Phunm Kulen/East-end/Seven Pillars Of Wisdom
・Overview
Punom Kulen is situated 60km northeast of Angkor Wat. It is a mountain ridge stretching 25km east to west, and 3-8km south to north. It is a valuable highland in the flat town of Siem Reap. This place is famous as the birthplace of the Angkor civilization. It was a site of a hard fought battle, though, and there have been numerous landmines and unexploded shells until recently.
Many of them are supposed to have been removed by now, but the exact data is not publicized. The tablelands are more or less flat and there are some villages on the top. The north side of the outer edge has several peaks. The highest peak is indicated in the map as 487m high. The whole area is under the control of APSARA Authority who manages and controls Angkor Wat. Most of the land on the west side is owned by individuals, and they charge fees for admission. The dense forests of the top plateaus are supposed to have many Angkor and pre-Angkor ruins under the ground.
On the other hand, the whole mountain of Phnom Kulen is made up of gritstone and the number of climbable crags is unlimited, which is no exaggeration！Nonetheless, because of the reasons mentioned above, climbers are held back. In the spring of 2007, bolder problems were created on the boulders sitting along the daily service roads in the east. There are more than 7 prominent boulders in the 700 meters in distance and 100m difference in level. We named the area as "Seven Pillars of Wisdom." We developed routes on Chie Rock in 2008 for leading.
・Location
Svay Leu Commune, Siem Reap State
・Access
It takes a little over one hour to Svay Leu by taxi. You can get there by a motor bike or tuktuk also. From there, 20 minutes walk to the trail head. Walk the trail for 5 minutes and you will see the first boulder. 15 more minutes walk will take you to Chie Rock.
・Gear
All the routes are surprisingly short. A 30 meter rope will do. Cams are not necessary. Bring 10 quickdraws with you and several long slings (for top anchor reinforcement).
・Rock Description
The rocks here are hard gritstone without joints. They have been badly eroded in the heavy rain, and the surface could be brittle and weak. Cracks might cause disintegration and collapse of the rock. Knobs on the terrace will serve as a good belay point, but the knob could be separated from the rock bed. A Petzl drill for self drill bolting was used to drive anchors. Hangers are made of aluminum or stainless steel. Bolts are 8mm in diameter and the depth of the bolts is only 25mm, which is not recommendable for modern sports climbing. Make sure you always provide backups to the anchors. As it stands now, these routes are only for experienced climbers. (Anchors will be replaced with sports climbing anchors in the near future.)
・Routes
Currently we have 10 lines, grades 5.6 to 5.11. There are only 3 routes for leading, which are all 5.10. The height is about 8 meters. The wall is vertical to slight overhang. Crimpy. Short, but strenuous. Need some "gardening" after the rainy season.
・Bathrooms
None (Use the restroom in the restaurant in Svay Leu before getting the rock site.)
・Food
You can buy fruits, French loaf, and water in Svay Leu. You can ask the restaurant to prepare a Kumer style lunch pack
・Perking
Free of charge
・Threat
Sunlight, mosquitoes, ants, bees, scorpions, landmines, duds(unexploded shells), drunkards
・Accommodations
We make a day trip from Siem Reap. There is a guest house in Svay Leu. You can also negotiate with villagers of Ta Penh village for accommodations. Bring rice with you if you stay with villagers. Ta Penh village is 30 minutes walk uphill from Chie Rock. It could be cold at night from January to March. Sometimes I could not sleep well at night because it was too cold.
・Topo
