Climbing at Crazy Horse Buttress, 50 km from Chiang Mai. A good day was had by all, including today's random partners Josh II, Arizona Kevin and myself. Somehow I forgot my camera, so here are a few pics courtesy of Chaing Mai Rock Climbing Adventures, who I'm sure won't mind.

One of these routes I led today - The Gatekeeper (graded F6b locally, but a crack climb, and consensus 5.8+ or hardish VS 4c for anybody brought up on handjamming). The other two I did last year. All excellent.

Caught myself yawning quite a lot today, still under the insidious influence of jetlag. But not quite as sleepy as the giant pandas I saw yesterday in Chiang Mai zoo. I don't think I've seen pandas in the flesh before. Despite the koala-esque demeanor they adopt when munching their bamboo leaves, they are basically big bears with impressive claws and teeth, and I suspect they could swipe your leg off and bite you to bits within seconds if they felt like it. As could Thai boxers...slight, barely-muscled men moving barefoot on tiptoe who could kick seventeen colours of living shit out of you at the mere suspicion that you might have the vaguest notion of considering ever dropping a hat. I watched some of the weekly Monday-night show last night: blink and doof-doof-doof-blam, you've missed a knockout.