.

When I went in July 2003, everything was open. It was a little hot, and the monsoon hit almost everyday (less than an hour per day; it’s actually pretty cool). But the huge crowd isn’t there, and you will not have to wait for a climb. I hired a guide along with his rope/draws (brought my own harness and shoes). I don’t remember who I went with, but I heard all three guiding services are great. The guys I went with were absolutely awesome. Taught me a lot. Anyhow, here’s a link to one of them

man, i wish i was going too!!!

Mike Wedding spend a good long time there last year. e-mail him!

I can’t see why certain areas would be closed for the off-season. Depending on where you decide to climb, you may have to keep an eye on the tide. There are a few places (such as Cobra Wall and Fire Wall, for example) that are accessible when its low tide, and if you aren’t paying attention, then you may end up wading back to the beach.

As for gear, 60m rope, and 12 draws will get you up most things, but there are some routes that require a few more. I heard you may want to bring more draws for multi-pitch routes. Bring plenty of chalk, cause you’ll need it.

The guidebook by Elke and Wee is the most up to date and very well written.

One thing to note, I assume that you will be flying into Krabi via a domestic Thai airline, the baggage weight limits for domestic flights is lower than the international limits. For international you can check up to 50lbs of luggage, but for domestic flights you can only check 30 or 35lbs depending on the airline. So if you’ve got a lot of stuff you’ll have to either carry-on more stuff for the domestic flight or pay extra.

Hope this helps!

Zac, If you climb any of the multipitch routes, I recommend you bring a few longer slings as rope drag is a huge nuisance especially on the Thaiwand Wall. Also, suncreen is a must for July.