The Village Boulders

The first set of boulders, closest to Shek O Village, has it all from highballs, pleasant walls and a nice small ‘cellar’ like wall. The only real down side is the small size of the area and the amount of litter that seems to get washed up and left by day trippers. From the end of the road carry straight on down the staircase and immediately follow a small dirt path which contours right around the small hill. It is also possible to contour the coast line to the boulders from Shek O Beach.

The Cube

1) Warm Up Wall * V1
A pleasant line up the right side of the wall.

2) Straight Down the Middle * V2
The centre of the wall, just using the horizontal breaks (avoiding the problems either side).

2a) Dyno-mite * V4
An eliminate of Straight Down the Middle, starting in the lowest horizontal break and dynoing to jugs at the top of the wall.

3) Left Arete ** V2
The left arete.

4) Corner ** Vb
The corner crack.

5) V0
The hanging groove.

6) V0 * (sds).
The right arete of the wall.

7) Plumbline ** V3
A fun problem for the tall and a nightmare for those vertically challenged! The centre of the wall via small crimps and gastons.

7a) Plumbline Eliminate * V4
Start as for Plumbline to reach the mid-height crimps. From here leap to the top of the wall. Committing but not as hard as it looks…

7b) Blocked Plumbing (sds) V2
Another eliminate combining holds on Plumbline and Blockbuster. Start as for Blockbuster Direct (sds) and then climb the arete staying on its right side to combine the crimps of Blockbuster with the Plumbline gaston hold, launching for the top from these. Not particularly worthwhile…

8) Blockbuster Direct (sds) ** V3
The arete from a sit down start.

9) Blockbuster *** V2
The classic of the area. Start in pockets in the centre of the wall, beneath a small roof. Move right to the arete and finish up this.

10) Enigma ** V6
So called because it may take you a little while to crack the code!. From pockets beneath the roof head up the small ‘holds’ on the right of the wall, between the groove and Blockbuster (see photo below).

11) Enigma Left * V5
Start on the flat jug beneath the roof and climb the thin seam / groove. Very shouldery

12) Short Circuit * V2
So called as it by-passes all the difficult climbing on this face.
Start on the flat jug beneath the roof before using the undercut to reach out and left for good holds above the lip. From here stretch up and left for reasonable side pulls before cranking through to good holds on the top of the block. The obvious flake and small ledge on the left are allowed for feet at this grade.

Andy Lau’s Bloc

The small bloc located at the right side of The Cube contains a couple of short but fun problems.

1) Jap Girls Don’t Date Lepers V5
The short steep wall is attacked on grainy slopers.

2) I Love Andy Lau (sds) ** V3
This problem, much like the ageing film star, is of relatively little significance. The steep arete has a tricky start and an insecure finish.

The Cellar

1) Cellar Dweller (sds) * V4
Start at a small ledge and side pull, with footholds on the block and deep under the roof, and follow the corner above.

2) Cellar Dweller Ext. (sds) ** V6
Climb further into the cellar and start with hands on a good hold (the foothold for normal start) and feet even deeper down within the cave (not jammed in the cracks out left, which makes it way easier). Make tricky moves to join Cellar Dweller and then follow this.

3) Project.
An obvious line in the middle of the wall and contender for HK’s hardest.

4) Lok and Load *** V7
From a crouching start at the good undercut/lay away aim up for a poor side pull before launching out left to the top. Only really two moves (plus a belly flop over the top), but packs a hell of a lot of effort into those moves.

5) Locked and Loaded (sds) *** V8
The sit start to Lok and Load adds only one move but a whole new degree of difficulty. For full value, one pad max (two for those with short arms but anymore and you’re practically doing the crouch start…)

6) Short and Sweet (sds) *** V1
The short overhanging corner line.

7) Angels Delight (sds) ** V3
Start with hands matched on the thin flake right of the corner and feet bridged in the corner. Lunge for the break and finish on good holds above this.

8) Stuart’s Slap (sds) * V6
Start as for the previous problem, but this time eliminate all intermediate holds and launch straight for the top of the wall.

9) The Traverse * V1
Start at the right end of the cellar and traverse the break left to join ‘Short and Sweet’. Pass over this to the juggy top holds and follow these left to the corner. Finish up this. A good warm up.

The Training Wall

The large wall beneath the Cube Circuit offers some quality highballs in the low to mid-grade ranges.

1) Scramble Groove VB
The short corner forms more of a scramble than a boulder problem.

2) Training Wall VB
Climb the centre of the small wall on good holds.

3) Class Room VB
The short juggy corner

4) School’s Out * V1
Good holds lead up the deep corner to a worrying finale over the small roof.

5) Braveheart * V3
The juggy arete leads to a small roof. Move through this and up the hanging groove with trepidation.

6) Detention * V0
The largest of the corners is followed on good flakey holds.

7) S-Crack *** V1
Follow the thin crack line to the right of the corner.

8) Summer School V0
The short thin corner immediately left of the vertical rubble.

The short wall next to the descent route is a little bit grainy and loose in places but still provides a few pleasant problems around V0 – VB.

The Backside

(1) V3 ** The Sythe (sds)
From good holds on the cresent shaped flake slap to the top of the block.

(2) V0 * On the Edge
The short right side of the face gives a couple of fun moves.

The Fat Boy Bloc

A lone bloc with a fine collection of mid-to-hard grade test pieces and classics, including the fine Kung Hei Fat Boy.

1)  Time to Leave V3
The left arete of the block, starting on crimps on the face and arete.

2)  Time to Leave (sds) * V7
The left arete from a low sit start.

3) Ass Crack (sds) ** V8
Tackle the obvious crack from a sit start. Easier said than done…

4) Kung Hei Fat Boy (sds) *** V6
One of the best problems in HK. Sit start on the right side of the boulder using the arete and small holds near the bottom of the face. From these launch out left and up the crack and arête above via slaps, crimps and a good dose of determination.
A standing/crouching start using the same holds is also possible at a lower grade. However, this avoids the real challenge and lowers not just the grade, but all credibility associated with your ‘send’ too. Just lifting your butt off the floor is one of the harder moves on the problem – for avoidance of doubt, if your butt wasn’t the very last thing to leave the floor, you’ve not sent Kung Hei Fat Boy…
For reference, i’ve witnessed several climbers around 5’7″ – 5’8″ do the sit start off one mat, so unless you’re really small (in which case use 1.5-2 mats), height isn’t that much of an excuse. The whole point is that the start holds are hard to use when pulling down on them to sit start rather than just compressing them when your body is already lifted.

5) Silent Day (sds) ** V7
The right arete of the block, starting matched in the obvious hold right of the arete and avoiding the crack left of the arete throughout.

6) Descent Slab * V1
The slab above the drop also provides one of the easiest ways of getting back down from the top of the boulder.

The Triangle

Near the Fat Boy Bloc is a small obvious triangular face with some short problems.

1)  Simple Power (sds) * V5
Start matched on the sloper next to the small seam and climb the left side of the overhanging face from sloping lay aways next to a seam like feature around the corner. Can also be climbed starting right hand one hold higher up the arete at V3.

2) Pythagoras Theorem (sds) * V2
Climb the right side of the face from the good hold low down.

The Bridge Blocs

The two boulders located on the rocky platform beneath the footpath leading to Tai Tau Chau, just before the bridge.