After two months, spanning across much of China, covering nearly 4,000 kilometers, and passing through five stops impacting nearly ten thousand people, KAILAS’ major climbing event “Rock Quest China” has recently come to a temporary close. Team members from around the world have gradually returned to their home countries, taking with them their wonderful experiences in China, while leaving behind numerous classic routes they developed together with Chinese climbers in various locations — from South China to Southwest China, from Northwest China to Southeast China, from 5.8 to 5.14, from limestone to granite. These fresh, beautiful, and imaginative routes are all waiting for local climbers to discover, experience, and climb...
Yangshuo Stop
Since the launch of “Rock Quest China” in Yangshuo on June 20, within just two short months, this international team of climbers, led by TONI, not only deeply experienced the endless charm of searching for and climbing rock faces across China, but also developed many new routes of different styles and difficulties at various cliffs including Yangshuo, Leye, Xi’an, Quzhou, and Yingxi. Without a doubt, they are pioneers, innovators, and passionate practitioners and enthusiasts of climbing in China.
Leye Stop
Xi’an Stop
Venturing deep into the rural hinterland of inland China and reaching those lesser-known cliffs, searching for and developing routes is undoubtedly a tough job that requires great passion. For the route development team of “Rock Quest China,” none of these seem to be problems. With limited drills, they made multiple round trips to charge them at the camp; when the temperatures were too high, they adapted by alternating between different cliffs; when the cliffs were unfamiliar and difficult, they tried repeatedly; and even during the long, almost isolated mountain life, they could live happily and peacefully. All because they are true climbers...
Quzhou Stop
Yingxi Stop
Through the efforts and cooperation of the team members, one after another fresh, interesting, and challenging routes were developed. They are spread across every cliff the Rock Quest team reached — from the Golden Waterfront Cliff in Yangshuo to the Tiankeng in Leye, from Fengyu and Dayu in Xi’an to Liangtoudong in Quzhou, and finally to the mysterious Guanyin Valley in Yingxi. They are truly a world-class climbing team. They not only developed classic routes full of difficulty and imagination, but also created routes suitable for the actual conditions of climbers in various regions, as well as fun routes with the unique style of the developers. There are over 100 such routes in total. It’s particularly worth mentioning that at the Yingxi stop, TONI also opened Guangdong’s first 5.14 difficulty level route. In short, the routes are so diverse that almost everyone can find something that suits them. For climbers in various regions who have long been eager for more routes to climb and improve on, the arrival of “Rock Quest China” and its activities is truly “a timely help in time of need”!
Overview of Route Development at the Golden Waterfront Cliff in Yangshuo during “Rock Quest China”
Overview of Route Development at Guanyin Valley in Yingxi during “Rock Quest China”
In fact, “Rock Quest China” not only brought a rich variety of new routes to the rapidly developing climbing scene across China, but also introduced climbing skills and concepts to various regions. More importantly, it brought the new outdoor philosophy of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature and cherishing life. All of these have strongly promoted the popularization and development of climbing across the country.
“Those cliffs hidden in the wilderness are the most enchanting landscapes in the world, the most spiritual dwellings of nature, and the most desired sacred sites for climbers.” Returning from the climb not only confirmed an idea we’ve always had: that China is one of the countries with the richest cliff resources in the world, but also made us firmly believe that it can also have the most numerous and widespread climbing community. Although currently, too many of the high-quality cliffs have only been developed to a small extent, we have started to take action, we have been working hard, and this year is a very good start.
Some Members of the “Rock Quest China” Route Development Team
After the successful conclusion of the Yingxi stop on August 21, “Rock Quest China” will temporarily come to an end. In the future, we will continue the climbing and outdoor philosophy that KAILAS has always upheld, and keep holding “Rock Quest China.” We hope it will develop sustainably just like the Unclimbed Peaks Project, continuing to contribute to the promotion and development of climbing in China.
As a professional climbing brand, KAILAS takes “dedicated to promoting the development of amateur mountaineering and exploration sports” as its mission. Since 2003, it has promoted public welfare projects including the “KAILAS Outdoor Coaches Growth Program,” “KAILAS Climbing Team,” and “KAILAS Mountaineering and Exploration School,” cultivating a large number of important reserve talents for China’s mountaineering and outdoor sports. Moreover, KAILAS has sponsored a variety of professional outdoor events including mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing, and cross-country challenge races, making significant contributions to the popularization and development of mountaineering and outdoor sports in China.
See you next year at “Rock Quest China,” we’ll be back again soon!
For more latest information about “Rock Quest China,” please follow the official KAILAS website or the official Sina Weibo account of “Rock Quest China.”