Kohti valoa: 2011

White Coast

Posted by ANTTI LOUHI | | Posted On torstai 29. joulukuuta 2011

Nine-to-five routines, plastic holds, darkness and boulder injuries. This is the time of the year to escape and devote some time for the things that will give you smiles and energy for the remainder of the winter. For us it's mountains, sun and good times in memorable atmosphere. We escaped on 27.12 and left for the White Coast.

It took 20 hours to reach our destination and everything went as usual. I slept two hours during the night before our departure and packed most of the gear at 4 AM while trying get rid of the wine inspired delirium. We spent most of the morning in München looking for something to eat and after enjoying a local treat called Curry Wurst we decided to move on and flew to Barcelona. We had still some 500 km left to drive and after numerous pit stops and caffeine powered vitamin shots we arrived to Costa Blanca just before midnight.

It's low season now and the prices are ridiculous. We have a villa with a mountain view just next to the sea under a clear blue sky and it costs us one hundred something euros per person for a two-week stay. No doubt it's a low season because it's only +20C during the day. They are giving out free wine as well. You can get two bottles of wine just for one euro, so if you return the empty bottles and get back the bottle deposit, the wine is basically free.

There's not much to report about climbing yet but I'll post some news when we actually have worked on some of the longer routes that we have planned to climb. So far we've only climbed some easier stuff and enjoyed the surroundings.

Right now I'm recovering after a long day out in the mountains, drinking wine and listening to our ad hoc band giving hard time to our neighbours by playing reggae-ish Rihanna using a Melodica, iPhone and a guitar. This is something.

Climber's hand luggage. Helmet, Melodica and an outdated man purse.

We decided to travel downtown in München to find something to eat..

...and ended up eating this strange but popular combination of curry powder and sausage.

Our two storey villa in Calpe.

View from the balcony.

Puise enjoying the morning sun by the pool.

I thought I was a geek when I brought my laptop with me but these guys are charging their cigarettes from my USB port.

Orchestra of sweet tunes and harmony.

Easy single pitch routes at Sella.

Unknown Fräulein working on the moves of "Con las manos en la Cosa".

All the surrounding areas are full perfect limestone walls.

Access difficulties still exist in some areas.

View of Mascarat after climbing "Espolón Gris" in Sierra de Toix.

Sunset of Benidorm.

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Santa's Font

Posted by ANTTI LOUHI | | Posted On lauantai 3. syyskuuta 2011

Climbing trips have been on hold for some time now due to intensive projecting at local crags and other summer activities. This week I suddenly had a chance to escape the office and leave for my three-day summer vacation. I was well aware that most of my climbing buddies were busy on their money-earning projects during the week or just prevented from travelling. Or at least I thought so. Nevertheless, our polar friend somewhere in the northern tundra asked some time ago to pay a visit to the land of the Santa to try out some of the quality boulders in the area. I quickly managed to book a one-way ticket and a rental car for the next day just before the closing time of the rental company. I was back on the road!

I was a little worried about the arctic weather and tried to pack most of my warm clothing to ensure a certain of level of comfort while climbing. Immediatelly when I stepped out of the plane I was already cursing for not taking the down jacket with me. I was convinced when I called Miika and he mentioned about the chilly weather after leaving his home in t-shirt and flip flops.

We had only a few hours of day light left when Miika was ready with his football coaching and decided to try out his favourite problem in Toramo. The route looked promising and after a few tries we were one move away from victory. Unfortunately no skin was left in our fingers to top out the problem in darkness, so the problem remains unsolved.

Miika having high hopes on "Highlight".

We woke up early the next day and headed out for a place called Hiidenkirnut. Miika did the right thing and skipped all the classes in his school to devote the whole day for this amazing place. This is probably one of the best places for bouldering in Finland. Lot's of high quality problems situated very close to each other. Too bad that this area is 850 kms away from Helsinki. Anyway, if you have chance to climb in Lapland, this is the place. This is the Fontainebleau of Finland.

I was a little sceptical about our chances of sending anything above 4A when I saw Miika preparing his notes for the day.

Matches, fuel and beer.

We also enjoyed a healthy breakfast to give us strenght for the crux moves.

Even if the areas are situated in the middle of nowhere, these mad signs are everywhere. Pay 20 Finnish Marks to use the road.

Don't!

The only way to go around the closed gates is to enter the tundra - by foot.

It's worth the effort when you enter the playground and can't decide what to climb next. Miika working on "Los Cojones".

Los Cojones / Hiidenkirnut from Antti Louhi on Vimeo.

Bacon feast is the key to success.

Amazing rock formations!

Negotiating the moves of Rotanloukku.

This is the view if you decide to walk through a swamp and hike uphill for half an hour instead of using a gravel road.

Ei menny.

Now that I'm sitting on a night train back to Helsinki, the same thoughts come to my mind as every time when returning from a climbing trip. Next time I have more time. So many routes left to climb. Definitely a place worth visiting again.

Hopefully Miika will stay there at least until next summer. This place is the Olhava for boulderers. We'll return for sure. With all the buddies and more time.

Location:Rovaniemi

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Climber's Paradise, Ton Sai

Posted by ANTTI LOUHI | | Posted On perjantai 6. toukokuuta 2011

I was wrong.

I mentioned some weeks ago that it can't get much better when we were driving around the rural areas of Yangshuo and climbing every possible route available. I didn't know then that there is place where you can climb similar rock faces and land on a tropical beach after sending perfect limestone routes.

Ton Sai.

We travelled to Krabi province some 800 kilometers south of Bangkok after flying from Saigon to Thailand. The surrounding areas of Krabi are ideal destinations for anyone who likes to enjoy white sandy beaches, coral reefs, jungles and remote islands. For us, the most appealing destination was a beach called Ton Sai, known of its overhanging limestone cliffs which make this small area a heaven for rock climbers. The beach is surrounded by high mountains walls and accessible only by longtail boats from Krabi town or other beach destinations. In addition to the short powerful sport routes there are actually several 200 meter multi-pitch climbs with spectacular views and a lot of bouldering. If you feel lazy and don't want to trek to jungle crags, you can stay at the beach-side areas and actually belay from a bar patio if you feel so. Or you can take a tropical ocean swim in the Andaman Sea between climbs. Living is cheap, food is cheap and beer is cheap. Lovely people, friendly fellow climbers and laid-back atmosphere. What more can you ask for?

I've broken my iPhone, lost my shoes and spent all of my money but there's no need to worry. This place makes every climber busy enough to forget all the problems and focus on two things. Hugging the karst and enjoying life. Though I already find it hard to leave, I feel the same way as when leaving Nepal or any of my other favourite places. I know I will return to this remote beach and don't have to worry about farewells. Ton Sai became one of my favourite destinations in SEA and the highlight of this climbing trip around Asia.