Shek O Bouldering
Located primarily around the headland of Tai Tau Chau, close to Shek O on the southern side of Hong Kong, the walls and boulders at the Village, Headland, Corridor and Main Wall offer a selection problems in a fine setting. For those keen to explore, some fine previously undocumented areas also exist up at Hillside Boulders and along the coastline at the Other Side.
The landings are generally on to granite slabs so a crash mat or two is a definite requirement.
The circuit at Shek O is probably the oldest established one in Hong Kong. Due to the proximity of the roped climbing, people have long played on the small walls and boulders that adorn the headland of Tai Tau Chau. Unfortunately, the ‘playground’ style in which the area was treated means that very little is known of the early history of bouldering here. The spate of development and resurgence of interest in the area began around 2003 when, armed with crash pads and immense amount of power gained in bouldering gyms, climbers such as Rocky Lok turned their attention to the steeper venues such as The Cellar and unearthed gems such as ‘Lok and Load’. Explorations up the Hillside also yielded some of Hong Kong’s harder problems, with Rocky establishing lines up to V10 in this area.
The bouldering lies within three distinct areas, although visiting several of these in a day is also very easy due to their close proximity to one another:
