Terelj

Unclimbed, untapped- typical Terelj

(photo R. Minton)

I’d never have guessed that our third night in Ulaanbaatar would find us sitting at a fine Mongolian restaurant with an airline CEO and the only Mongolian to climb Mt. Everest (twice, mind you), but sure enough, there we were, dining and drinking with the likes of two entertaining local characters. We had met Munkhsukh, a successful investment banker and CEO of an up and coming Mongolian airline, earlier in the day at his health club (that is to say, a health club he owns) where we spent a few hours stretching our urban weary muscles in a newly constructed bouldering gym. He welcomed us in with his flawless English (a product of studying in the United States), and invited us to set some new routes, then took off to tend to more important matters.

Ger life

(photo CJ Carter)

So, as it were, he invited us to dinner following the bouldering session, and arriving at the restaurant we were introduced to his friend Usukhuu, a successful Mongolian mountaineer well on his way to conquering each continent’s highest summit. We enjoyed delicious traditional Mongolian food while inquiring into each other’s lives, and before too long, the talk turned to climbing. Soon after, and completely out of the blue, Munkhsukh propositioned us to leave that evening and drive north to the valley of Terelj, where we would climb granite cracks and faces the following day. With a resounding yes (duh!), he cleared his schedule and we were off, all five of us packed into his luxurious Land Cruiser, speeding towards Terelj in the warm night under a full moon. An hour later, we arrived in the idyllic little valley littered with beautiful, undeveloped granite slabs, cracks, and faces. We checked into a local ger camp, enjoyed some hot tea, and turned in for the night.

Mongolian stem chimney on Turtle Rock

(photo CJ Carter)

The next morning brought sunshine and warmth, and we sipped coffee outside the ger as Munkhsukh pointed out all the potential in the rock surrounding the camp. Terelj is a beautiful, classic Mongolian locale, reminiscent of Vedauwoo or Joshua Tree but more lush, with horses, yaks and sheep running and grazing below the expanses of rock. We began our day on a crack Aaron and I retrospectively dubbed “Terror of Terelj.” At only 5.8, the route looked innocent enough, but Aaron found out otherwise in the first twenty feet as he battled gravelly pods, unforgivingly sharp rock, and extremely physical climbing. We topped out on the pitch with an understanding of what Terelj was all about- what you see is not what you get.

Balance and nubbins near the summit of Turtle Rock

(photo CJ Carter)

We ended our day on the aptly named Turtle Rock, climbing a route up its backside that had been developed by a German party back in 1996. Since then, the route (the only line to the formation’s summit) has seen minimal traffic- only five entries (two of which are Munkhsukh’s) occupy the summit journal. It was exciting climbing, with good movement on balancey nubbins. The climbing reminded me very much of my old stomping grounds in the Black Hills of South Dakota as I tried to not lose my footing on the runout exit moves. We enjoyed the beautiful warm evening on the summit before descending to the car and back to the madness of UB.

Turtle Rock

(photo CJ Carter)

Classic Mongolia

(photo R. Minton)

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Claiming their zone in Terelj

(photo R. Minton)

We returned to Terelj two days later with members of the Mongolian Sport Climbing Team, a division of the Central Mongolian Altai Mountain Club. The evening before venturing back to the valley, we climbed with members of the team (a mix of boys and girls aged 18 to 21) in their local university gym, built back in 2000 with support from the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation. Their strength, excitement, and energy level were impressive, but of greatest interest to us were their priorities in climbing. Well-rounded technique and common safety practice took a backseat to speed- that is to say, climbing their 40 foot indoor wall as fast as they possibly could. An interesting belay tactic involving multiple pullies and a human counterweight (with absolutely no belay devices to speak of) accommodated this style of climbing, and it was truly mind blowing to watch some of the team’s strongest members scale the wall in a matter of mere seconds.

The ALCF university climbing wall in Ulaanbaatar

(photo A. Rains)

Newfound skills on the belay

(photo A. Rains)

With more funding and support from the ALCF and a run of brand new climbing shoes courtesy of Evolv, we offered to take the team to Terelj for the next two days to introduce them to outdoor climbing techniques such as leading, belaying, rappelling, and climbing on traditional gear. Incredibly, few members of the team had ever been to Terelj, only an hour’s drive north of Ulaanbaatar. As such, they excitedly agreed to go, and the two days spent in Terelj yielded one of the more powerful experiences the three of us have ever had.

Teaching and learning the finer points of gear placement

(photo A. Rains)

Strong and confident first lead on real rock

(photo CJ Carter)

Chaadrabaal, President of the Central Mongolian Altai Mountain Club, observes his students' progression in Terelj

(photo CJ Carter)

With Aldraa as our translator, we introduced a variety of techniques, and the team members latched on to every bit of our basic instruction, eager beyond words to learn as much as they could. As we progressed, the language barrier began to fade, intonation and gesturing became viable forms of communication, and the team’s ability level soared exponentially. By the end of our time in Terelj, they had led for the first time, learned to place cams, build anchors, understood the technique of climbing on real rock, and, above all, gained the key to a world that had all along yet unknowingly existed at their fingertips. We parted ways back in the city, and returned to our guesthouse humbled and inspired, overjoyed at the power of teaching and learning.

Belay duty

(photo CJ Carter)

2011 Mongolian Climbing School students and instructors

(photo CJ Carter)

Usukhuu or Buddha? Happy and satisfied...

(photo A. Rains)