Arc of Asia Stage 1May 1 - June 14th 2009 |
Hot Rock: Climbing in India |
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The expedition
starts in sprawling Madras (Chennai these days) on the south east coast of
India, from where we’ll make the short trip south to India’s Lands
End to dip a toe in the ocean marking one end of the great arc.
A few days
will be spent exploring the tranquil backwaters of Kerala and assessing the
new route potential in the Pillar Rocks corner of the Western Ghats mountain
range, before heading up to Bangalore and the first world class climbing of
the trip.
In this “city of rocks” we’ll meet up with some local climbers and visit the many huge granite domes that surround the town. The town itself is one of the most cosmopolitan and relaxed in India and it is well worth discovering.
Surrounding
Bangalore within a 60km radius is probably the biggest concentration of excellent
trad and sport granite climbing in the country. We’ll find boulder fields
2km long and 300m-high rock domes. An old OTE article likens the domes to
the slab climbs of Yosemite – steep slabs with sparse protection. There
are many more 50-100m towers with perfect finger to off-width cracks. One
of the main domes is Savandurga with the famous route 'Bangalore Bill' with
a 90m protectionless crux (British 5a: 5.9). Any takers?
There
are many other sports climbs ranging from 4 pitch VDs to short E3's. The 'Elephants
Head Rock' remains unclimbed past the initial line of eight bolts so we'll
have to have a look at that, keeping an eye out for the wild bears that live
in the area. Kabbaldurga dome has a couple of classic E4s (5.12) and two great
VS (5.7) routes 'Mercy' and 'Innocence' as well as an unrepeated West Face.
The local boulder field of Turalli is the favourite with local climbers, and
a day on the hillside plastered with 5m-15m high boulders will be best finished
with an ice cold Kingfisher beer in the local pub.
Simon
Yates described the area as "a magical undiscovered climbing paradise.
A place where you can climb on perfect granite and explore some of the most
interesting ruins in India. A tropical Joshua Tree with temples and palaces."
On Kurt Albert’s trip with Johnny Dawes and Jerry Moffat, they said
it was "a labyrinth of boulders reminiscent of Alice’s trip to
wonderland. We were swept away with the possibilities and the desire to check
out everything at once." On Leo Houlding’s trip they said that
"you could do new problems for the rest of your life here!” 
Our next destination is the mystical temple complex of Hampi which is surrounded by a massive boulder field. With hundreds of sports routes and fantastic bouldering the area has attracted a steady trickle of climbers from all over the world and the new route book in the bakery next to the hotel in which we shall stay, reads like a ‘who's who’ of the climbing world. We will base ourselves in the Shanti lodge situated next to a colossal Virupashka temple. From there we can explore the ruins and hillside boulders are just a few minutes walk away, and every way you look boulders up to 50m high stretch to the horizon.
We will spend several days here playing and working on the countless problems, and hopefully pushing our grade in preparation for Badami. The ancient capital of the mighty Chahkyar Empire, nowadays Badami is most famous for its huge range of sandstone sport-climbing crags. A world heritage site, we’ll be climbing for once alongside local climbers, many of whom can seriously crank.
After
our exertions on the Badami, Hampi and Bangalore cliffs, we will stock up
the expedition vehicle’s bar. It is usually the job of somebody on the
expedition to run a bar on board the truck at a small profit that we throw
into a huge last night meal and party.
Talking of parties, our next stop is Goa. The salt water will help heal our battered fingertips, and the big red truck will turn heads as we rock up for a day or so in this travelers paradise.
The small coastal state of Goa is full of brilliant lush fields of irrigated paddy, villages and hamlets. There are bright white churches standing out against the startling red soil and green jungle clad hills.
With
some of India's finest beaches, it's a great place for us to relax for a couple
of days before the mass of climbing that will follow in the next two weeks.
It’s a good place to wander around local markets and handicraft stalls
to pick up presents or just chill out on the beach and sip cocktails. There
is the opportunity to do some scuba diving, sailing or cycling for the more
motivated.
Continuing north, we will check out the potential of a climbing area named Pavagda before entering the Western Ghats near Bombay. The Ghats are a range of mountains that descend to the Indian Ocean topped by old forts from the British Raj.
There
are many different climbing areas in the Ghats, from accessible roadside cragging
to remote multi-pitch climbs with difficult approaches on long forgotten (or
is that best forgotten) paths. Elephants can still be seen in the hills filling
their traditional role as beasts of burden working for logging companies,
and with big game in nearby Bonivali National Park.
A couple of days should be enough here, and then we’ll set our sights on the beautiful lands of Rajasthan.
Rajasthan,
meaning land of the Kings, is famous for its impressive forts set starkly
against the Thar Desert. It is a fascinating region to visit.
Passing through the beautiful town of Udaipur (where the film 'Octopussy' was made), with its enchanting marble palaces, rock gardens and forts, we will then arrive at the hill station of Mt Abu, a granite mountain at 1,720m that is refreshingly cool and provides us with the opportunity to climb in a stunning setting. The area is dotted with lakes, temples and strangely shaped rocks. There's a 15-year history of climbing and I am chasing up the route descriptions at present.
There
are a number of places we can stop over during the next few days, so again
we will put it to a vote, but needless to say whatever we do will be exciting.
We can visit the Red Fort at Agra, with the exquisite architecture of the
Taj Mahal. We can spend a day wandering around Jaipur: the 'pink city,' before
continuing to the holy village of Pushkar, home of the famous camel market.
Leaving
Rajasthan we continue to Delhi to finish this stage of the expedition. It
will be goodbye to a few people and a welcome to some new faces. A couple
of days in Delhi will be spent getting used to the chaos and cultural explosion
that is India, and picking up our Pakistan and Chinese visas. We’ll
probably take the time to give the expedition vehicle some maintenance and
loving care too. This is where the expedition mechanic will be calling in
favours, as many hands makes light work – and means he (or she) can
get to the bar quicker!
We will meet up with a few local climbers in Delhi and head out to Dhauj,
a climbing area 50km south. There is a guidebook for the area and over 300
climbs from VD to E4 (5.4 - 5.12). The rock is steep and juggy quartzite with
one and two pitch routes mostly on excellent natural protection. We will camp
at the base of the crags next to the lake where a herd of friendly water buffalos
seem to welcome climbers.
