Ha Long Bay, Slopony Adventures

[mhraue]

Hey all,

Just letting everyone know that Ha Long bay is hot right now, but the climbing here is endless, and amazing! I'm here working for Slopony Adventures and they're a bunch of dope people doing radical climbing on beautifully bolted lines. www.slopony.com

This is Matt Raue signing off KOTR,

COME TO CAT BA! COME TO HA LONG BAY! TAKE THAT VACATION AND DO SOME SERIOUS DWS!!!


Best,
Matt Raue

[shanja]

Hey Matt mate and the dope dudes at Slopony,
Like you ctas are reading my mind....so gotta question for you. If we bumbled down in July-Aug how'd the weather and scene be? Is there much for us to climb under 5.11? I've been wanting to catch routes there for awhiles....and if Nepal falls thru we'll be heading to the region there. Thanks for the post to keep us coming...awesome!

[intoutdoor]

Hey Matt,

We only got to climb together a few times, but they were great times indeed. Hopefully I'll make it that way in the future to here some more of the "New York Grunt" live in person.

Be well and be safe.

see ya sometime.

Mack (Your Yongseo Pokpo belay buddy)

[yandy]

But what's the weather like in late July/early August? I'd be keen to get out there, but don't want to be washed out.

[mhraue]

Hey,

The monsoon starts in July, and it'll be rainy but there's still climbing to be done. Also, much of the climbs are overhung or have roofs above them. And yes, there's plenty to climb under 5.11. Come on out!

Raue

[shanja]

Matt, cool looks like we'll be up in Cat Ba from Aug 17th- 20th (I know that's not long, but we are slipping in a few days in Hanoi before hand). So hopefully we can get some climbs etc done there. Is there any need to book a hotel (4 people ; a twin and a double be needed), or should we just turn up and easily find some budget accom?
Be great to see you and the area - so excited!
jake

[KathFourie]

Hi Matt

I'm looking at trying to come over in January (after winter camp), would that be a good time to go? Also wondering about costs on Slo Pony?

Kath

[shanja]

Hi Kath, we just got back from Halong bay and seeing the mighty Matt et al, and I urge you to go whenever you can! It was freakingly warm (read "scorthing") when we were there, hotter than Tonsai/ Railay and the lads at SloPony said Winter was a better (more comfy) season to climb....though swims afterwards could be nippy.
We paid 320,000 VD ($17US)/ person for a whole day (incl boat trip out and back, lunch and kayaks to use to get to different walls in the same general area). The cost was totally worth it, but depends on what crag you get the boat to, how many people are on the boat, how many days you'll be climbing and so on. The money goes to bolting and access issues rather than the pockets of the SloPony crew, so it's all good there.
Butterfly Valley, the main crag, was shut (temporarily we hope) when we were there, but there is so much else still to do!