Exploring always carries a little risk, that’s just the nature of the beast.
Around 10 years ago, some of my friends were the first people ever to Deep Water Solo in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. There had been people before, like Todd Skinner and Lynn Hill, and before them the local birds nest collectors, buy these guys and the energetic style of DWS really blew the place open, and put Ha Long Bay firmly on the map.
In the last few years I have become more and more jealous of these guys and their adventures. Exciting new destinations seemed to be ten a penny back then, but nowadays you have to be happy with squeezing in a line or two on an already developed crag. I dreamed of discovering somewhere new, somewhere big, and somewhere amazing but thought it would never be… then last month we found El Nido, The Philippines!
It all started with a few photos on a Sea Kayak blog, showing steep black cliffs tumbling info a turquoise sea. The more we searched, the more rock we found, and the less it seemed like anyone had ever been. It seemed too good to be true, and as we widened our search to the international climbing community, reports of terribly sharp rock made us almost certain it were. However, with all that rock there just had to be something, so we decided to take a risk, and made a plan to check it out for ourselves.
Joining us on the trip would be Francisco Taranto Jr, a multitalented photographer/cinematographer who has some of the best rope work skills around and isn’t scared of sleeping rough. Pablo Scorza, our therapist and friend, would come along to help keep our bodies in shape and provide a lift for our spirits when things get tough. Lastly but by no means least, Miel Pahati, one of the most active climbers in the Philippines, jumped on our proposition to complete the team. He would be our local strength, able to help us through any complication and give us first hand understanding of what it means to be a Filipino climber.
Inspired by the original photos we decided to attempt to paddle around the many islands by Sea Kayak. This seemed like a perfect solution and we really liked the idea of making a climbing expedition with minimal environmental impact (with the exception of the plane, the bus, the motorbikes… yeah ok, its not perfect but its a start). We were instantly amazed by the quality and amount of climbable rock, and began to open new route after new route, choosing the very best lines and then moving on to the next…
El nido is a heaven for DWSoloing. Not only for the amazing climbing, but as well for the place… so, you know where to go for your next climbing trip!!!
