On our deep water solo trip we met an American couple, Alex and Sarah, who are traveling thru Nepal, Thailand and then to Vietnam before returning to Oregon. In Vietnam they’ll be teaching rescue and safety classes for adventure tour groups. Pretty cool. We bonded with them as they have wedding ring tattoos just like us. They went climbing on Tuesday and said their favorite climbing was at Thaiwand Wall, because of some awesome views. There also weren’t a lot of large guided climbing groups in that area. So, we took their advice and headed for Thaiwand Wall in Railay.
When we left from Tonsai to Railay it happened to be closer to high tide than low tide, so we had to wade thru mid thigh water with all our gear (we learned to check tide times after this!). Then we walked across Railay West Beach to the far end and found a path with a steep, uphill jungle scramble to the rock face. It was quite the workout just to reach the climb, but it turned out to be totally worth it. There were awesome views of Tonsai, Railay East, and Railay West Beaches from the top.
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| Part of the jungle scramble |
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| Awesome views of Tonsai Beach to the left and Railay West Beach to the right |
We started on a 15 meter climb with a 5 rating called Organ Grinder (pitch 1) to warm up. I led it, but the climb was a bit harrowing because it did not match the guide book description. It was supposed to be re-bolted with new Titanium bolts, but it was not. Brandon climbed it after me and was able to find the anchors a bit higher up, so we could actually properly clean the route.
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| Brandon getting read to clean Organ Grinder |
The second route we climbed was much better and probably our favorite of the day. It was a 25 meter 6a+ called Circus Oz/Lord of the Thais. Brandon led it, and I topped it cleanly. The views were spectacular!
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| Our rope weaving up Circus Oz/Lord of the Thais |
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| If you look really closely you can see me way up there cleaning Circus Oz/Lord of the Thais |
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| Right edge of Thaiwand Wall just past Circus Oz/Lord of the Thais |
Near this route we occasionally saw people rappelling out of a cave with guides. We discovered that the cave went all the way through the prominent rock face separating Railay West Beach and Phra Nang Beach! We ended up climbing through this cave from Phra Nang Beach on our rest day. There were ropes and ladders to use as well as light from Brandon’s phone. We didn’t have the equipment to rappel down, so we just backtracked thru the cave again. So fun!
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| Brandon ready to enter the cave |
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| Further into the cavern |
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| View out to Phra Nang from inside the cave |
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| It got dark enough in the cave that when turning Brandon's phone off this was the view with light from some cracks to the outside |
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| The cave kept going and going |
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| A guide helping someone rappel from the top of the cave down the Railay side. This was our same view while climbing Circus Oz/Lord of the Thais! |
The last two climbs we did on Wednesday shared an anchor. I led the 15 meter 6a+ Primal Scream and was proudly able to get past the intimidating cruxes near and over a ledge. Brandon then topped it clean. It didn’t have as good of views, but it was a fun route with some corner features.
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| Prepping to lead Primal Scream |
An 18 meter 6b+ called Solution 41 shared the anchor, so Brandon and I both topped it. I was tired from doing the prior lead climb and the rock was really sharp on the route, but I eventually made it to the top. Brandon gathered a lot of beta from watching me try to route and was more used to the sharp rock type. He topped it cleanly with impressive skill.
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| Working thru Solution 41 |
The rock here is limestone and has different features than what we’re used to climbing at the Red River Gorge. Instead of classic jugs, there are a lot of stalactite formations, columns where stalactites and stalagmites have met, pockets between columns, sections of sharp rock, chimneys, and smooth sections worn down by dripping cave water. It was definitely fun to experiment with and worth through the different features.
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| We really enjoyed Thaiwand Wall |
We picked up all our gear and headed down the steep jungle path using ropes to lower ourselves at some points. Stopping in Railay, we split the most amazing chicken kabob wrap and a strawberry milk shake to give us some energy for the trek back. It was low tide thankfully, so we didn’t need to wade to reach Tonsai for a shower and rest under the fans.
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After taking a rest day on Thursday, we went out for another day of climbing on Friday. This time we decided to avoid crossing any tides and stayed in Tonsai. We easily found the Nest Wall, but it was in full sun, so we decided to return in the afternoon. After some searching we found Fire Wall and a 17 meter 6a+ called Up In Smoke, which was in partial shade. Brandon led it and I topped it with both of us stopping for a break at the crux. We learned not to climb routes in the sun; it was scorching and the black rubber on our shoes made our feet burn.
We learned our lesson and waited for shade on the routes further down the wall including the famous 25 meter 6a called Groove Tube and a 25 meter 6b called Boob Tube. Groove Tube was literally like climbing in a tube or chimney, which was really cool. It also had an awesome view at the top. I was able to lead it clean and Brandon topped it clean.
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| Groove Tube with the rope running through and Boob Tube to the left of it |
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| Anchored in at the top of Groove Tube |
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| Brandon at the top of Groove Tube looking down on me |
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| Awesome view of Tonsai Beach from Groove Tube |
We then both climbed Boob Tube from the anchors at Groove Tube. It had some neat technical moves, but we both still had energy to do it clean. We then walked back to our bungalow and to Mama’s Chicken for a late lunch and a break to build stamina for one last climb.
After lunch we returned to the Nest Wall, which was now in the shade, to climb a 22 meter 6b called Whacky Weed. Brandon led it and I topped it. We were both pretty tired, but enjoyed the multiple features of the route, including a ledge, scramble, chimney, arete, and slab. It was a good final route of the day.
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| Brandon at the top of Whacky Weed |
In the evening, we walked over to Railay at low tide to watch a gorgeous sunset. As the sun set we also saw a huge storm cloud over the Andaman Sea and spent awhile enjoying the impressiveness of the lightning and storm rolling in. To our disappointment, the cooling rain never hit Tonsai.
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| Walking over to Railay at low tide |
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| Railay Beach sunset |
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| A great end to the day |
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| Huge storm cloud rolling in with lightning flashing within it |
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Saturday, we decided to get some afternoon shaded climbs in since it was our last day in Tonsai. We returned to the Nest Wall and Brandon began to lead a 27 meter 6a+ called Banana Hammock. Just as he got on the wall, it began to pour. Thankfully, we were under a huge, natural rock roof far above so neither of us nor our gear got wet, and Brandon was able to climb in the rain. I proceeded to cleanly climb the route as the rain stopped. A difficult part of the route was climbing a stalactite-like feature at a negative incline; the best strategy was to just keep moving.
As we were climbing Banana Hammock, four climbers began setting up on the 15 meter 6b route next to us called Techno-Bug. They let us top Techno-Bug and we let them top Banana Hammock; it was a good trade. Techno-Bug had a lot of zig-zagging right and left often requiring wide leg placement.
Our fellow climbers suggested a route that they had enjoyed on the other end of Tonsai Beach. Brandon still had energy he wanted to burn, so we traipsed over there. At Tyrolean Wall we found a 20 meter 6b+ called Missing Snow. The route had a nasty overhang start, but we were able to borrow a stick clip to make it slightly less intimidating. Brandon led it and I managed to top it, but we completed it with extreme ugliness. Our arms were shot from this being our third day of climbing, and when we’re fatigued we tend to stray away from the energy efficient, technical skills we need most.
We returned to our bungalow ragged, but happy to see the fans on and ready to shower and enjoy dinner on our last night in Tonsai. In all we climbed 11 routes in 3 days...not too shabby!
- Organ Grinder - 15 m - 5
- Circus Oz/Lord of the Thais - 25 m - 6a+
- Primal Scream - 15 m - 6a+
- Project 41 - 18 m - 6b+
- Up in Smoke - 17 m - 6a+
- Groove Tube - 25 m - 6a
- Boob Tube - 25 m - 6b
- Whacky Weed - 22 m - 6b
- Banana Hammock - 27 m - 6a+
- Techno-Bug - 15 m - 6b
- Missing Snow - 20 m - 6b+
****P.S. I've used the French grading scale throughout this post as used in our rented guidebook. I've found this table helpful to translate between French and USA scales:
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