Shanghai Climbing (21 April 2013)

Work takes me to China with some regularity. Most of my trips have been to the south, but this time I was in Shanghai. After a little research, I didn't find any nearby crags (unlike Hong Kong) but I did find several climbing gyms. A coworker had tried the Hongkou Stadium facility and said it wasn't bad, but the holds were a bit greasy, and encouraged me to explore elsewhere.

So, I visited the Shanghai Stadium Rock Climbing center. Despite being the "largest indoor rockclimbing center [in China]," it's really only about 100 horizontal feet of holds built into the side of the stadium walls. Not a world class climbing gym at all, but not bad.

The bouldering was no Planet Granite. I think there were only two marked routes, with no grades. The walls were mostly plywood with some sand/paint, which brought me back to my time at the MIT bouldering room. Small greasy holds were the name of the game. However, small groups of climbers were finding their own problems and having a bunch of fun. Climbing is climbing, and a bit of creativity is all that's needed.

I only played on the boulders and never got on a rope, and the wall climbing looked more fun and varied, so I'd definitely go back with a partner. And I'll be looking for some outdoor crags, too.

Back to Yosemite (06-07 April 2013)

Spark Notes:
First climbing and visit to the Valley since last fall. Saturday at Knob Hill, stayed at Camp 4, and climbed at Glacier Point and Sunnyside Bench on Sunday.
Crags, route descriptions and history can be found in the Yosemite Valley Free Climbs Supertopo.

Overall a good climbing weekend. Since it's been a few weeks since this trip, I'll keep it to the highlights...
- My second trip to Knob Hill: warm crag with good intro cracks and bolt protected climbing, with a short approach.

Descending soon, Monday Morning Slab. (Credit: Katherine Wong)

- Camped at the famous Camp 4 for the first time. It's always intimidated me a bit. The history is just as impressive, but the place is now a bit friendlier. A little like the Valley overall, I suppose.

- Monday Morning Slab is not a bad intro climb, though a little dirty, with excellent ledges and views. A beautiful place for lunch in the sun, but chilly in the shade with a breeze. Head to the very top of the formation for rap chains. You can stop at the big ledge shown in the SuperTopo, but that requires downclimbing a little bit: probably not what you're looking for if climbing this route.

- Jamcrack lives up to its reputation as a good first 5.7 lead. Vertical and fun. Toproping Lazy Bum right next to it was the highlight of the visit though. I held it together until the end of the 10c lieback but couldn't quite make it through. Very, very fun climbing to return to, though.

Refreshingly cool water, all alone at the Lower Falls. (Credit: Katherine Wong)

Tick List:
Knob Hill
Unnamed (5.9) - TR 3x
Pot Belly (5.8) - Lead 3x, TR 1x
Anti-Ego Crack (5.7) - Lead
Just for Starters (5.10a) - Lead
Sloth Wall (5.7) - Lead
Glacier Point
Monday Morning Slab, Right (5.4) - Lead
Sunnyside Bench
Jamcrack (p1, 5.7) - Lead 2x
Lazy Bum (p1, 5.10d) - TR