The sport of climbing is exploding in South East Asia and Camp5 is on the cusp of this wave. With the mission to make climbing accessible for everyone, Camp5 opened its 6th outlet at KL East Mall on the 1 August, 2023.
Before the doors opened to the public a media preview was held on Monday, 31 July, 2023. Officiating the “unboxing” was Mr Wa’ad Abdul Mallik Chairman of IRATA South East Asia Rope Access Committee, Ms. Carrie Kon, Head of Retail, Sime Darby Property. Led by Jeremy Peet, Managing Director of Camp5 Climbing Gym, they screwed on the final holds onto the wall, completing the first-ever route set of Camp5 KL East.
It took the Camp5 route setting team 9 days, 4000 holds, 3000 bolts, and 7000 wood screws to completely cover the walls with routes and boulder problems for climbers to test themselves on. Top-rope, boulder, and lead climbing are on offer along with training boards and other suspension and weights training facilities. Jeremy Peet, Managing Director of Camp5 Climbing Gym then hosted a tour of the world-class facility.
ATHLETE DEMONSTRATIONS
The crowd was treated to demonstrations by top Malaysian climbing athletes. Well-known ninja warrior and 5 time SEA Games silver medallist, Mohd. Redha bin Rozlan would showcase his skills in bouldering. One of Camp5’s own, outlet manager Izzati binti Jumahat would demonstrate skills top-roping on a fun, bold, black, and totally Instagram-able route. While recent SEA Games double bronze medallist and national climber Tia made the auto-wall route look easy. This form of top-route climbing uses a Trueblue auto-belay system, so you are able to climb without needing a belay buddy.
Former national climber Taqiuddin Zulkifli rounded out the athletic demonstrations with an enthralling climb on the Tsunami wall, eliciting awe from the crowd when he dropped down from the 15-meter-high summit. Camp5’s Lead Wall dominates the left side of the gym. You can’t miss it, it’s the pièce de résistance.
MEDIA CLIMBING CHALLENGE
Then it was time for the media to get their game faces on, with the Media Climbing Challenge. For many, it was a first time climbing but all were happy to put their soon-to-be-discovered climbing skills to the test. For some that meant digging deep, “I’m actually afraid of heights!”, said one climber.
The challenge format was similar to the “Battle of the Boulders” and “War of the Walls” friendly competitions held regularly at Camp5 Climbing Gyms. Challengers were given an opportunity to climb both boulder and top-rope routes. The routes ranged in difficulty, the more difficult the routes, the higher the points scored. Reach the top and you secured full points for that route! After Forty-five minutes of climb time, the scorecards were handed in.
Prizes were up for grabs, First place winners would secure a 1-year Multigym Membership worth RM1988. Second place would get a 3-month Multigym Membership worth RM648 while third place winners would get a 10-day Multigym Pass, worth RM360. After a short break the winners were announced.
“We hope the Media Climbing Challenge was an exhilarating experience that gave the participants a taste of the excitement and a feel for the walls at Camp5. This climbing gym is unlike anything the city has seen before, and we are delighted for the media to be part of this landmark moment.” – Serene Lim, Mass Communications Director and Co-Founder of Camp5
Congratulations to the winners! More exciting times are to come. Camp5 KL East will host South East Asia’s biggest Lead Climbing Competition, CRANK Lead Competition this 7th and 8th of October, 2023.
Source: Camp5
