I have some time off over Xmas and from Dec20-28th would be interestedd in doing something warm and sunny- and possibly adventurous, If I find a compatible partner.

I have considered "the ususal" destinations:
El Portrero Chico, Mx (never been)
Raylee/Tonsai, Thailand (been for a week before)
K.L., Malaysia (around Batu caves, been several times)
Etc...
Been strongly thinking about going to do Waking Dream on Tioman (E Malaysia coast, a big-wall on a tropical island) YOu can google this.
Considered going to do Mt Kinabalu in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo)

Anyway, I am looking for ideas and a experienced, safe, mellow partner who has a travel budget too (time and money). Not surprisingly, most of my pals have family interests over Xmas, but I chose that card for newyears this year.

Please contact me by Email, or post ideas!

Australia? Not very adventurous, but....

Arapiles is amazing. As a trad climber, you won't be disappointed. It might very well be one of the best trad crags in the world. 2000 routes within 10 minutes of the car, from one pitch to five pitches. And old-school trad... bring hexes, RPs, and your own keyhole bolt hangers.

It can be hot that time of year though.

Outside of my original home "crag" of JTree, this is hands down my favorite climbing area.

Wow, sounds exciting!
Hope you find a compatible travel/climbing partner.

Anyone have any favorite easy-moderate trad areas in, or near Mendoza, Argentina?

Possibly going there soon. : )

G

Tony, Thailand is supposed to be great (although you said that you've been there). My friend went there last year (November) and raved about how great it was to be in the sun and climb in warm (tropical) weather. If I didn't blow all of my vacation earlier this year, I would have been very interested in an adventure of that magnitude around X-mas... Have you considered anything in South Africa?

Gigette, I don't know personally of any rock climbs near Mendoza, but I found a little information here:

http://www.andes.org.uk/rock-climbing-information/argentina->>>>>

The Arenales valley supposedly has a ton of climbs. Sounds like a cool trip! Two of my friends are headed down to Patagonia, mainly for trekking, around the 12th of December. It sounds like you (your ankle) are feeling better, too. :)

Tonsai Bay Thailand, absolute paridise. Long haul to get there, but guarantee you will not want to leave, 500 or so sport routes, most right from the beach. Super cheap you can leave with the clotes on your back, 12 quickdraws and a rope. All the rest you can buy there for uber cheap. Oh and the amount of Swedish blonds is astounding......
All topless.......

J~

SA is nice but for going that far, head to Thailand.........Arapalies, and the Gramps, have alots of flies.....and not so many swedish blondes

For some adventurous climbing inspiration, read Sam Lightner Jr.'s "All Elevations Unknown". It definitely isn't Tonsai Beach cragging!! Maybe Batu Lawi can see a second ascent...

If I were you I would go ice climbing in Canada. There's nothing more exotic than Canmore, eh?

G,
I have spent a lot of time in Mendoza. It is a wonderful place for wine and beautiful women (just saying...) the mosquitos can be a pest in the upcoming months. But I agree, if you are looking for rockclimbing, head farther south. There are rock climbs on the approach to Aconcagua, and you can ice climb once you get to the normal routes basecamp, but I don't know of any good trad. climbing around Mendoza. Some decent rivers... head south, or go into Chile (which you should do anyway... go to Vina del Mar, suck lemon lulus and eat seafood empanadas (the best I have ever had.)

Tony, I haven't climbed there, but Brazil is wonderful for many reasons :)

Arapiles is way more accessible than the Grampians. The Grampians has great climbing, but the areas are somewhat spread out and require, gasp, some hiking. The Grampians are only an hour from Arapiles, so you can hit both. Arapiles is pretty much park and crag. The Grampians will be considerably cooler than Arapiles though.

Arapiles really is remarkable. From it distance it looks like a pile of choss, but the place is truly magical. A lifetime of adventure to be had within its orange walls. So many wonderful trad routes it made our heads spin. It was, without a doubt, the best climbing trip I've been on.

These photos will get your psyched...
http://www.chockstone.org/Gallery/ArapilesPics.htm

South Africa is a killer trip, though not that adventurous. If you want to up the adventure value though, head to Namibia to the Spitzkpof. Long routes on granite in the boonies.

Table Mountain in Cape Town is one of the finest climbing areas i've ever been to - like the Gunks, but much bigger and with a sea view. The big domes in the Drakensburg mountains look like bigger version of the domes in the South Platte. Note that those two places are nowhere near each other - you would want to fly from Cape Town to Johannesburg to get the Drakensburgs.

I can't imagine trying to fly to Indonesia, do a remote wall, and fly home in 8 days. That seems really ambitious.

OK, so now one thing that has come up is Morocco. Anyone here ever been for climbing or otherwise?

Tony,
I have spent a small amount of time there, I enjoyed it. Such a short boat ride from Europe, but a completely different culture.

I believe Paul Ross (on this site) spent some time climbing there sometime this past year, you should try emailing him for beta and thoughts.

But that reminds me! I have heard from friends that there is wonderful desert climbing in Jordan, around Petra...

Paul has sent me a bunch of his photos from his new routes in Morocco. Beautiful long routes on quartzite, no bolts, decent gear, and more new routes than you could ever do. Amazing how much he gets around.

What about Spain?

Costa Blanca, El Chorro, Mallorca?

Might be reasonable over x-mas.

Anyone done any of these areas? Accomadation recommendations?

I'd be curious about a few days on Mallorca in conjunction with a trip to the Costa Blanca area. I hear tell there's fun canyoneering there as well as fun sports climbing.

I note Rockfax will have a new guide ready right around x-mas.

Malaysia looks pretty neat. Saw an anyplace wild show on PBS on it in the last night or two. Tons of limestone. Also, that real tall peak (granite?) looks outstanding. Kinabalu. That looks pretty darn cool. Looks to be some longer techy routes too.

How much time you got??

This thread really ought to be kept going. It could morph into some kinda TripAdvisor kind of thing for climbers. Roadtrip destinations are one thing, but hearing beta on places like South Africa and Thailand from real people is fascinating to me.

Thanks, Jeff Barnow, and John J. Glime for the great info. re; Mendoza, Argentina, and surrounding area. The trip is materializing for early January. : )

You could very easily not leave Mendoza in early January and have a great trip. Oh lordie, the wine is good.

If you are down there anyway, see if you can get a cheap trip to Easter Island. I did that when I got sick on Aconcagua, and I had a much more memorable time on Rapa Nui than I did on Aconcagua. If you go out there, check out the Mahina Taka Taka for a place to stay - Mama Lucia is one of the nicest women on the planet, and you'll feel like family in a hurry. It's good to speak a bit of Spanish there if at all possible - though Rapa Nui is better and not that hard to learn.

iorana - hello, good bye, welcome
maururu - thank you
kai riva riva - good food

Thanks for the great info., Andrew! We are going there for a wedding, but plan to squeeze in some adventure too. I'm recovering from an ankle injury, so any heavy duty trekking or climbing with long approaches is out, on this trip.

G

I'd like to take a moment to thank each of you for the responses and beta. Hopefully someday I'll get a better chance to use it all. Presently, I am informed that I will be heading to S.E. Asia on business for December anyway, with exact dates uncertain, so planning an adventure trip and lining up a partner will be difficult.
Looks like it will be some pan-pacific climbing for me, but probably more like Thailand or Malaysia again!