Extreme Scene: Hong Kong Adventure Sports

Rock Climbing

Easily accessible from the city, Hong Kong’s myriad mountain ranges are prime turf for bouldering and rock climbing. Founder of Hong Kong Climbing (hongkongclimbing.com), a comprehensive online resource for the climbing community, Stuart Millis has been addicted to the sport since he was 16. He explains how to rock out with your chalk out.

Photos by Stuart Millis

What’s the deal? “Today it’s a big and active scene—there are a lot of climbing walls and meet-up places. But 15 years ago, there were a few government climbing walls and that was basically it. It took a bit more effort to find the scene but once you did find a few people, they were welcoming. Today there are climbing walls popping up all over: Sheung Wan, Kwai Fong and Tuen Mun as well. Go have a play, and see if you have that natural ability.”

Risk factors: “Learn the basics inside: how to tie yourself into the ropes and harness, and how to clip yourself into the rock face. Then when you go outside you are doing it safely. Once you know how to belay someone—feed out rope and lock it off so you catch them—then there’s not too much to worry about.”
 

Where to go: “Lion Rock is probably my favorite. It has a unique feel to it. There are not many places in the world where you can do high-quality climbing and have a backdrop like Hong Kong behind you. There’s also some diverse bouldering, like in the hillsides above Shek O. With bouldering you are playing on big bits of rocks and you don’t need ropes. You carry around a foam crash pad, and rely on that to (hopefully) break your fall. For beginners, I’d say Tung Lung Chau. There’s a place called the 'Technical Wall' there that’s very user-friendly. It’s also a beautiful setting and away from the busy city. The other place might be Beacon Hill behind Kowloon Tong—it’s accessible, and the climbs are easy to set up and try.”