute and heartfelt without being to mushy. It was a great way to start out the day. For those that missed it, here is the link: http://www.theloop.ca/this-is-what-real-love-looks-like/

One pretty awesome perk for the day was that we had motorbike for the day since the day before we had been rock climbing and decided to get the bike for two days instead of one. So we first ran a couple of errands which went really quick thanks to the aide of the motorbike and then continued onward to brunch. We went brunch at Natwat Cafe, a place recommended to us by our host. We were told of some dishes involved cream cheese and chorizo. Sold! And it did not disappoint.

Our table had a toy/game to play with while we waited. We were easily amused.

Our plates of deliciousness

Next we decided to ride our bike across to the other side of town to visit one last wat. I know we said in a previous post that we already had our fill of wats, but this particular wat, Wat Umong, had tunnels to explore and was close to something else we wanted to check out. It was totally worth the trip because it ended up being our favorite wat.

This wat was much more ancient feeling with all its stone work.

There were roosters everywhere.
A lot of wats were dog sanctuaries, but this one seemed to be a rooster sanctuary. 

Katie sporting her wat-appropriate attire at the entrance to one of the tunnels

The tunnels had lots of little outcroppings for meditation like this one.

There were lots of these things as well in the tunnel walls.

Looking back towards the outside from within a tunnel.

These tunnels were not very tall in some spots.

The chedi on top of the tunnels

On a nice forest path back to the motorbike.

After visiting the wat, we got back on the bike and drove to an artist village that Katie learned about through our host's blog. The place was called Baan Kang Wat. It had some nice little artist shops, workshop areas, and cafes. It was a cute place to visit, but I think we would have enjoyed ourselves there more if it wasn't so hot.

Since it was so hot we treated ourselves to some strawberry melon and kiwi apple ice cream.

Katie enjoying our refreshingly cool ice cream.

Next, we drove home to get out of the heat for a bit. Once we finally felt cooled down, we walked over a few blocks from our house and got another round of Thai massages. This wasn't really for our anniversary. We just happened to have gone climbing the day before, and we've been trying to get a massage the day after our climbs. Other than having to awkwardly wait longer then we expected to get started, they were quite nice.

Hanging out in our massage attire, waiting for the group before us to leave.

After our massages, we got back on the bike and went out to dinner to The Dukes. I know it doesn't sound like your typical anniversary dinner spot. Our host actually kept trying to persuade us to go somewhere else. But we were taken there the week before by our friends Pam and Larin and learned that they had some super delicious food. So if we were going to splurge, we wanted something tasty, not fancy.  

Hanging out at The Dukes, waiting for our food.
We got a pretty sweet view on the 4th floor of the mall where this specific Dukes was located. 

Katie got the same calzone she got last time.
I got a BBQ chicken pizza.

We even ordered a oreo-chocolate-peanut butter cheesecake. This made Katie very happy. It wasn't as good as her cheesecakes, but it was better then most other restaurants and really hit the spot. We also ordered a second slice of just chocolate cheesecake to take home to our host so that she could have some since she also loves chocolate. We might have also stolen a bite or two from that cheesecake too :)

We then drove home to drop off our leftovers and we had just enough time for Katie to try out driving the motorbike herself up and down our street a few times. She was a little nervous but still managed the bike well for her first time.

We then returned the bike and didn't have any problems with the return, which is always a blessing. And then on our walk home we ran one more errand and then walked down part of the Sunday Walking Market. When we got home we chatted with Alana and some of her friends for a bit, showered (it was a very hot day so it felt amazing), played a round of Hanabi, had a glass of wine, and called it a well deserved early night. 

Overall it was a lovely day with some very lovely company. We fit in a lot. And thanks to an adventurous spirit, the aide of the motorbike to get around, and feeling more comfortable with Chiang Mai, it didn't feel overwhelming at any point. As an added perk, even though we splurged, splurging in Thailand is still relatively cheap compared to a day like this elsewhere. We can see why people retire here. We spent less than 1900 baht ($50-ish USD) on a full day of adventure. This is a lot compared to an average day where we're spending less than 400 baht, but $50 back home might have just covered a fancy dinner.

And that was our anniversary adventure. I mainly wrote it out for myself so that I could look back on this day and remember all the details. But I hope you enjoyed the retelling of it as well.

Cheers

A Really Great Day in Thailand

We've had a lot of challenges in Thailand that have resulted in some negative posts lately. But, Wednesday was a really great day! 

We knew we wanted to climb on Wednesday, so on Tuesday night we rented a 125 cc motorbike for just 199 baht ($6 USD) for 24 hours with two well-fitting helmets and collision insurance. The customer service was good and this was the best deal we've found on a motorbike thus far, so we were already feeling pretty good. With having the motorbike the night before we were able to leave bright and early in the morning for the Crazy Horse rock climbing crag. 

Crazy Horse rock climbing crag is located about 40 km east of Chiang Mai. The first time we went out to Crazy Horse we paid 300 baht per person for transportation in a red taxi and lunch. Riding in red taxi is not comfortable for long. There are usually at least eight passengers seated on two long benches and you feel every bump along the way. I cannot express how much more comfortable it was to do the 1 hour ride on a motorbike instead. We put some of our climbing gear in the space under the motorbike seat, strapped the climbing rope between Brandon's legs, and I wore a backpack with the rest of our gear. We only had to use two highways to get to the crag and the landscape quickly turned to quiet, easy-to-ride countryside. The weather was cool and overcast and the wind in our faces was refreshing. Brandon quickly adjusted to the motorbike and was a comfortable, adept driver. Our stop for gas was easy, since we already knew the protocol from previous experience. 

Red taxi...not our favorite form of transportation

On our motorbike with our rope bag strapped between Brandon's feet. It's hot, but wearing long sleeves is more protective from wind and sun. 

Within an hour we made it to Crazy Horse. Since we had risen and left early we arrived a full hour before the red taxis. We had the crag to ourselves for awhile before more climbers arrived. And, we were well armed with sunscreen and mosquito spray to make the climbs more enjoyable. 

Our motorbike and gear at Crazy Horse

As we made the small hike to the Furnace Wall, we made a pact to just enjoy the day and take it easy on ourselves. We didn't choose the hardest climbs, but we chose some fun ones. At the Furnace Wall, we did the following: 

• Sideshow (1st pitch) a 5c rating, 27 meters led by Katie 
• Backburner a 6a+, 24 meters that we topped using the anchors of Sideshow

Katie leading Sideshow

Some views from the top of Sideshow

Thai countryside with thick clouds and mountains in the distance

The anchors in the foreground and crazy horse cliff jutting out in the background

We then hiked up the mountainside a bit further to Gatekeeper Buttress. I'd felt like I might want to try to lead my first 6b, so we checked out one there. It was called The Gatekeeper and it was only 20 meters, but it traversed over a huge cavern. It looked like the options for foot holds rapidly disappeared until you were eventually just hanging over the cavern. In order to return to the belay area the climber would have to find some holds to cling to and climb back. Otherwise the book recommended lowering the climber down into the cavern and then using another rope to rappel down with the rest of the gear. We didn't have two ropes to accomplish this. Either way, collecting all of our quickdraws and the gear seemed sketchy and intimidating. So, we moved on. I decided to complete my 6b quest on another day. 

The Gatekeeper 6b climb over an archway over the dark, deep cavern below. Maybe you could use the bamboo stalks to pull yourself back to the belay area???

We hiked even higher to The Rooftop. This area had just three routes, but some awesome looking slab. It also had the claim of being the highest area you could climb at Crazy Horse and thus having some great views. We tested this claim and found it to be true on the following: 

• Heun Fah (Ascending the Sky) a 5b, 21 meters of slab led by Katie 
• Skyscraper a 6a, 29 meters led by Brandon and our favorite route at Crazy Horse thus far. The route was super fun with some slab, overhangs, big boulders to climb over and rest on, and finally a chimney to the anchors. The view of the Thai countryside below was pretty beautiful too. 

Brandon cleaning Ascending the Sky, a fun simple slab route

After finishing our climbs at The Rooftop we went down the mountainside to the parking area for a late lunch. We had packed some granola bars and peanut butter, which immediately drew the attention of the other climbers. Everyone wanted to know where we had found peanut butter in Chiang Mai. It felt good to feel like experts and actually know something about Chiang Mai, even if it was only about peanut butter! 

After lunch we decided to do one more easy climb before heading back to Chiang Mai. The Crazy Horse Wall was closest, so we went there. I led The Muppet Show a 5b, 27 meter climb. It was pretty easy making it a good last climb of the day. 

The ride back on the motorbike went smoothly. There was some more traffic, but with a motorbike you can pass the car traffic on the side and move more quickly. I was admittedly a little sore from being the passenger, but certainly no more than in a red taxi. We promised ourselves that we'd get a good massage tomorrow. After dropping off our climbing gear at home we returned the motorbike. 

On our walk back to the house we stopped at a market and picked up a few more items for dinner, three cooked chicken skewers and three chocolate oatmeal cookies. We had already picked up some fresh produce the day before because we had arranged with our host to all make tacos together! Tacos! The food that makes a good day even better. 

Using the produce we had bought, our host, Alana, prepared and shared her awesome mango salsa recipe with us. She also shared refried beans she had brought from the States, tortillas from an expat store, and cheese (which is a luxury to buy in Thailand, like peanut butter). Our tacos with refried beans, chicken, cheese, avocados, and mango salsa tasted heavenly washed down with some Leo, a light Thai beer. 

Taco and Leo, a classic Thai beer

Thailand doesn't have the best baked goods, so we didn't set our expectations high for the chocolate oatmeal cookies. But, we warmed them in the toaster oven and we all agreed that they went down well with some red wine. It was a lovely, Mexican themed meal (which is hard to find in Thailand) made even better by the community we were able to share with Alana. It was a wonderful way to end a great day in Thailand!