Spring 2010

Looks like my doctoral program has taken it's toll on my blogging. Not a good thing. In fact, my Spring semester has been kinda crazy. Nevertheless, here we are at the end of winter and looking forward to some good climbing days to come. It does snow occasionally. Kinda like winter's way of letting us know that it ain't going without a fight but on the whole, it's been pretty good T-shirt and shorts weather for the last couple of days...when I say "T-shirt and shorts" days, I mean temps in the 50s. Do not make the mistake that I'm referring to the Singaporean "average of 92F T-shirt and shorts" day. I'm so gonna melt when I return to Long Beach, let along Spore.

Anyway, here are a couple of pics taken during on my winter walkabout on campus at the U of U.







Who would've thought that the Merril approach shoes I got from Team Spore will actually work on snow. Good traction but the sole eventually delaminated after several months of stomping.



The snow kept us in most of the time and when you can't get climbing done outside, you're left with quite alot of time at your disposal. Tried my hands at baking cos when you want ya own cinnamon rolls, you just gotta bake it yaself.


The aftermath...pretty darn good cinnamon rolls!!


And one of the greatest perks of living here in SLC, besides being at a Research 1 University and 30-mins from world class climbing, is my very own mountain view from the bedroom every morning. And if you are reading this post, I do encourage you to click on the image for a better look.

Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

Winter finally made its presence known. It's been snowing pretty regularly and this has affirmed our resolve to remain indoors. My knee has been getting alot better, thanks to Ibuprofen and tons of ice treatment. And since I don't have an ice maker at home, the snow comes in handy.


My regular session of ice treatment on my MCL.

And since climbing is out of the question, I been getting back to my hangboard routine and also began experimenting with some body weight exercises adopted from www.beastskills.com.

Good thing the Front gym comes equipped with this...

...this...

...this...

...my beloved Franklin pincher board (the one I left back in Spore)...

...and the Moon Board!!!


I hope there's some truth to the saying that winter is the time to get STRONG!!!

UTES vs BYU

Yes we played crappy for 3 quarters and came alive in the 4th to go into OT. And I'm still bitter about the TD that Max Hall threw but this comment by him takes the cake!!!

Taking a quote from my friend Dave,"it took max hall four years of hard work to build himself a reputation as a very good college quarterback. he then tarnished his legacy forever in a quick two minutes."

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand why he was so fired up during the game(all thanks to the cussing, beer throwing UTES fans last year) compared to Wynn. Then again, gotta give him credit for rubbing salt into our wounds and keeping the rivalry alive for next year. Even though he has since issued a public apology related to his comments, I seriously hope someone will be smart enough to get the UTES to watch this vid right before taking to the field next year.

That's something we don't see in climbing. That'll probably explain why it doesn't make for an entertaining spectacle compared to football or boxing. Wouldn't it be interesting that, instead of the current cordial relationships that the world cup competitors maintain under the intense rivalry, someone like Ondra will at least mouth some trash talk against Paxi or something to get some heat going. Man! That'll make for some great viewership! Gotta love football when it comes to this!

On a personal note, I'm thankful that when it comes to outdoor climbing, I don't have to beat the crap out of somebody to win something. Moreover, you don't exactly win anything whenever we send something. It does however, keep the love between us and our neighbor. PEACE!!!

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Eversince the vid of my send of Lateralus was posted online, I been getting tons of affirmation from friends in the U.S. and of course Spore. I'm proud of the send, not because it's of monumental significance to my climbing, but also a tribute to the people who have stood by me throughout my struggle to achieve it...especially my wife!

I must thank SCA for putting up a link to my vid as it does lend itself to my shameless self promotion. Though it was mistakenly touted the "first Sporean to send a 5.14", it did create some sort of buzz in the community debating about which Sporean really was the FIRST to send a 5.14. So let me clear it up right now...Jay was the first Sporean to send the 5.14a Lightning at Yangshou followed by my send of Lateralus a couple of months later. So apart all the spray about who's first, who's best in Spore and some say Batam, let me mentioned a few people, who have contributed to the progression of climbing in Spore and who have laid the foundation and spurred us into believing that we're capable of great things in climbing.


Anuar Hassan...our beloved nomad...first Sporean to send a V10 and getting it featured in Climbing mag (bet ya didn't know that!!)


Philip Lim...his masterful performance in sportclimbing is second to none (and cut that PR crap about him...cos he's always our homeboiii). Pretty much unstoppable in his prime and reigned as the Numero Uno in our Spore comp scene.


Halil B Ngah...Numero Uno in our speed climbing scene...then became a loving cat owner and now a loving husband and father. Spearheaded sportclimbing route development in Southeast Asia.


Thomas Tan...nope, he ain't just the guy who filmed my vid and stills. Bouldering aficionado. One of the first to travel widely to climb on blocs and eventually ended up in San Francisco. Currently has more V10s in his bag than any Sporean.


Suzanna Tan...first Sporean woman to send 5.13c (Asia's Shadow Play) and together with my wife, the only women in Spore to climb 13s.


Beatrix Chong...this lady needs no introduction and continues to rule the local bouldering scene.


And of course there's Jay...not only has he done Lightning, he has also sent Botanics 13d/14a. And with me, remains the only Sporean to have sent Jai Dum and climb 5.14.

So these are my picks. Why them? Cos during a time where standards were mediocre, they remained the only ones willing to put in sweat and blood, dedicated to achieving what no one in Spore has done before. Of course, with every wave, the second pushes the first and I can say that they too stood on the shoulders of giants to achieve what they have today...but it still remains for the next generation to build on their achievements.

Last but not least...there's....Shannon Tham a.k.a. FB. Cos he's my climbing instructor when I first signed up for a class and without his intro, I would never have gotten further into climbing. And as you can tell from the pic, his psyche continues to inspire me.

Arrrghhh!!!

My session at the Front yesterday was a disaster to say the least. Sess started pretty well, feeling good on my warm-ups. That was till I got on a project and twisted my right knee getting into a drop-knee. I knew shit has hit the fan when I felt my knee crunched out of alignment. Now the area around my MCL's swollen and painful and any slight rotation of the tibia'll set off the knee in lock mode. I pray that this doesn't set me back permanently. Screw drop-knees!!!

Tramway Bouldering

This post is kinda back-dated but I just wanted to make sure I have it in here before I forget.

I was living in So Cal, alone and away from my wife, for a couple of weeks in Fall cos I needed to complete the work on my thesis. Couldn't wait to get done so that I can head back to Tanleng but meantime, I got to sample some fine bouldering with the guys on a weekend. Headed out to the Tramway up in Palm Springs(finally!!) with Leo and decided to bring FB along for the ride.


The tram ride up to the summit.



Glorious So Cal weather!



FB hamming it up...no punt intended.

Angus V9

Sending Angus!

Sucking it in for the send.
Managed to send Byron's roof V9 (some say V10) on the same day!

Having to try my hardest for the day's flash of Power Windows V6. I was so done by then only the energy from the crew kept me going.

Moving On

Eversince I got to Utah, I've been pretty busy trying get some personal admin done to establish residency here in SLC. First up, getting my license plate switched out.


Bye bye LA-LA-Land!