The post re-entry post.

People always say that settling back into your home country after living abroad for any serious amount of time is a difficult and slow process. One where you need to take it day by day, step by step to ease yourself back into the 'normalities' of everyday life in your home country. Thing that were once familiar an intrinsic seem out of place and even weird.
I got back to Australia 18 days ago and I have to say that luckily I have not had to deal with any of the expected 're-entry syndrome' that I had been concerned about. to be fair, I haven't so much settled down into a routine as yet, quite the opposite. I have been out climbing, catching up with friends and enjoying myself immensely and even when I 'settle into a routine' it's not a normal 9 to 5 existence because I am working on my coaching business which means holding down slightly different hours to most people.
So all in all - no re-entry syndrome!
The little differences are what stands out the most, really. Being able to have fresh baked wholemeal bread, lightly toasted and slathered with avocado, sea salt, cracked pepper and a side of Camembert with a glass of fresh orange juice for breakfast is one up side to living in the west that I am particularly fond of! Good red wine is another. No government imposed internet bans on blogging and social media is another.
Not everything is rosy, of course. A government with leaders and opposition leaders that I wouldn't trust to house-sit while I'm on holidays, let alone run my country is one gripe I have. The fact that everything is way more expensive than I'm used to is another.
But then there's the weather, too. In China I didn't see blue skies too often. Here I have had almost all blue sky days so far. Cool temperatures in the shade, yet warm, biting rays of sunshine if you want them all under skies so blue that it took me a few days to get over feeling like it all looked too fake to be true.
I spent some time hanging around Canberra, settling in, meeting up with old friends, going climbing on the local granite, heading down to Nowra for some steep sandstone on the weekends, climbing on the rhyolite of Hollywood, training in the gym, generally having a blast. After that I went and spent 5 days straight climbing on the amazing sandstone in the Blue Mountains, revisiting my old home and falling back in love with the place.
Now it's time to knuckle down and get stuck into building up my business. Athlete By Choice (www.athletebychoice.com) is now a fully fledged coaching business being run by yours truly here in Canberra, Australia. I have started working with the climbing gyms junior squads, I have my first private clients starting tomorrow, business cards and posters are on their way. It's all go. I'm pretty psyched to be getting stuck into it and it's going to be exciting to see how far I can take it. Here's hoping it goes as well as I'm hoping!
The other big part of my first few weeks back in Australia has been working with an amazingly talented young kid, Angie Scarth-Johnson. An 8 year old girl who in the last few weeks has flashed V5, redpointed V7 and V8, and redpointed 26 and 27 (5.12c/7b+ and 5.12d/7c). This kid is phenomenal. Perfect movement, contact strength, mental toughness... her climbing IQ is through the roof, it's amazing to watch. This kid is going to be huge, the future of Australian rock climbing is here... watch this space!

So that pretty much sums up my thoughts on how things are going so far back here in the Land Down Under. It's pretty great so far - here's hooping it continues!

I want to quickly shout out to a few good folk before I finish. Firstly go check out JJ O'Brien and his blog at http://www.jjobrienclimbing.blogspot.com.au  - he wrote a really nice little peice about my last climbing day in China. Check it out and all the other great interviews and write ups he has on his site!

Also a big thanks to all the people supporting me being back in Australia - Climbing Anchors (www.climbinganchors.com.au), Tendon Ropes, Metolius, CAMP, Kailas & Evolv - Thanks for making it easier for me to spend more time on the rock  :-)

Here's a few photos and videos of the last few weeks - enjoy!!!


Angie sending 'Nappy Nuggets' V8
https://vimeo.com/64367584

Angie sending 'Turkey Slap' 26
https://vimeo.com/65014040

Danny Ewald running a lap of 'Ain't No Sunshine' 28, South Central, Nowra

Angie Scarth-Johnson sending 'Nappy Nuggets' V8, Lot 33, Nowra

Danny Ewald cutting a fine silhouette at South Central, Nowra

Ray Spencer throwing down at Hollywood, Canberra

Melissa Mooney crimping hard on a delicate yet powerful 24 at Hollywood, Canberra

The Climbing Anchors Team (www.climbinganchors.com.au) - Angie Scarth-Johnson and myself

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Autumn colours in the Blue Mountains

Sateki & Claudia Scarth-Johnson looked after me all week here at the Blue House in Blackheath. So much good food! :)

Angie Scarth-Johnson sending 'Wrong Movements' 27 at Centennial Glen, Blue Mountians

Angie Scarth-Johnson basking in the glory after sending 'Wrong Movements' 27 at Centennial Glen, Blue Mountains

Angie Scarth-Johnson sending 'Turkey Slap' 26 at Bardens Lookout, Blue Mountains

The kiddo and I at Bardens Lookout.

No Guarantee

Nothing in life is guaranteed. Nothing stays the same. Some things that you think are stable, forever, certain, sometimes can change in the blink of an eye and completely change your perspective or situation.

As I sit here in Kuala Lumpar airport on my way back to Australia, nursing a bit of a hangover as a result of a larger than expected last night in Yangshuo, that sentiment is brought crushingly into reality for me as I realize that after so many years away I am actually only less than a day away from being in my old home town of Canberra, heading back to start a new, yet familiar, life back in the western world.

Yangshuo has been a solid part of my life, the stable, immovable fact that my life could revolve around, the anchor point in a wandering lifestyle. I live in Yangshuo. But, not any more. Now it’s on to a very different world back in Australia, and I’ll be honest – I’m bricking it. It is really intimidating in some ways to be going back after so many years away, going back to a changed place, different people, different ways of life, different values. Going back a changed man, a different man to the one that left all those years ago. Will I even fit in anymore? Am I just too different for it to work out? Or am I over thinking the situation and everything will be fine? I guess we’ll find out really soon.

One of the fantastic little things that happened on making the decision to come back to Australia was a surprising offer from some companies in Australia for sponsorship!

I am super excited to be able to announce that thanks to the good folks at Climbing Anchors (www.climbinganchors.com.au) (namely the man himself, Steve Hawkshaw) I am now proudly sponsored by CAMP, Metolius and Tendon Ropes! Super excited to get back and get out on the rock with all the new gear! Super psyched to get my new Metolius Magnum bouldering pad and get out bouldering after a long time away from it. I have so many classic routes all over the country, in every style, that I just can’t wait to go and get on. Super psyched! Thanks heaps, Climbing Anchors.

I’ll also, of course, be keeping my other sponsors (Kailas & Evolv) in Australia and I’m super psyched and feel very privileged to have so much support from so many great people and companies. It’s going to be a big year of crushing rigs and having a blast at the crags, I hope!!!

I spent the last month or so working on a route back in Yangshuo, a stellar 40m metre pitch of gently overhung limestone. Just my style. Except for the fact that it is quite reachy and very crimpy… not my style. This route, while not being of any ground breaking difficulty, really made me work hard on some weaknesses, give myself up to the process of breaking the route down move by move until I could do the moves first one by one, then two by two and so on until finally I was close to sending. I worked really hard for it, I tried soooo hard, I got soooo close. I fell from the last hard move of the crux 13 times. 13 times! I climbed it in 2 parts with barely a rest at all in between about 10 times. I was soooo close! I headed back out to the crag, my favourite crag in Yangshuo, Lei Pi Shan, on Monday which was designated to be my last ever day of climbing in Yangshuo. I headed out with a fellow Australian rock addict, climbing media celebrity and all round nice guy, Mr. JJ O’Brien  (www.jjobrienclimbing.blogspot.com) who kindly snapped a few shots of my last attempts on the route.

I tied in, got psyched and headed off on one last burn, cruised the 5.13a / 7c+ / 28 first pitch, chilled at the only available rest and launched on into the crux… and fell with the last hold of the crux in my hand but not quite enough gas in the tank to reel it in. So close. Crushingly close. The name of this route is apt. It’s called ‘No Guarantee’. It’s about 5.13c / 8a+ / 30. I didn’t send it. I got close, I tried hard, I learned a lot on this route. I learned to let go and enjoy the process of really projecting long term on something hard for me. I learned to crimp harder. I learned to try harder. I learned that you have to really WANT it if you hope to achieve things above and beyond your normal sphere of performance. You have to REALLY want it. I learned to be humble in defeat. And most of all I learned that in life there really is no guarantee. Nothing is certain. Nothing is forever. Nothing is ever ‘in the bag’. There is no guarantee.

I’ll miss you, Yangshuo. See you soon, Australia.

The rest at the end of the 13a first pitch

Trying to reel in the last hold of the crux... so close!

The hands free kneebar after the crux... only 18 more metres of 5.12+ climbing to go!

Sticking the jump at the last bolt, 40 metres up over the crowd at Lei Pi Shan. I'll miss that crag!

See you later, Yangshuo! It's been real!

Super Spring

The weather has been crazy here of late. Instead of a cold, wet winter we had a dry, mild one. Now the spring is continuing the trend with warm-ish weather, dry conditions... all perfect and conducive to lots of hard climbing.
Lately almost all my focus has been on a project at Lei Pi Shan that is proving to be a tough one for me, but the progress I am seeing every day is super inspiring and hopefully it's going to go soon!
For now here's a few pics from recent days... more of an update soon  :)

Curtis LaBouff on 'Thunder' 5.12d, Lei Pi Shan, Yangshuo

Chase Cazedessus on 'No Bamboo Rafting Today' 5.12a, Dag Crag, Yangshuo

For now it's off to the crag to get back on the project... psyched!!!

(Not so) Cold weather and the art of projecting...

So it's a funny time of year here. The end of winter when the weather is usually a bit too cold for my liking for really climbing well (I have soooo much trouble warming up in the cold and always get flash pumped on every burn on my projects all day) and when there's not really so many people in town to climb with. But this year is different. There's still not so many people around yet but the weather has been a lot milder than usual so I have been getting out a reasonable amount. Not as much as I would like, but a few times a week anyway and then training hard in between. Today is one of those perfect days where the sun is coming out, the temps are pretty nice and we actually have people to get to the crag with. Psyched!

A nice warm fire at the crag, at Dragon City

I have been training a lot of finger strength and general strength. I know for me to get to the next level I need to be able to use much smaller holds and to be able to pull a lot harder, so lot's of hangboard time and lots of general strength training, particularly on 'The Bolt' that I have started writing about on www.athletebychoice.com  - a simple yet effective home strength training tool for climbers. I also have some pseudo gymnastics rings set up and have some real rings on their way in the mail so will write about using them soon too.

Doing an Iron Cross on 'The Bolt'  (www.athletebychoice.com)

Lately my attentions on the rock have varied a bit. First I was super excited about a new crag here called 'Dragon City' where I went a bunch of times and did all the moderate routes and a few super classic 5.12's and then worked on a potential 5.13d project for a bit which was super fun. But now I have turned my attention back to an old nemesis; the 'Paper Cut Extension', a route that is a hard 5.13c for me and one that targets my weaknesses - crimp strength and power, while at the same time suits my style in that it's a 35m+ endurance route. This is the route I am psyched to use to get stronger and fitter right now in the hope that when I have what it takes to finally send it I will have what it takes to get my other next projects done a lot quicker as they have similar requirements - long, crimpy endurance routes.

Me on the final crux sequence of the first pitch of my project at Lei Pi Shan. Photo courtesy of Christopher Miller

The whole projecting thing is sort of new to me in the last few years. Before I would never have more than a few tries on a route before getting bored and moving on. I was definitely more about the onsight or fast, couple of shots ascent of a route than projecting. But now I am really enjoying the process of projecting - getting to know a route intimately and working out its subtleties before finally sending the route in such a way that it feels like you really got to know the route, that you know it intimately and can flow and dance your way up it. It's such a great feeling to finally master something that at first felt so impossible and now it's a feeling that I live for. Love it!

For now, it's off to the crag for another projecting session!
Psyched!
Duncan

Me being all serious in a athlete profile photo for my sponsor, Kailas

Grandma Moments...

Grandma moments were described to me by my good friend Ania some time ago. She said how her Grandma had told her as a little girl to stop and soak things up and remember all the good things that happen in your life, no matter how small. A good philosophy I think. We all too often dwell on the negatives in life and don't spend enough time appreciating the little things in life.
Even when the chips are down I still stop and appreciate the grandma moments and it really makes a difference to my day. Whether it's enjoying a meal with some good friends, a beautiful sunset, happy children playing my apartment building courtyard, a pretty view out at the crag, anything. It makes me remember just how lucky I really am and how good life is to me. Any of the little negatives seem to become insignificant when you balance them out against all the good in life.

Lately things here in Yangshuo have been all go with me sorting out a new job, working hard on the new 'Athlete By Choice' website (www.athletebychoice.com) and training hard for the upcoming spring season. The weather is unseasonably warm here and we are getting out climbing a lot, especially at the new crag 'Dragon City' which is proving to be INCREDIBLE! Super classic routes at all grades on awesome rock. So psyched!

Alrighty, time for a finger board session then off to the crag!
Love it!

Here are a couple of grandma moments I had this week...

A perfect sunset after climbing with a friend = Grandma moment

Perfect blue sky winter days = Grandma moment

To Thailand and back again...

So I have just got home from a 2 month trip to Thailand to escape the winter blues here in Yangshuo and enjoy some sunny beach time.
While it was mainly a relaxing holiday I did get out climbing a fair bit, mainly onsighting easy and moderate stuff up to around 5.12b. I climbed a whole heap of routes in Tonsai that I have not climbed before and spent some great times hanging with some old friends, playing music in Sunset Bar, slacklining and generally having a great time.
Now I am back in Yangshuo and the weather is a lot better than it usually is at this time of year so it's time to get stuck into training and climbing again! Psyched!

Here's a few photo's from my Ipod from the trip, I didn't take a real camera this time round. Enjoy!

My first 8b/31/13d!!!!!

Heck yes!
I finally took a little step up recently. I have been working through all the link up projects I had at Lei Pi Shan here in Yangshuo with the aim of leading up to the hardest one, the main goal, the mega link.
It combines 3 routes; first off the bouldery start of the route 'Sleight Of Hand' that I bolted and did the FA of back in 2009. The boulder is a lot trickier than it looks and weighs in at about V7. Then you climb all of Andrew Hedesh's 7b+ route 'Da Bao Yu', you shake out around the anchors of that route then make a couple of moves to the right and proceed up the entirety of the amazing 'Dream & Hope' extension which weighs in at about 8a+.
As it was also a first ascent I dubbed the route 'Pocket Full Of Dreams' and I think it deserves a solid 8b as the grade, but of course we will have to see what repeaters think. A few folk have tried the parts and seem to agree on the 8b grade, but we'll see  :)

I will get out there again soon with my friend to get some photo's on the route so watch out here soon for more!


Psyched!
D.

Another Kailas Rock Searching Video!

This is  a little video from when we were in Quzhou, it's just a short one, there will be full clips from Quzhou as well as our last stop in YingXi coming soon. Also I'll put up a bit of an overall round up of the trip soon now that it's over and I'm home in Yangshuo.

Enjoy!  :)

More Kailas Rock Searching!

So we are sitting in Hangzhou relaxing after finishing up our stay here with a big old party at the new crag we bolted here which included some pretty hectic flooding due to heavy rain but none the less everyone had a great time!
Here are some pics as well as the video from Xi'an. Enjoy!

Kailas: Rock Searching - Le Ye

Hi guys! Here's the next installment of the Kailas: Rock Searching trip... 'Le Ye'

Get ready for loads of super steep limestone caves!!! Enjoy!

First 2 videos from the Kailas Rock Searching Trip!

Here you go, finally! The first two videos from the Kailas Rock Searching Trip - A short intro clip and the Yangshuo segment, enjoy!

The Search Continues...

Things have been going well here on the Kailas Rock Searching trip and we are now nearing the end of our stay here in Xi'an, our 3rd destination.
After Yangshuo the team headed off the Le Ye in western Guangxi Province for a few weeks. After some scouting we settled on developing a massive cave system just near town comprising of two enormous through caves that look like over sized aircraft hangers dripping with tufas and stalactites. The caves already had 10 routes in them on the more vertical walls and we set to work developing epic new routes through the amazing steep sections of the caves.
In all we put up 32 new routes making the total there 42 routes in one place from 5.11 to 5.14 and despite this there might be 50 more routes to be added to complete just this one crag. Le Ye has amazing potential and is without a doubt a possible future site of some of the best hard climbing in China with this cave on its own having potentially 20+ routes to be added in the 5.14 and higher range.
Amazing to say the least - I will be back for sure!
After Le Ye we headed to our 3rd destination: the granite walls of the Hua Shan area outside of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province.
This area is a maze of huge valleys leading into the massive mountains that sit right on the outskirts of the city and was a little bit more challenging to decide which one of the many amazing potential sites we should concentrate on. In the end we developed 2 single pitch areas in one valley, adding 17 new routes from 5.10 to 5.13 and then another few single pitch routes in another valley called Da Yu (Big Valley) plus a huge 12 pitch monster wall weighing in at 5.12+ with about 8 pitches in the 5.12 range... Epic!!!
Next we head to Hangzhou for a few days and Dave and I will go represent Kailas at a trade show in Nanjing then it's off to develop a nice cave and wall near a place called Quzhou which is a local crag for all our Shanghai friends. Psyched!
Here are some pics courtesy of our photographers Superman and Lei Feng. Enjoy!