Phunom Chealea



・Overview
This is the first sports climbing area in Cambodia, developed in 2005 by Americans and French. This place is 50 km from Phnom Penh along Route #6 toward Kompong Cham. The rock site is facing the national road, and you will not miss it from a bus, since you can see a magnificent dome. Across from the rock, on the top of the mountain is the Phnom Chealea temple.
There are three obvious spires here-No More Monks Rock(NMMR), Broken Pot Rock (BPR) and Tiered Rock (TR). On the east face of NMMR, "Aht Look" has been a top rope problem for a long time, but 9 bolts have been drilled in for runners. The bottom half of this wall (15 meters) is vertical, and the upper half is overhang, making this route an attractive route representing Chealea. BPR has more popular routes, and you can hike up to the top quite easily. If you stand on the top during the rainy season, you will see a stretch of green rice fields.

・Location
Phnom Chealea, Kompong Cham province

・Access
Normally, you should charter a car from Phnom Penh (40 minutes ride, US$25 one way). If you know how to get around in this country, you might take a local bus to Kompong Cham or Siem Reap and stop over(one hour ride, US$5.00).　You have to tell the bus driver that you will get off at Phnom Chealea beforehand. On the way back, you stand on the national road, and wave your hand if you see a bus for Phnom Penh. The bus will stop if there is a vacant seat.

・Gear
A 60 meter rope will be nice because some routes are longer than 25 meters. You will need 10 quickdraws for runners (a lot of runout!), and some extra quickdraws if you are going to climb "Aht Look" on NMMR. Cams are not necessary.

・Rock Description
It looks like a typical granite dome, but when you touch the rock, it feels like sedimentary rock. What is this rock really? There are some brittle part, so please stay on your guard. Somehow, you don't see cracks, although there are some pockets where you can set your cam. Slabs have a good friction, and vertical section has crimps. Some section is 100 degree overhang. Facing southeast.

・Summary of the routes
There are about 20 routes here. 5.6 to 5.12. You can lead about 10 routes. Other 10 only have top anchor bolts. Most route are 20 meters long, but some exceed 25 meters. All the bolts and hangers are stainless steel. Bolts are 10mm in diameter, depth unknown. From the external look, they are likely to be mixture of chemical bolts and some wedge type's bolts.

・Food
There is a Khmer restaurant nearby, facing the national road. Beer and water are available. You can buy snacks in Phnom Pen. Bring a lot of water.

・Bathrooms
You can use the bathroom in the restaurant.

・Perking
Park your car in the space next to the big overhanging boulder across from the south face of NMMR, and pay 3000Riel for half a day for a passenger car and 500Riel if it is a motorcycle to the private house nearby. This fee tends to increase year by year.

・Threat
Sunlight (early morning or evening is better), bees, ants, mosquitoes, and the bushes at the base of the rock during the rainy season (thorny!)

・Accommodations
This crag is within a day trip distance from Phnom Pen, but I heard Americans bivouaced on the top of the BPR. It might be okay in the dry season. There is a good anchor bolt at the center. Also there are several private houses in the vicinity, and you might be able to stay with them if you offer cost of the meals. (I have not tried it yet.)

・Topo
Benjamin Tipton, an American climber, published a topo book titled as "Rock Climbing in Cambodia" from Monument Books of Cambodia. This book is for sale only in Cambodia.

Debut!! 『Angkor Climbers』1st Edition Cambodia Climbing Route Guide Book →　more info

・Others
The surface of the rock could disintegrate easily because of the heavy rain in the rainy season. Falling rocks might hit the belayer directly where the angle of the wall is not steep. We recommend that the belayer wears a helmet. Give caution to the local onlookers at the rock site.
When you are climbing routes, children will follow you around barefoot. There are interested in rock climbing and try to help climbers coiling the ropes and organize gear. There know a lot of things. While you are resting, offer some snacks and sweets to them and befriend with them. There is a private house at the base of the rock, and a guy from there cuts bushes at the base of the rock and repels bees. I suggest you pay some money for his work, somewhere around 5000Riel(US$1.25).


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