so i've decided that thailand will have to wait until next year, when i've racked up more vacation days and a sizeable savings account. KRABI 2008 will be AWESOME.

as an ersatz holiday, i've put in an inquiry about a climbing/biking/kayaking trip to yangshou, near guilin in china. according to wikitravel and wikipedia, there are over 200 bolted routes ranging from 5.6 to 5.14 on beautiful limestone karst. i'll probably climb and kayak with an aussie expatraite climbing company and in the company of my pops and uncle. from guilin, i'll fly to shanghai, where i'll spend a few days catching up with family and the rapid overnight westernization in the ever-sprawling metropolis. of course there will be new friends to be made in all the expat hangouts i'll end up at eveningtime.

zhonguo - the center of the universe. indeed.

i'm planning a trip to thailand this thanksgiving. the original idea was to stay on railay beach in the krabi area and climb every day. this idea has morphed into island hopping on the west coast, partaking in sport climbing, snorkeling, diving, trekking, kayaking, and maybe even elephant watching.

would love if anyone who's been in that part of the world would provide any clues on the best way to island hop.

xx

hiyaaa,

so the ABC nightline segment turned out to be a bust (though one of my colleagues was featured). however, i do have some new pics of myself nearly killing myself today on some 5.6 and 5.7's.

the big news of the day is that i took my first outdoor fall whilst climbing and i've to say that i've never been scared so shitless in my life.

enjoy!

xx

a segment on photoshop featuring one of my colleagues and perhaps a picture of me will air MONDAY night on ABC nightline. i'll try to catch it on the hotel room telly in georgia :)

xx

a segment on photoshop featuring one of my colleagues and perhaps a picture of me will air tomorrow night on ABC nightline. i won't be able to catch it at home but if you guys do, let me know how it turns out :)

xx

gelsa, a classic 5.4 was nice and easy this time 'round to finish. layback, on the other hand, gave me quite a scare with its crux chimney (ended up pulling a 5.11-esque face climb on a bloody 5.5!!) and a tricam (set by edgar, that bastid!) that was damn near impossible to fish out.

Location: Near Trapps, The Gunks

click for action shots!

my hands are fucked but all the bleeding and callouses are worth it because i started a sustained 5.9+ (didnt finish, not enough power in the end) and finished on a clean 5.8+.

the new rochelle gym rocks!

in three years, i'm going to be teh awesome.

xx

fuck the heidegger gesamtausgabe. if i had a thousand squid to throw around i'd invest it in a new rack.

as you can see, they're not made out of silicone.


my future rack



someday...