Q: At what age did you start climbing? What
should I do if I want to climb outside of my home
country? I live overseas, and I don't know where
to climb and how I would manage to climb there?
What should I do?
—Jorden Stanley
Jakarta, Indonesia
Jorden,
I started climbing when I was about 16, but you are
never too old, or too young to get started. As a matter of
fact, there is an unlimited bonanza of climbing in the
part of the world where you live. If I'm not mistaken,
there is quite a bit of climbing in Indonesia. Carstenz
Pyramid is located in New Guinea, and although this is
obviously a ways from Jakarta, I think it shows that
there is a lot of potential you could be tapping into.
Would it be a major undertaking for you to head over to
Thailand? Phra Nang, in southern Thailand, has some
of the best limestone sport climbing in the world. In my
opinion, it would not be outrageous for you to just head
to an area where you know there's good climbing, then
try to hook up with a partner or if you can't find
anyone, hire a guide. Start researching and see what
kind of a crazy adventure you can come up with. I find
that life is simply more enjoyable when I'm developing
and looking forward to an exotic adventure to some far
away land.
