Panjat Batu @ Taman Bayshore

It has been quite a long while since my last climbing activity. Thanks to my buddy, Roy (now a regular at Batman Wall) who invited me along to join our expat friends, Vincent & Thomas (owner of the house whom i've yet to meet, as he's currently away on business trip) for a bouldering session at their residence. It's not at any outdoor cliffs, caves or boulders this time, but at an upclass neighbourhood in Taman Bayshore nearby here, where most of the O&G expats residence are at...

From Miri

& it's indoor somemore; where one can climb in the comfort of an air-conditioned room! yeaps, no bugs, no sunburn & no need to get drenched in the rain outside... =p

'Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas. Emphasizing on power, strength, and dynamics, its focus is more on individual moves or short sequences of moves, unlike traditional climbing or sport climbing, which generally demand more endurance over longer stretches of rock where the difficulty of individual moves is not as great. Boulder routes are commonly referred to as problems (a British appellation) because the nature of the climb is often short, curious, and much like problem solving. Sometimes these problems are eliminates, meaning certain artificial restrictions are imposed. Bouldering is more focused on the technique of climbing instead of undertaking a full bodied climb.' ~ quoted from Wikipedia.

From Miri

That's the indoor artificial boulder i was talking about; it's only about 3 metres above the ground at the peak, so falling on the crash pad or bouldering mat below is easily survivable when your hand grips fail you on the way up... =p

From Miri

Vertical wall ~ that's just for warming up... degree of difficulty can be varied depending on the routes & the boulder pockets you choose to use; the tiniest would accommodate just about your fingertip's grip =)

From Miri

The main wall with negative overhang (between -30 to -45 degrees inclination from vertical, maybe?) ~ that's where most of the fun is to be had! You start in sitting position on the ground & slowly work your way up... looks quite impossible to hold on from this angle doesn't it? It's damned tough, but with the right techniques it's definitely possible. Only managed scale up this one using the easiest route (yellow boulder pockets), rated at the difficulty of 5c. (using Fontainebleau grading system *i think* which ranges from 1 to 8c+; increasing numbers and alphabet prefix indicating increasing difficulty) This is just the kind of physical activity i like to do; definitely looking forward to the next bouldering session! =)