I know about the walls at TST but was wondering if there are any climbing walls on HK Island proper. Are there any?
HC
I know about the walls at TST but was wondering if there are any climbing walls on HK Island proper. Are there any?
HC
Only one I know of but I have no idea how to access it. Probably through a climbing club or something like that. It's at Stanley Ho Sports Centre in Sandy Bay.
From Happy Valley, I think TST would be more convenient. Thank you for the suggestion, I'll pop in there next time I'm in Cyberport.
HC
By "access it", I mean it's not a public one. The sports centre belongs to the University of Hong Kong, although I know it's possible to join the centre as a community member and use the sports/fitness facilities, I believe you have to have your own supervisor/instructor to use the wall.
Edit: The form is online. http://www.hku.hk/ihp/pdf/rockform.pdf
Last edited by Claire ex-ax; 28-04-2011 at 01:27 PM.
I've been doing some searches into this as well. It seems like the indoor options in HK are extremely limited. There are gov walls you can book on Leisure and Cultural Services Department - Sport Climbing Facilities
But the problem is you need some kind of certificate for it. Personally I'm not interested in paying someone that probably knows less about climbing then myself tell me stuff I already know in broken English.
The other option is running out to Kwai Fong to BoulderLand. Still haven't made it out there to check it out in person, but it's the most promising thing I've been able to find so far.
I don't know whether lwkei is also arrogant w/ his other posts previous to this one, but I think I know what he's saying in this post.
The government run centers usually puts a lot of obstacles in the way. This is pretty exclusive to Hong Kong's leisure department. I also ran across a couple of facility I wanted to book but are unable to without certificates they exclusively issue and I also had to own a sports club.
It's partly got to do with insurance and not wanting to deal with hassle. But standard procedure is often abused by the higher up (because these procedures often make no logical sense), and they make sure people cannot reach them by telling what procedures the 'lower down' should tell their customers.
It's quite frequent that the leisure department give out certificates to people who cannot do the sport themselves but had some short courses to teach it. So lwkei might be right when he said the guy w/ the cert doesn't know as much as the climber. Just think if lwkei does know how to rock climb professionally, it's difficult to look at the situation and convey across the message in a way that's not arrogant if you know you're better.
Last edited by Creative83; 02-05-2011 at 05:29 AM.
I do apologize about my previous post coming across as a bit insensitive and perhaps even arrogant. I’m sure the guys or gals teaching these courses know what they’re talking about. I am just expressing my frustration at the lack of options accessible to a veteran climber that’s new to the city.
To be honest, I don’t think these public climbing walls are geared towards serious climbers that want to train (Yes if you just read this sentence, it’s going to sound arrogant as well). They are more for group events and introducing people to the sport which I think is great and all, but fall way short of their potential in promoting the sport. One of the reasons why I think this sport has grown so much in the US over the past 10 years is because of the social atmosphere found in may rock climbing gyms. Most people are innately afraid of heights and for good reasons. But when you see others climbing, you get this reassurance that maybe it is safe to venture vertically. For a lot of us, our curiosity into this vertical world kicks in and that’s how we get hooked to the sport. If people in Hong Kong get the chance to see other people climbing, I’m sure the sport will start to gain popularity here as well.
So PDLM, how long have you been climbing for? And what other info can you share with us about the local climbing venues or how to get in touch with the local climbing community?
There is also a Leisure Manciple building near me (Tai Kok Tsui) with a huge climbing wall, 75 HKD an hour. I am very interested in using it but need to go with someone who has a certificate. Does anyone know how I can find someone? It doesn't matter to me if he or she speaks English. I just want to have access to the facility.
Wish I could help. I did come across a list of instructors on the hkmu website, but no contact info.
If you're looking for a partner for outdoor climbing though let me know. =)