Nagurjan Rocks _ Kathmadu

Nagurjun Forest Reserve to the North West of Kathmandu has an area of mostly clean bolted rock about 20 - 25 metres high with about 20 climbs on ranging from quite doable if you've not been climbing for a while to steeper overhanging ones. As far as I am aware the climbs don't have names or grades - like in the UK - just a number painted at the bottom.

So now the Monsoon season is over and Pancha Rai a climbing guide I met trekking in the Annapurnas is back in town as there is less call for trips this time of year with it being so cold up in the mountains, we headed over to Nagurjun on Saturday morning, under a clear blue sky with Tej Kumar Rai, Pancha's friend from his village, who hadn't climbed before, to have a climb.

We reached the forest on Pancha's motorbike and then had a 30 minute walk to the rocks. On the way we met lots of monkeys dangling in trees and sitting on the path and saw a few tree pies with long exotic tails flying around as well as a few butterflies. We got to the rocks nice and early about 9 am and at first had the place to ourselves but a few others joined us through out the morning Nepali climbers and a few expats - all blokes apart from one guy who'd brought his young daughters.

At the rocks Pancha started off by leading us up an easier bolted route on a knobbly slab with lots of cracks and ledges on - lots of nice things to hold onto if you hadn't been climbing for a while! We moved across the slab gradually going up harder and harder climbs including some climbs with short layback sections and some featureless sections with some nice delicate and stretchy moves. It all felt really good!

We then moved to the climbs on the east side of the crag - which had a few multipitch sections with the top part sticking out of the trees in the sunshine and providing views over the forest and towards Kathmandu. One of the things I am a bit nervous about climbing anywhere hot and tropical is putting your hands in places where you can't see them! On this top bit of rock particularly where there were small ledges there were a lot of grey scaly shed snake skins sticking to the rocks! I hoped that any such creatures would be hibarnating at this time of year - but it was certainly warm enough at the top of the crag for me to have a bask in the sun - so I expect it would be for the snakies too and some of the other climbers reported to having seen a few snakes the week before!

We finished off on a bit more of a tricky climb, Pancha had been leading in his trainers all morning, as he doesn't have sticky boots - and I have to say that he was a brave and plucky leader. It was a great day out with some really nice routes and good company and I really enjoyed being able to get climbing again - hope to go back soon! Today it is Sunday and I am writing this in bed with a bug!