Climbing while traveling

Hi All! My girlfriend and I will be backpacking through SE asia next December for 2-3 month just to travel. We will be hitting up all the typical destinations and I would love to bring my climbing gear with us to do a couple days here and there. I can lead 5.12 (sport) and she can do 5.9. We will do sport since trad just adds way too much extra stuff. Is it worth it to carry around a separate bag just for gear or is it easy to rent at places? Are there climbs at most of the top destinations that she can do if she is only able to do 5.9? I don't mind lugging around a separate backpack for the gear, just want to know how easy it might be to pick stuff up in each spot. Thanks!

Is this a dedicated climbing trip where you are backpacking to get from place to place or is it a backpacking trip that might have some climbing? In my experience, if the latter, I've found it tough to spend a bunch of time climbing when there is so much new culture, sights and geography to explore. Maybe take your shoes and do some mild bouldering where possible and rent if you can. If the former, by all means take your gear.

Hi, Assuming you're from the US, right now the dollar is strong compared to the currencies in the SE asian countries. Therefore, if I were you, I would look to rent out the gear and possibly hire a guide for route beta and a customized tour of an area. Depending on where you are going, guide books are hard to find and information on mountain project is very sparse for international destinations. Also, carrying a rope + gear around for 2-3 months just so that you can climb a day here and there seems like an unnecessary burden.

I wouldn't expect to be able to rent full gear anywhere, but at the same time, backpacking with a sport rack would be a pain. I'd probably try and decide if you want it to be a backpacking trip, or a climbing trip. A sport rack + gear for two people will use about 50-60 liters of space, which is a lot to be carrying along side everything else you'll have.

yah this is just a backpacking trip with the hope to have a couple days of climbing added in throughout. Does anyone with experience climbing in SE asia know if its easy to get a guide? I'd be fine with paying a bit extra to not carry around gear for so long.

Zach M wrote: A sport rack + gear for two people will use about 50-60 liters of space...

Wow, what are you carrying sport climbing, I can easily fit everything needed for sport climbing with 2 people including an 80 meter rope in a 40 liter bag.

Personally, i'd take the gear, but for me a vacation isn't a vacation if it doesn't involve climbing, and I'd be worried about finding and trusting rental gear.

kennoyce wrote: I can easily fit everything needed for sport climbing with 2 people including an 80 meter rope in a 40 liter bag.

yeah I have brought everything in a 40L on a trip to Colorado. Wasn't awful, but would be great if I could find gear along the way.

I did something similar earlier this year. We basically said we'd have 1 climbing destination and spend 3-4 days climbing. We chose Railay, which has amazing views and the best limestone climbing I've ever seen. Railay is very much a climbing destination, so there were plenty of gear rental spots, guidebooks, and reasonably priced guides. Other places like the climbing in Kuala Lampur are more local, less touristy, and probably wouldn't have much in the way of guides or rentals.

Ben Murphy wrote:I did something similar earlier this year. We basically said we'd have 1 climbing destination and spend 3-4 days climbing. We chose Railay, which has amazing views and the best limestone climbing I've ever seen. Railay is very much a climbing destination, so there were plenty of gear rental spots, guidebooks, and reasonably priced guides. Other places like the climbing in Kuala Lampur are more local, less touristy, and probably wouldn't have much in the way of guides or rentals.

So you rented the gear there? Can you give me a quick idea of prices for gear/guide please

Take shoes for bouldering. Try to find places that will rent the rest. Asia Outdoors asiaoutdoors.com.vn/ on Cat Ba island, Vietnam will rent, give beta, and serve you a beer at the bar downstairs at the end of the day (or the start of the day!). You won't be disappointed. Its a bit pricey but totally worth it.

Give 'Nam a go, its incredible and half the cost and half the people of Thailand.