Thaiwand Wall

Best day of climbing yet! I am finally not sore anymore, and am getting better at the technical stuff. I went with Dustin and Thad to Thaiwand Wall, which is accessed through a cave, and you need head lamps to get through the cave. The way there is through back fields and a bunch of little Thai huts, and we saw some Thai’s burning the hair off of some goats so they could cook them. Dustin and I stopped to see if we could take some pictures and they were happy to show off their feast. If we had stayed longer, they probably would have invited us to enjoy some fresh cooked goat. So we strapped on our headlamps, donned our packs, and made our way up a series of bamboo and rope ladders that led into and through the cave. At the far end and a good 30 meters higher, we were presented with a breathtaking view of the area. Through a hole in the wall (which we rappelled down out of) we could see all three beaches at the same time.

We rappelled down, and I led a climb up a fairly easy wall, and Thad and Dustin followed it up. We were looking around for a while, trying to decide what to do next, when we came across two partners who were not able to finish a route, and ended up having to leave a quick draw on the wall. The girl’s name was Kirby, and she let me tie into her rope, and I ended up being able to recover their piece, and finish the route to the top and tie it off so everyone could top rope it. This climb was really fun because it was pretty easy until that one move, and after that it was easy again.

On a different note, it seems that my debit card has ceased working. I tried it twice in the ATM on the other beach, and it wouldn’t work, then it set off the alarm on the machine. I need to call Wachovia tomorrow and see what’s up with it. It should be working. I ended up buying $20 worth of baht from Thad to get me to the mainland tomorrow so I can buy a phone card and call Wachovia.

More later,
-Ben

goat-head
The Goat Head (and Dustin)

cook-goat
And the rest of the Goat

cliff-face
Coming down off of Thaiwand Wall 

Stretch
Getting that last hold!