A few months ago a group from Singapore had come down to stay at Volleyball court wall (Batu Caves) and sought help for accommodation and such. Having helped them get this, I then had a day of climbing with them and also dinner. It rained a little but otherwise I hoped they had enjoyed themselves. The group climbed normally at the SAFRA Yishun Country Club, Yishun Singapore, which is one of many community clubs for the use of the Singapore national service (NS) men and their families. There is a day climbing charge there of some 16 Singapore Dollars and that doesnt include gear rental. Quite expensive but when you see how well the centre is maintained you may think its money well spent.

Last week, on a short visit to Singapore I managed to visit the Yishun climbing club. I contacted Derek (who founded this club on facebook) and he organised a pickup and a visit to the climbing walls. I would like to say I climbed there a full day, but this would be a lie. I was very hungover from the night before and didnt do very much actual climbing. I spent time watching climbers and trying to sleep on the grass without getting bitten by black ants,  or on the pavements trying to avoid the direct sun.  However I was pleased to meet up with several people I had met before at Batu Caves months ago.

The climbing facilities were quite formidable. 6 back to back walls stood in the centre of a clearing. There was one overhanging wall. The others varied in inclination from directly vertical to slightly inclined (10 to 20 degree from the vertical). There rear walls had a kind of undulating flow to it which made for interesting routes.

The clearing was covered in small white pebbles which made it uncomfortable to walk around near the walls in bare feet. But it does serve to keep the area dry and doesnt allow puddles to form, which may be a good pay off for an outdoor wall. There is also a lack of shade around the climbing area which made for very direct sun light during the late mornings and early afternoons. These 6 main walls were 11 or 12 metres high.

On the other side we see a much higher wall that is not utilised by the regulars because the climbs are rather easy and somewhat ungraded. It is however useful for endurance training as it stretches to some 20 metres or so. Am not sure exactly how hight it is. On the other side of this wall is an interesting chimney section, next to a soft artificial ice climbing training wall, with soft padding to plunge your ice axe into.

Housed within this same building is the bouldering area, which is two floors filled with inclined and roof routes. The passageway to the 2nd floor also has routes on it and you can do a long climb that goes up to the 2nd floor if you wish. The bouldering section is also air conditioned which makes for a very pleasant contrast to the exposed heat on the outside walls. Its also a good place to fall asleep if you are hungover from a night out before hand. Not that this is something you should aim to do in normal circumstances.

The community climbing centre is government run but is in such stark contrast to our Malaysian government run facilities to be not worth the comparison. The area is unsurprisingly clean, the showers are functioning, grime free and there actually is an active community that takes care of the running and safety of the gym. Instructors are very qualified and sit for exams with the Singapore Mountaineering Federation. I do not think we have a similar level of certification and safety here in Malaysia. In terms of community awareness around the sport, I would say we are extremely backward.

It was a very interesting and enlightening trip to visit the community and I thank them for the great hospitality. I wont ever make a trip down to Singapore just for climbing (who would… when all of them are coming up to Malaysia on the weekends… )… but I will definitely bring my gear to go climbing there if I so happen to go down to Singapore in the future.

Hopefully the community will come up again to Malaysia and give me to opportunity to host them once more. Thanks very much to you all.

Ipoh anyone?

Regards,
Zee