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On November 30, 2006, a team of American climbers
completed the first ascent of Phnom Bei Sambao, a remote 900-foot
granite wall in Southern Cambodia. The four member team included
Tim Walther of Jackson, Wyoming, Ryan Ernst of San Francisco (formerly
from Jackson Hole), Josh Morris of Salt Lake City, and John Siegrist
of Boulder Colorado.
Morris, who resides in Chiang Mai, Thailand, spotted the 1000
foot granite wall in Cambodia nearly a year ago when he was traveling
through the region. Known by locals as Phnom Bei Sambao, the wall
is approximately 5 kilometers from the Viet Nam border in Takeo
Province.
Though the team faced a variety of challenges unique to the area,
members completed the 900 foot wall in a one day ascent after
several days of trekking and going over “jungle logistics”
outside the Southern Cambodian village of Ton Loap.
Locating the wall required multiple days of orienteering, navigation,
and scouting by motorbike and foot. The approach consisted of
chopping through the thick jungle flora with machetes and tackling
encounters with jungle animals like snakes, giant spiders, wasps
and monkeys.
“When we arrived at the base, we saw a tribe of monkeys
on the wall and near the top of the route that we had decided
to climb. The climb itself looked very run out in the steep crux
sections. It made us very nervous to think about being on the
most difficult part of the climb and running into an aggressive
tribe of monkeys,” said climber Josh Morris.
In a pre-climb escapade, the climbers dubbed the climb “The
Spirit of Mokwai” incorporating the Cambodians’ predominant
belief in ghosts.
“One of our moto drivers, Samoot, who had taught himself
English from a Vietnamese phrase book would wave his arms and
frantically shout out ‘Mokwai, Mokwai’, warning us
of the darkness to come over the Cambodian countryside. We all
understood this to mean one thing – ghost. Ultimately, this
lead to the naming of the climb, ‘The Spirit of Mokwai,’”
recalled climber Ryan Ernst.
“Traveling through the beautiful countryside, experiencing
the Cambodian culture, and communicating and interacting with
the natives was a very rich experience. Sharing this with the
team was remarkably rewarding,” said Tim Walther.
The trip was part of a two month long adventure for Walther,
involving travel through Nepal, Cambodia, Thailand, and Russia.
Walther conducted on-going research in Thailand to determine the
direction for the remaining funds he raised for orphans impacted
by the 2004 tsunami.
About Grand Dynamics
Grand Dynamics, based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and with a brand
new division in Atlanta, Georgia, is an experiential training
and development company specializing in corporate retreats, business
consulting, and health and wellness programs. Serving performance-driven
organizations and businesses across the nation, Grand Dynamics’
programs are based upon the belief that individuals, teams, and
organizations are capable of transcending any of the challenges
that stand between them and their highest aspirations. Grand Dynamics
helps organizations overcome their toughest challenges, taps into
people’s sense of adventure, and pushes the limits of possibility,
producing bottom-line business results.
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