Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures – Indoor Bouldering, Outdoor Fun
Published in Citylife Magazine on July 5, 2019:
I was recently looking for an indoor climbing wall, and stumbled across Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures. I rented some shoes, and spent a few hours at their bouldering wall, testing out multiple routes.
Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures has an indoor bouldering wall in the old city, with a fair amount of routes. The wall itself is pretty small, but offers several different grades of difficulty, ranging from V1s to V5s. Part of the indoor wall is also overhanging, for the more hardcore and experienced climbers. Many of the routes on this part of the wall are significantly more difficult. If you’re looking to improve your grip, or gain some strength, then you’re in luck. Across from the bouldering wall are a few hang boards, along with some pull up bars. There is also a tether that runs across part of the gym. The tether has multiple differing handholds, and is quite fun to mess around on. The entrance fee for the indoor climbing wall is very reasonable. I paid about 200 baht for a day. To rent climbing shoes, expect to pay around 50 baht. The chalk is free, which is nice if you don’t happen to have some with you. Overall it’s a very reasonable indoor bouldering wall, and a perfect place to get in a few hours of climbing.
Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures also do guided outdoor climbing around Chiang Mai. Their most popular trip is to Crazy Horse, a fantastic local rock with over 200 routes. “The most famous programme is the climbing site Crazy Horse. Right now it’s closed, and hasn’t been open for some years. We’re going to reopen it as soon as we get permission from the government, which is going to be this month or next month. That’s more of a one day trip, where people gather here, and then we take them there,” explains Teem, one of the guides at Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures. They also guide climbs in Lampang. This is a little more of a distance from Chiang Mai, taking around three hours to get there. “Right now we have an open climbing site in Lampang. It’s much smaller than Crazy Horse,” says Teem. If you’re looking to go on a trip that isn’t guided, there are plenty of options. Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures rents outdoor climbing gear. The rental cost is per day, and everything you need to climb outdoors, including harnesses and hard hats, is available.
Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures offers a variety of outdoor programmes. “We have outdoor programmes for learning team building, setting camps, trekking, hiking and climbing,” explains Teem. One of these projects provides a unique camping experience for international students. The kids come to Chiang Mai to go camping, and have lots of fun outdoors. “We connect with the international school. The kids come to Chiang Mai for a field trip. We take the kids camping,” says Teem. Another recent programme is in southern Thailand, in a town called Trang. “Last year there was a programme that took the kids to learn about marine life, marine animals and stuff like that. We went to look for the dugong,” Teem tells me. For those of you who are curious, a dugong is a medium-sized marine mammal.
If you’re ever in Chiang Mai, and want to have an exciting outdoor adventure, or satisfy your climbing addiction, definitely consider checking out Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures. Whether it’s indoor bouldering, outdoor climbing, camping programs or gear rental, this company has it all.
At 55 2, 55/3 Ratchapakhinai Road, T. Phra Sing
Open 11am – 8pm
Tel. 086 911 1470
Facebook: thailandclimbing