Dae-Han-Min-Guk Discoveries

Rockclimbing @ Maisan

I've just joined a web group called Korea on the Rocks (KOTR). It's a site for rock climbing around South Korea, and last weekend there was this post:

"Quite possibly Korea's best kept secret, Maisan has incredible climbing at two stunning crags! With climbs rated from "5.fun" to 5.13, Maisan has something for everyone. It's a great place to practice leading, pump out your arms, or impress your friends on the tricky overhanging crux moves. If you haven't seen Maisan's unique conglomerate formations yet, you don't want to miss out!! And if you have been to Maisan, I know you're just sitting in breathless anticipation, counting down the hours until the weekend... "

How could we possibly ignore a sales pitch like that? So a few of us packed up Betty and headed for the next provence north of us, Jeollabukdo. We finally found the mountain, and began our day of fun climbs.

Everyone was amazed that we could still be doing climbs outdoors in December... and if you consider the fact that it was sub-zero temperatures and at times we literally couldn't feel our hands, others may think we were crazy! It is a very strange feeling being able to see your hand gripping a rock, but not actually be able to feel it. But despite this, and the rain on the second day, we had a great time.

Corey climbing in sub-zero temps in the rain = hardcore!

Dave on his way to the sky

The girl who put out the invitation, Lindsey, is a really cool chick who has only been climbing for about a year. She was going hard core on the first day and did 8 lead climbs without falling once!

Lindsey on her 6th(?) lead climb of the day.

Lindsey finishes another one!

Nicola, Jess and myself are all fairly new to the sport, but we were also giving the lead climbing a go.

Nicola & Jess... racing?

Nicola lead climbs her way up.

Sad to say, I didn't quite finish my lead climb, which made for an interesting climb for Terri later when, half way up, she realised she was not top rope-ing from the anchor after all. Instead of doing the easy thing, and coming back down to fix things, her husband decided to do some "engineering". They make a funny climbing team.

Brandon & Terri: Typical husband and wife day out?

Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of myself climbing, unless you count a shot of my leg. But I was able to complete a few climbs over the weekend. Strangely enough, I actually felt better on the second day, when it was raining and I couldn't feel my fingers or hands at all by the end of the climb!

Yes, that is my leg! The only pic of me over the weekend.

The rain started as mist on the second day and we were still able to get a climb or two in before it started becoming too uncomfortable. Instead of being upset by the weather, we took the opportunity to introduce one of our group to the wonderful Korean tradition of going to the Jinjilban (hot sauna).