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Over the past 6 months Spiderman Rock Guides and traveling climbers have contributed hugely to the further development of Yangshuo rock climbing. The new Big Gun Wall is only 10 minutes from town with huge potential for single and multi pitch climbs. Currently there are 8 routes established here on the easiest approachable section. This new wall has been looked at many times but left untouched until Paul Qiu attacked it early this past summer. A small topo can be acquired at Spiderman Climbing just off of West Street. And secondly, further development of the Middle Finger can now be enjoyed by all free climbers. The south face is home to 18new routes including the instant classic Finger Lickin’ Good (5.12), a beautifully exposed two pitch arete on a semi-detached pillar.
These two crags are being opened in the nick of time for the upcoming autumn climbing season. Equipment and material for these efforts was provided by the Yangshuo Access Initiative and the Yanshuo Climbers Association as well as the individual pocketbook. Be sure to check out the crags and the associations on your next visit and don’t be shy to thank the locals for their hard work. Specifically the YAI would like to thank Paul Qiu, Liam Bennett, Paul Byrne, and Andrew Hedesh. These crags will be included in the next edition of Yangshuo Rock Climbs, due out before the 3rd Annual Yangshuo Climbing Festival in October.
Please remember that climbing new routes is an unbelievable experience but also potentially hazardous. Although these routes have been cleaned thoroughly, they have not been tested over the long term. Loose rock is always a concern; wear a helmet. Furthermore, development on the Middle Finger will continue for the next month so please use caution.
I’ve just been informed by a long-time Yangshuo Rockclimber that the rights to manage the newly created tourist area along the road from Wine Bottle is being auctioned off to tourism development companies just as China has done throughout its scenic tourist areas. Due to the difficulty of actually controlling access, the start date to begin charging admission has been tentatively set for October 1st of this year. Once I get confirmation of this, the YAI will initiate talks with the management company to attempt to work out a systems that will be more friendly to rock climbers. We are likely to be in an unsettled period for the next few years as we try to work out arrangements.
The tourist development companies who manage these areas in other parts of China have never been very interested in negotiating with climbers: we have to pay to enter Shuangqiaogou and have been prevented from climbing at Hua Shan and Huang Shan Scenic areas. The park management companies are the government’s solution for making money from tourists visiting the parks without actually having to do the work themselves. The management companies are in this for the money and can be very sensitive to the liability issues associated with any type of accidents or injuries that take place within their parks.
We are on the frontier with this climbing access issue in China and cannot guarantee any results. Fortunately, there are an unlimited number of crags in and around Yangshuo that are already developed or waiting to be developed for rockclimbing. We may have to live with limited access to some of our favorite crags, at least for awhile, but this should not hamper the growth of the sport in Yangshuo or in China. Your support is needed as much as ever.
Over the past week, local climber Abond began replacing missing hangers on 17 of White Mountain’s classic routes. He intends to continue until they are all replaced. He has used glue-in ring bolts which should be more difficult for the villagers to destroy. We needs more adhesive and ring bolts that we’ll have to bring in from Hong Kong. There have not been any troubles with the local villagers since early this year. We will begin talking to them again soon trying to secure the use of the land at the base of the crag for some of the annual YS Climbing Festival which will be held this year during the last weekend of October.
Visiting Shanghai climbers were denied access to climb at the Wine Bottle crag this past Saturday. The area has been problematic for Yangshuo rock climbing since late last year; recently signs went up announcing that the local village would fine people who climber there. I’ve been telling people to call the police if they are confronted by locals and when police were called, the climbers were told that villagers did not want them climbing there and that they would have to leave.
This is the second crag, after Golden Cat Cave, that has been closed to climbers. Officials at the sports bureau are reluctant to get involved at this time pending an overall resolution being worked out by the Yangshuo government. Any policy will have to fit together with the tolls gates and limited access planned for the road between Wine Bottle and Moon Hill.
It would be easy to point fingers in this issue, but that will not help us resolve anything or open the crag up to rock climbers again. All eyes are looking out to see just what happens over the May 1st holiday were great numbers of Chinese climbers are expected to show up for Yangshuo rock climbing because Wine Bottle is such a popular crag for moderate climbers.
Please leave a note here or send an email if you encounter any access problems at any of the Yangshuo rock climbing crags.
Update April 8th, 2010
It is unlikely that gates will be completed before the May 1st holiday so we do not know what to expect once gates are taken into operation. Government officials are still discussing with local residents from along the roads about how they will benefit from the road closures. Local residents have been promised income from the road fees in exchange for not charging additional fees within the roas/park area. This should include rock climbing areas. No official announcements have been made about management or fees. We will keep you posted once announcements have been made.
Gates are under construction on the road just past the traffic circle on the way to Wine Bottle and another just past Moon Hill. The government has begun implementing its plan to control access to this scenic section of road and turn it into a park. Unfortunately, six of our most popular crags are accessed via this road.
I spoke with the head of the sports bureau and asked him for details on how he road will be administered and he said that ‘everything is still under discussion and nothing has been settled’. In the worse case, climbers will be charged RMB80 each time they pass through the gates.
I don’t believe the gates can be completed before the May first holiday and no workable solution has been found for access by people who live off the road or for the business, including guest houses near Banyan Tree. We will keep you posted when we hear of new developments.
We have talked to officials about special arrangement for climbers but at present it is unclear who we need to talk to and who will be responsible for making the final decisions. I anticipate the situation being fluid for awhile, this should give us time to present the case for free access for climber. It actually ties in well with the areas tourism development plans: they want to attract more overseas niche markets to the area and charging for climbing sould certainly put a damper on that.
Through the implementation of the Crag Inventory and Assessment it has become duely noted that climber safety in Yangshuo is a problem. From ill-cleaned routes to missing bolts to unconventional anchor configurations the climbing routes are in need of a serious face-lift. Because of this, Director of Safety, Andrew Hedesh is making route improvement priority number one.
The year 2010 in Yangshuo rock climbing will be marked with superb upgrades in route safety and anchor improvement. During the past month of January, volunteers Ian Farquhar, Josh Laitila, and Michelle McRory have donated time energy and resources to the safety of all climbers who follow. These volunteers have added 14 bolts and replaced 5 bolts on existing hazard routes as well as improving approximately 60 anchors!
The unselfish dedication of climbers like this is truely what keeps rock climbing opportunities open to the general public and ensures ample precautions for the climbers who pull hard. Thank you volunteers for the contribution and establishing proper climbing responsiblities the rest of us can follow.
During the past year, Yangshuo rock climbing has seen an enormous amount of development! With 70+ new routes and three new crags added in the last 12 months Yangshuo continues to be the center of rock climbing in China. Currently, there is no where else in China that offers such a high density of diverse grades in close proximity to a town that is very welcoming to foreign and domestic climbing tourists.
The continual influx of touring climbers along with the local climbing population has produced nearly 300 routes within the last five years bringing Yangshuo’s route total to just under 500. Although this number is growing rapidly, approach times are still minute; 95% of the crags are within a short bicycle ride from town allowing for comfortable lodging, fantastic dining experiences, and superb nightlife opportunities.
With all the development going on around here please be sure to stop by the Karst Cafe and check out the new route log book for the latest up-to-date route information. In addition, it has been heard that Paul Collis will be publishing a new edition of Yangshuo Rock Climbs sometime during the second half of 2010. Way to go, Paul! The YAI and the Yangshuo rock climbing community would like to thank all of the people involved in bolting new routes during this past year.
Before leaving Yangshuo on Dec. 24th, climbing was open at all crags in Yangshuo and we enjoyed fine, cool climbing weather as is usual for this time of year. There are still unresolved access issues at both the Wine Bottle and White Mountain crags and these will require more time to settle. Overall, the access situation is quite good and relationships with villagers at most crags is improving. We encourage you to talk to villagers near the crags and to eat your meals and buy lunch and drinks there whenever possible. Relationships between independent climbers and villagers is one of the most important factor in continued, unrestricted access to our crags.
Various rockclimbing /guiding companies have also approached villagers with an offer to rent the land in exchange for exclusive rights to climbing there. Some villagers still believe there is money to be made from the crags and climbers must compete with commercial operators and developers to protect access to climbing. We must also compete with some guiding companies who seem to have given up on making money from guiding and instead see that there is money to be made charging climbers and other guiding companies for access to the crag while offering little or nothing in return.
In addition to avoiding the hassle of administering a fee system, the villagers should realize that climbers are unlikely to pay to climb. On the other hand, climbers must spend money for food, accommodation and transportation while in Yangshuo and the YAI is working with villagers to enable climbers to spend more of their money for necessities directly in the villages. If possible, we want to avoid setting a precedent by directly purchasing access rights but at this time it is unclear what is the best long-term solution.
The situation at White Mountain has not changed over the past months. I will recap the main points here. Two villages dispute the claim to land-use-right ownership to the area at the base of the crag. A development company in Guilin has approached the Yanse Village and offered to develop the area into a tourist destination with the main focus on a large cave behind the village. Recent conversations with village leaders lead us to believe that climbers will have unrestricted access once the bigger ownership issues have been resolved. The YAI has worked with villages including the one that disputes Yanse Village’s claim to land-use-rights at White Mountain. Early January has been given as the time when official legal proceedings will begin that should eventually lead to the resolution of the ownership issues. Climbers, including Jonathan Siegrist and ABond, climbed at White mountain for 3 days in mid-December but no climbers have returned since due mainly to the cold weather.
The situation at Wine Bottle is still unsettled. There are signs at the base of the crag saying the area is closed to climbing, but climbers have used the crag regularly without any interference.
A group of villagers have acquired the rights to the land in front of the crag and they have sent two younger members to negotiate a rental arrangement with the Yangshuo Climbing Association (an organization that only exists on paper). Since ChinaClimb has opened its own guiding crag near Fuli, and other guiding companies have said they will not longer take clients to Wine Bottle, the economic value of the crag has fallen precipitously. The village interlopers were surprised that guiding companies could just walk away from the crag. There are still a few commercial guiding operators who take large groups climbing and refuse to put in the time to open their own crags. They bulk at paying the villagers a fair price for using the crag to make money and have even negotiated behind the scenes for exclusive access to the crag intending on charging other guiding companies to take clients there.
The solution is not so difficult if you realize that: if guiding companies would agree to pay the villagers as little as RMB10 for each client they take there, this income would more than meet the villagers’ demands. The villagers have little recourse other than closing the crag to climbing till the companies pay up. The guiding companies who are making the most money using this crag are holding out, maybe even hoping they can get access on better terms or hoping that independent climbers will step in and solve the problem for them.
The YAI has worked with both villagers and the commercial operators and, for the most part, cooperation and understanding has been very good. We have personally taken villagers climbing and shown them which routes guiding companies are using to make money. Once both sides fully understand each other and the money involved, it should be easier to reach an acceptable solution.
Singapore Management University recently teamed up with the YAI to initiate the first annual Crag Inventory and Assessment (CIA). Over the past two weeks, Volunteers from SMU, guided by YAI Director of Safety Andrew Hedesh, began assessing and improving the Anchors on eight popular crags.
The SMU volunteers were able to correctly assess over 90 climbing routes and remarkably improve 32 anchors! For the most part anchors were improved on intermediate routes however attention was given to some heavily used expert routes as well.
The main focus of the CIA is to account for hazards and social conditions on and around the crags continually. As time and financial resources permit these hazards and conditions will be improved by priority. This initial round of improvements was financed by the YAI and generous donations from Exponent Challenge Technology Asia (Singapore Outdoor Adventure Consultants). Thank you for the contribution Exponent Challenge!
The YAI will continue to assess and improve all anchors around Yangshuo ensuring the safety of all climbers. This type of program will only exist within Yangshuo by developing relationships with other climbing communities. The YAI would like to promote and advertise this type of relationship to all worthy organizations. Thank You SMU and your volunteers, Jonathan Hwa and Zhen Xiong!
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