Product Description

Thailand is a climber's paradise—discover where to climb, where to stay, what to take, and more in this new guide!

·More than 350 sport routes, rated 1-5 stars for their appeal
·Up-to-date post-tsunami information
·Information on Thai history, culture, and geology, along with useful Thai language phrases
·Author royalties used for route rebolting efforts in Thailand, done in conjunction with the American Safe Climbing Association (ASCA)

This new guide contains everything climbers need to make the most of Thailand, both on the rock and off. You'll find information on local transportation, lodging, sightseeing, guide schools, and gear shops, as well as how to preserve your gear from the wear and tear of warm salt water breezes, and much more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #142167 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 333 pages

Jackson Hole News & Guide
"Well-organized and easy to read…It's obvious that Lightner knows the country well."

From the Publisher
Tsunami postscript: In early January 2005, author Sam Lightner, Jr. returned to Thailand to provide assistance in the wake of the December 26, 2004 tsunami and to survey conditions of the climbing areas included in his book. "The climbing routes were mostly unscathed by the tsunami floods," says Lightner. "Railae Beach is almost 100 percent functional and suffered minimal damage. Koh Phi Phi will take awhile to return to normal, but the climbing areas are still accessible. Some of the travel businesses I reference in the book were destroyed, but I'm confident that these will be rebuilt, probably even better than before. Thailand remains an amazing climbing destination and climbers, through their tourism dollars, can help this part of the world bounce back from this terrible tragedy."

About the Author
SAM LIGHTNER, JR. is an internationally known rock climber with more than 20 years of climbing experience. The author of All Elevations Unknown: An Adventure in the Heart of Borneo, his work has also appeared in Vertical, Rock and Ice, Climbing, and Conde Nast Adventure Traveler, among other publications.

Customer Reviews

Perfect...
This book has everything one would want for climbing on the Railey peninsula (...and more). Very helpful information.

Useful for 1st time visitor to Ton Sai
Sam's guide for Thailand is very useful for the first time visitor with lots of information and stories on locations, getting around and local culture.

there are a few routes missing in this book by now and the layout can be a little frustrating at times, with photo maps that are not as accurate as I would like. It is generally well laid out and freindly to use.

Alot of my mates had the updated 2007 guide from wee's and this seemed more up to date, crag wise, but I found the information on Thailand, language tid bits and hints on how to get around etc, it was perfect for someone who hadn't visited Ton Sai before and didnt know what to expect.

Good background book, out of date guidebook
I got this book and Wee Changrua/Elke Schmitz's "Rock Climbing in Thailand" (3rd ed, Dec 2005) guidebook. Sam's book is good in giving you background and route descriptions but it is hard sometimes to find climbs with his photos. Also some data is out of date. For example the Diamond Cave area, only 2-3 climbs go the full height of the wall to the roof but looking at Sam's book it looks like they all go to the roof. Wee's book is upto date on this. Also Wee has a new edition, availible in Railay and Tonsai with the newest info; such as Stalagasaurus losing it's defining stalactite.

Otherwise it's an ok book.