My climbing partners

With the country's third lock down, we are once again time-rich to be more appreciative to things we have in life and around us.

So one morning I woke up to giving my climbing gear, who are my climbing partners, a good spa. I was giving all of them a good wipe and a good rub, I was running my fingers on each item, inspecting carefully as well as saying a heartfelt thank you to them all. We do not get much of a chance to appreciate them, and we do not get much of the chance to acknowledge that they hold our lifeline in place, as my friend said, they are our lifesavers.

I decided I should do more than just saying thank you, they should be introduced and captured here. I spent two enjoyable mornings arranging them for photo shoots at the "home-studio"and giving them each an identity.

No.1 Climbing shoes

I have tried 5 other models before I found the love of my feet.

You bet... yes I love the La Sportiva Skwama. They are aggressive but not so aggressive. They are soft and sensitive allowing me to really feel what I am stepping on. They are my feet's Ferraris.

No. 2 Harness

My first ever was given to me by UP, the popular petzl. Eventually it became too big so I decided to buy my first: ARC'TERYX in purple, and it went out of service after four years. After trying others, I have decided to go back to this made as the fit and quality is second to none.

No. 3 Chalk Bag

Shang introduced me to Hanchor with this amazing design with built-in chalk ball. Since then, there is no going back. Except for lil' Lily. I met her "giant self" in Kalymnos, so I wanted her to always be with me when I climb. I also discovered the importance of chalk bag which is beyond what we knew (#LilyIMissYou).

No. 4 Belay device

To master the skill of belaying someone on project requires a lot of practices. With the brake assist, one has to learn how to feed the rope into the device without compromising its braking function. I have clocked in a lot of mileage on these: thank you for helping me learn this other important part of climbing.

No. 5 Rope

I call it our life-line, literally, the line that holds us intact keeps us safe. We should treat it with respect. Never step on it. Give it a jacket (rope bag) to protect it. Don't let it get rained on and air dry if it does. Never leave it on sand as the grains get into the core. Basics anyone calls themselves climbers ought to know.

No. 6 Helmet

My one and only one (as you can tell, that is quite rare...). It is extremely important to try it before purchase. An ill-fitted helmet will slip around or gives you a headache, which means you have a higher tendency to leave it on the ground. This defeats the purpose of having one.

No. 7 Quickdraws

When you project, you will also get particular about your draws, especially when the clipping is at/after the crux. I would compromise weight of the draws for a thicker dogbone, bigger rope end biner and a solid bend gate. That is just my preference.

No. 8 Stick clip

I learnt from watching these awesome project sending machines in Kalymnos, how you could rely only on yourself to project on your maximum grade. Stick clip is a critical partner. Stick clip is also necessary if the first clip of a route would compromise safety. Safety is always the no. 1 priority.

No. 9 Belay glasses

A.k.a. neck-saver (maybe I can coin the word?). I used to get a stiff neck and upper trapz when I first started out. After learning to operate Grigri properly, coupled with a good pair of belay glasses, chest up is now free from being jammed up. Important to protect all parts of the body to maximise project performance.

No. 10 Personal anchor system

To set up a top out system, safely, is another climbing 101 that an all encompassed climber need to learn. I like the CAMP model as the design allows me to add one more step (push up the grey lever to give the PAS a slack) to ensure I am tied in through the ring before I take out the PAS. Better safe than sorry.

No. 11 Toe "condoms"

They are actually toe caps some Ballerinas use, probably for the same purpose. This absorbs some of the pressure built up on the second toe when being squeezed tightly against the big toe, which could sometimes be too painful to climb properly. They are held securely in the pocket of my chalk bag when not in use.

No. 12 Banana boots

With so much sweat left behind in the climbing shoes, these banana boots, made up of lavender scented sachet, will absorb the moisture and keep the shoes dry and (relatively) odour free. They do ripen (lol... ) but a good sunbathe will get them ready to service again.

No. 13 Finger tape + first aid

I famously spent a lot of money on good finger tapes (sigh, but I still popped my A2 pulley #NoPainNoGain). And they deserve a good home to house them, along with the plasters and alcohol swab - this trio makes the climbing-hard-essentials.

No. 14 Binoculars

Handy when it comes to studying your own project, but it is also useful to watch others climb - one of the ways to improve on climbing is to watch others climb, especially on subtle movements.

Binoculars helps magnify that, to show us how we should magnify the importance of these subtle betas in our climbs too.

No. 15 Water bottles + food jars

Expensive but definitely worth the investment as I dropped the black one from the top of the hill in Kalymnos twice! I also lost the blue one when zip lining in NPPY and my man managed to get me this limited colour again. Bringing spare water is important too to provide for others at the crag.

No. 16 Seat pad

I once spotted this great climber used it and I thought what a brilliant idea! So I copied with pride. Not only they make seating around the "poky" crag just that much more enjoyable, it also saves you from ruining those expensive performance climbing trousers (yes I am specific with my trousers and I do invest in them).

No. 17 Gear bag

To house all of the above, I have been looking for something practical yet fashionable to invest in. I have two because the gear used for outdoor and indoor are different, so why not just create two sets? Especially when I couldn't possibly take my pick between these two colours, I developed a legitimate excuse...

No. 18 Rain cover

We get torrential rain in Malaysia so when it rains, it rains! So having a rain cover is totally necessary to protect the gear family from potentially erosive rain. Besides, this particular model is fantastic as it has handles, drawstring and rings for pad lock, which doubles up as a duffle haul cover for climbing holidays!

No. 19 Approach shoes

When you are loaded with the heavy gear, hiking up the crag can be strenuous. Approach shoes have good edges around the toes, as well as good vibram sole, to help you gain control and balance when your legs go jelly. This many pairs because they have to go with my outfit too, obviously.

No. 20 Climbing small things

Small attractive things that have no practical purpose, but carry great sentimental values. They carry memories from overseas trips and key personal milestones. They also carry friendships and comradeships you gain from the climbing community. They are hung nicely on my 35L Crag Wagon.

Altogether, I have spent a good ten hours washing, wiping, checking, thanking, photo shooting, photo editing and writing for this gear family biography. Lock down (and my A2 pulley injury) means we are not climbing, but I feel like I have spent a good amount of time connecting with the passion this weekend. Makes me happy.

P.S. the gear family taking a spa... ...