I have visited the gym yesterday and have seen many newby climbers and some familiar regulars as well, who are now busying themselves doing project routes on the massive overhanging wall there. The beginners are crowding the top rope routes at the back of the overhanging wall.

I have spoken to Shah (a.k.a. Abang Long) who manages the gym and he has informed me of some interesting facts that I shall hope to share with you all.

The gym is now open to the public. There is no entrance fee at present. Entry is FREE! Until prices have been finalized. So take advantage [...]]]>

I have visited the gym yesterday and have seen many newby climbers and some familiar regulars as well, who are now busying themselves doing project routes on the massive overhanging wall there. The beginners are crowding the top rope routes at the back of the overhanging wall.

I have spoken to Shah (a.k.a. Abang Long) who manages the gym and he has informed me of some interesting facts that I shall hope to share with you all.

The gym is now open to the public. There is no entrance fee at present. Entry is FREE! Until prices have been finalized. So take advantage of its free entry status now to have a look and try the walls. The eventual entry charge is estimated to be within the range of RM7 to RM10 only.

The gym is open now from 10am to 8pm weekdays and 10am to 10pm Friday and Saturday. There is ample lighting at night and visibility is not a problem at all.

Heat however is a bit of an issue. The facility has no Air Conditioning and at present, no fans. All ventilation and cooling is from air movements through the facility doors that open directly to the outside of the building. Although this keeps the floor area reasonably cool, climbers on the walls further up will experience more heat and because of the poor air circulation higher up the wall, condensation increases causing heavy perspiration, and discomfort. So expect to sweat like a pig and bring lots of chalk, and a spare shirt and / or towel.

Rental of equipment is available as per below:

• Bouldering Package (Chalk Bag + Shoes) – RM9 (Adult), RM8 (Student)
• Top Rope Package (Harness + Belay Device + Chalk Bag + Shoes) – RM17 (Adult), RM15 (Student)
• Lead Climb Package (Rope + Harness + Belay Device + Chalk Bag + Shoes) – RM30 (Adult), RM25 (Student)

Classes

At the moment there is only a basic introductory wall climbing course for top rope available. If I remember correctly, the charge is RM60, although please call Abang Long for more information (012-6227034) and booking.

I will go today and speak to Abang Long about these various things and will post it tomorrow.

At the moment entrance is free and will be for some months until a more thorough pricing policy is decided.

So its great that [...]]]> Its been common knowledge amongst a select few people that this gym is now open to climbers. It is open from 10am to 8pm on weekdays and 10am to 10pm on weekends. Equipment can be rented although I am not sure yet how much this will be charged. We are also not sure yet how the training offerings will be structured.

I will go today and speak to Abang Long about these various things and will post it tomorrow.

At the moment entrance is free and will be for some months until a more thorough pricing policy is decided.

So its great that this new gym is open for climbers to try at a new wall. The grades are quite tough and challenging.

Come on over and try it.

More info to come soon.

So many people have been asking us when this gym is finally going to open. The climbing walls have been completed a year ago and the building around it has been ready since late last year. From time to time we go back to the Putrajaya Challenge Park climbing gym to gaze through the enclosed climbing walls lying silent and lonely behind the glass doors. There is no one inside, and outside, there is a guard who sits around watching as visitors look on into the facility.

The news article in The Star said June 2009 would be when it opens [...]]]>

So many people have been asking us when this gym is finally going to open. The climbing walls have been completed a year ago and the building around it has been ready since late last year. From time to time we go back to the Putrajaya Challenge Park climbing gym to gaze through the enclosed climbing walls lying silent and lonely behind the glass doors. There is no one inside, and outside, there is a guard who sits around watching as visitors look on into the facility.

The news article in The Star said June 2009 would be when it opens earlier in the year. We have then heard that a tender was going on for the management of the facility, which was won by a local firm which some many know of. But until today, the doors remain closed, the car parks empty, the walls embarrassingly devoid of shoe marks, the features clean of chalk.

We are not sure what is happening in the background between the new managers of the PCP climbing gym and the government owners. Perhaps someone from the inside can clear speculation and we cant say for certain here why the doors remain closed. One can only imagine that the process is gridlocked by bureaucracy in one form or other, and until all that is cleared away with, this gym has to be kept trapped behind the red ribbon.

I await the opening and will inform you all of it when it comes to be.

If anyone has more detailed information about this, please post it here for all others to see.

Regards,
putra

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 [...]]]>

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

Thanks to Lok Hon San (or Ah Lok as he is known) for the answers to the questions below. Also the slideshow is from pictures donated by MadMonkeyz.

1. Who started it or who are involved in it? A list of names and pictures will be quite good info.

Wong Shi Wen, Lok Hon San

2. [...]]]> A while ago, we posed some QnA to MadMonkeyz to get more information about the history of this gym. Due to their extremely busy schedules from first opening, we were unable to get a response from the founders. But as per below now they have gotten back to us.

Thanks to Lok Hon San (or Ah Lok as he is known) for the answers to the questions below. Also the slideshow is from pictures donated by MadMonkeyz.

1. Who started it or who are involved in it? A list of names and pictures
will be quite good info.

Wong Shi Wen, Lok Hon San

2. What are the experiences of people above? how many years climbing, or
bolting operations +++

Wong Shi Wen & Lok Hon San = recreational climbers, 5 years of climbing
each. However, there has a lot of people in the industry that has been
supporting us to help this project become a reality.

3. How does what you are doing relate to Greentrekkerz? Do you intend some
kind of link between these two?

Greentrekkerz will always remain a club where everything started for us
personally. A club where we had the opportunity to have our outdoor forays.
Where I learn basically to stay alive while climbing outdoors.

4. Since when did you all think about setting this up?

This idea was a brainchild of many climbers that we knew. The team did a
survey where many outdoor climbers wanted a no-frills place to train & then
utilise their skills outdoors. Cost for entry have to be low, the
environment friendly and relaxed.

5. Why you chose to start it?
We saw the demand from regular climbers and also wanted to give easy access
and lower the barriers for people to pick up climbing as a sport.

6. Why did you choose Wangsa Maju?
Wangsa Maju has one of the highest population of students in the Klang
Valley. From KTAR, UTAR, MIA, UIAM & others. Furthermore, this area is a
new market where many people have not tried the sport before & students
from outstation all over the country congregate here to complete their
tiertiary studies. This allows massive exposure of the sport to much of the
young malaysian population.

7. Any difficulties or challenges in setting this place up?

There were heaps of challenges, the team worked very hard in the face of
difficulties, like the lack of skilled workers, to the long working hours.
Of course, like every new start-up, controlling cost are a factor & also
the fear of uncertainty of how the new market here will respond.

Educating a new market also presented a very tough challenge to convince
people that climbing is a sport and not an amusement ride.

8. Describe your facilities? How many routes? What grade range? How many
overhanging roof routes? How high walls?

The facility on level 1 is one-third beginner walls, travessing, training &
campus boards and bodyweight training equipment.
Walls are about 3 and a-half metres.
On the 2nd level, the height of the walls are almost the same as the 1st
level, with more overhanging walls. Almost the whole of level 2 has a roof.

9. How many members you have?
We so far have around 50 members. So far, almost a thousand ppl have come
to try the facilities.

10.What are membership packages like?
For our membership, prices start from RM 49- per month for a normal
membership & RM 39- per month for students. However, we have many various
packages and also general entry prices to select from.

11. What days are busiest?
Friday & Weekends

12. What is average number of climbers per day?
Around 35

13. What other classes do you provide and how much?
We highly recommend that 1st timers take a beginner introductory class to
help them accelerate their basic learning of climbing at the gym. The price
is only rm 20-. The session is an hour.

14. What other services and how much?
We should be adding outdoor climbs & we also supply safety equipments and
climbing gears.

——————————————–
Thanks to Ah Lok for the information. Below a slideshow of the pictures he donated.

Am sure everyone except me has already been to the new MadMonkeyz gym at Wangsa Maju. As I have been in Vietnam for a holiday, I was unable to attend their opening ceremony and still have yet to visit them. So all my knowledge of the place is from their website.

I hope climbers who have been there themselves can add to what I provide below. The website of MadMonkeyz can be found at http://www.madmonkeyzclimbing.com for more information.

…. I’ve just spent the last half hour typing something about this gym based on what I have read about it on but a [...]]]>

Am sure everyone except me has already been to the new MadMonkeyz gym at Wangsa Maju. As I have been in Vietnam for a holiday, I was unable to attend their opening ceremony and still have yet to visit them. So all my knowledge of the place is from their website.

I hope climbers who have been there themselves can add to what I provide below. The website of MadMonkeyz can be found at http://www.madmonkeyzclimbing.com for more information.

…. I’ve just spent the last half hour typing something about this gym based on what I have read about it on but a glitch in the computer has erased all my work and suddenly I dont feel compelled to rewrite it…. but I shall in brief. I cant say much anyway because I have not been there myself and I would welcome any comments from whomever has gone there to contribute their views and feelings about the gym.

From the pictures that I have seen, it looks like the gym has two levels, operating from a 3 story shoplot occupying the top two floors. The 1st floor is more for beginners and has very basic walls while the top floor has more advanced routes with lots of overhangs, and a roof.

The colours of the gym added to the pristinely clean surfaces free of black marks from climbing shoes and chalk on the holds adds to a clinical view of the gym. It looks like it belongs on the starship enterprise NC1701. It looks so clean and virgin… almost embarrassingly so. But I believe this wont last for long and as the number of visitors to this gym increases, so will its battle hardened looks reveal itself in due time, much to the relief and self pride of all.

The pictures of the lower (beginner) section shows quite sparsely populated walls. The holds are probably reserved for the more advanced walls upstairs which brandish a greater selection of routes and bouldering opportunities. In time I would guess the beginner section would see more routes created and perhaps even more advanced problems to cater to the increase in the number of regular climbers hungry for challenging routes. It would be interesting to see how fast the routes get added and how this gym evolves in the time to come.

The 2nd floor looks quite dark. This is probably due to the obstructing protrusions of the walls blocking natural light from the window. I hope that there will be adequate lighting else boudlerers will need to wear a head torch. It looks also that the 2nd floor may be quite hot and stuffy when filled with crazy testosterone pumped climbers. Please someone confirm with me that this place is fully air conditioned?

The website for MadMonkeyz is yet to be updated with more information, and so far my attempts to get more information from them has not yielded a response. I dont know whether there are showers there or whether we can buy a drink or some simple food at the gym. I am even unsure of where the gym is. The map below provided from MadMonkeyz is lacking some landmarks on the MRR2 highway. I am really unsure where on the MRR2 highway the turnoff is. Looks like you need to be pretty familiar with Wangsa Maju to find this gym with that map… and since I am not familiar, I cant find it.

I hope to make a trip soon to MadMonkeyz gym to find out more about this place first hand and also to find out where it is, so I can include a google map of the location to clarify its exact location at Wangsa Maju. For those who have already been to the gym and therefore have comments about it to share, please do share them here for others to see. I shall write again about my first hand experiences once first hand experiences are available.

Regards
Zee

A park for extreme sports will soon be opened in Putrajaya and it will be scoring a number of firsts.

The Putrajaya Challenge Park in the southern part of the city straddles Precincts 5 and 20, covering 46.73ha in Taman Selatan.

Possibly the largest in South-East Asia, it incorporates three key elements designed to give thrill seekers the time of their lives. The RM38mil park is 99% complete and is set to open in June.

Besides extreme sports, the park also hopes to draw those into passive sports like walking and jogging.

Putrajaya Corporation landscape and parks department [...]]]> the star
Tuesday March 17, 2009
By GEETHA KRISHNAN

A park for extreme sports will soon be opened in Putrajaya and it will be scoring a number of firsts.

The Putrajaya Challenge Park in the southern part of the city straddles Precincts 5 and 20, covering 46.73ha in Taman Selatan.

Possibly the largest in South-East Asia, it incorporates three key elements designed to give thrill seekers the time of their lives. The RM38mil park is 99% complete and is set to open in June.

Besides extreme sports, the park also hopes to draw those into passive sports like walking and jogging.

Putrajaya Corporation landscape and parks department (parks development) deputy director Haslinda Khalid during a recent media tour said the components for the extreme sports were the Wall Climbing Complex, Skate Park and Bike Trail.

“Every effort has been taken to preserve the park’s topography and slope disturbance was kept to a minimum. Landscaping was done along the natural contours so sports enthusiasts will have the chance to appreciate the flora and fauna during their adventures,” she said.

“The overall design conforms to international standards because we hope to hold national and international competitions here. The park is also meant for recreation sports and organised or corporate training,” Haslinda added.

The focus of the 2,100sq m Wall Climbing Complex is the colourful trapezional climbing wall stretching 42m wide, 42m long and 20m high. To cater for novice and expert climbers, the wall is divided into the beginners’ wall, competition wall, speed wall, advance wall and boulder.

one of the smaller size lead wall in PutraJaya gym

part of the bouldering wall

another lead wall in putrajaya, which is the largest one

View of the Large Lead wall from top

Speed Climbing wall

Kids Climbing Room

This new gym built again by the BlocX team in the south of Putrajaya is set to be the largest gym in Asia. The government of Malaysia sponsored the project as a competition ground for X-games and the like.

At time of print it is not yet ready. The building construction and the walls are ready but there has not been any firm plans for any operators to run the place. Several negotiations are currently underway with a few parties. Hopefully in time soon, there will be a firm agreement to run this gym and climbers in the Klang Valley will [...]]]>

This new gym built again by the BlocX team in the south of Putrajaya is set to be the largest gym in Asia. The government of Malaysia sponsored the project as a competition ground for X-games and the like.

At time of print it is not yet ready. The building construction and the walls are ready but there has not been any firm plans for any operators to run the place. Several negotiations are currently underway with a few parties. Hopefully in time soon, there will be a firm agreement to run this gym and climbers in the Klang Valley will have an alternative gym to go to.

The gym is large with 30 meter high overhanging lead routes that look very hard, but there is a range of routes from the more beginner rating to hardcore difficult. The bouldering section wasnt too impressive. There was no cave section. A beginner level reclining wall and a different section which was inclined. There is also a isolation room outside of the main climbing area with a incline wall for warm up and practice. On the second floor we found a little climbing room for children with bright colours and funny designs.

There is a obvious problem with the low density of  routes. The area is large, and in totality there were some 50 lead routes set up in the main climbing area. But from the density of the holds on the lead routes as well as the bouldering wall, you can see that the holds are quite far apart and a bit sparse. I guess a certain budget was allocated to set up these routes that called for the minimum number of holds to cover the entire space and in the time that followed after it is open to the public, more investment would be put in to add more routes in between the existing ones. There definitely looks to be plenty of room for improvement and expansion.

As the community grows, there is a need to increase the number of gyms that climbers can go to, for the sake of variety. With the recent closure of the Summit Climbing Gym, climbers in the Klang Valley’s options are limited to Camp5 and Shah Alam Extreme Park. It will be good for the community to have an additional gym as large and diverse as Camp5. There is concern that its location on the south of Putrajaya sets it quite far out of the way from the bulk of climbers who live in the more populated areas in the north, closer to Camp5. As such it would be difficult to divert climbers to this gym especially during the week.

It could turn out though that the opening of this gym in the near future might split the community in two whereby the climbers in the south of the Klang Valley may find this gym easier and faster to get to then Camp5 in 1-Utama. Then it will boil down to the cost and pricing factor, which way climbers go… the way this new gym will be priced will determine the share of climbers that it will capture. Another factor that might be a decider is convenience. Camp5 being located in a popular shopping mall may be cause of climbers to choose it over Putrajaya, as they can do other things after or before they climb like watch a movie or shop.

We wont know how the response will be like until it opens to the public. Hopefully this can happen sooner rather than later… and we hope that this impressive gym will find a worthy operator that will run it and maintain it to a high standard. The most painful thing that can happen is that this facility shares the fate of so many other government over-expenditure and lack-luster projects; opened with much glam and sparkling lights and visiting ministers, and then fizzling away into obscurity and disrepair.

Find below a google map showing the location of Putrajaya Challenge Park. “A” marks the spot.