Getting Jacked...

Alright...sore fingers for typing mean we've been out climbing...so this one will be short. The past few days have seen some hard climbs here on Koh Tao--some serious grunting, bleeding and pulling have been done by all and it has been sweeeeeet. On Monday, December 8th, five Swedish lads (Michael, Mathias, Max, Robert, and Viktor) took on lower Fraggle and Car Jack; two climbs that will punish and deliver the goods. After a long work session, a couple finally made it up to the ledge atop lower Fraggle. This was a serious boulder session on top rope and all pulled their hardest to puzzle this one out. All in all, it was a fantastic day for everyone and nothing is better than watching a group of guys who have only been outdoor climbing once before really take on the granite with all they got...excellent work guys!!!

Today, I took Jeff from Vancouver, BC out climbing and we both had a great day on the rocks. We roped up Eagle Wall first and both Jeff and I took on and conquered the climb directly up the center to the left of the fern. This is just a mean move, the whole wall bulging out at you trying to push you off if you breath too much and only a tiny, high dish to step into with a couple of sharp frictiony crystals for hands to cling on...commit and go! Charly's Crack was always rewarding and we both took a stab. The day finished for us on Car Jack--a new climb that was set right before the season ended for us. The climb has a lot of variety to it--stemming, laybacks, jams, friction across exposed faces with nothing but shallow slopers, underclings, mantles and then you finish the course with a 10 meter block that is all grueling vertical face with only tiny, sharp two finger holds and single crystals for the feet. After a lot of swearing and yelling and two falls, I made it to the top--and it was glorious.

There are lots of boulders about on the island at present, so get and go no matter what your level or lust...it's on!!!

REOPEN n' ROLLING

We are open for another season of serious adventuring here at Goodtime!!! The office doors were opened on the first of December, the ropes dusted off, and the roster quickly filled up with climbers and abseilers alike. Most of the crew is still on their way back to Koh Tao from various parts of the globe, but I (Slade) have been running the show solo here and keeping plenty busy. Monsoon may still be trying to hang in here, but the wind and clouds only make the climbing that much cooler (really I mean actually cooler as in you don’t sweat 2 liters when scaling the rocks…not a bad thing). So while the ocean is choppy and the visibility marginal for diving, the conditions are A+ here on Koh Tao for getting out on the rocks.

Getting back out there atop the island after a month off has been a seriously great thing, and it would not be possible if it wasn’t the true Goodtimers…you guys!!! On the 3rd, I took three Anna, Lone, and Cecilie out for their first session of outdoor rock climbing and they literally flew up every route. We finished the day being punished on Charly’s Crack, but all made it to the top leaving only a little bit of skin and blood on the rock…the sacrifice you pay for a hard days climbing. The 4th had me back setting more climbs up for Armand, Yasmine, Noel, and Kristian—a brilliant, sunny day with all taking their licks and giving it back to the rocks. Some great photos came out of this day and they have been posted on our website and facebook group page along with some here. Carolien and I went Abseiling on the 5th, another sunshiny day with all of Koh Tao below us as we dangled above the jungle. Luke, a local DMT from Asia Divers, did a Rock 1 course with me on the 6th, and we spent the afternoon progressively working on harder and harder climbs. It was Luke’s first time outdoors on the rocks and he did awesome (thanks for the great belays and catches there Luke!). The end of the day saw us tackling a new climb that we have only roped up a couple of times—Car Jack. It’s located on the north side of Fraggle Rock and is a series of vertical cracks and blocks with some great fully exposed face climbing as well—the end being a large, brutal slab where every obvious hold is inverted and useless, so you really have to search out for the tiny crimpers. I went for the inside of the last face and tried to chimney the dihedral, got to the top and had nowhere to go and was looking at a very massive swing out into space with my belayers rope smack in the middle for me to snag on. Luke held the line perfectly even when I snapped off his side of the rope like I was plucking a guitar string with entire body…thanks for the great catch!!!

Well that is the update from our first week of being reopen. I hope to see you all out here and on the rocks again or for your first time with us soon. Check out our website for new pics and drop us an email if you have any questions or just want to say hey. Cheers…