Climbing

November through March is the prime time to climb in Danao, with December, January, and February being the absolute best. Danao benefits from mountain elevation and cooler temperatures than many of its Southeast Asia climbing destination neighbors.

Danao limestone is world-class and highly featured. Embedded in the copious white, black and yellow streaks, climbers will encounter holds of every variety. But the name of the game is often hidden pockets, coral fossils, and unique drip features, aka flowstone. Some walls are tall and monolithic, others are varied and 3-dimensional, with all angles represented.

Danao currently offers over 100 routes from 5b (5.9) to 8c (5.14b), and new lines are added every year. You can find the current list of routes here. Email danaoclimbing@gmail.com or send an Instagram message to @danaoclimbing to learn more.

The major cliff band, spanning the barangays of Togonon and Ibo, faces west/northwest (morning shade) with some north facing cliffs and hidden sectors that offer shade nearly all day. During the November-February time period, the main cliff band comprising sectors Pocket Wall, Tookay and Monkey walls can be climbed comfortably in the shade until roughly 1:30 pm. The Dihedral Wall sector and all its sub areas are in the shade for nearly the entire day.

Danao Climbing is one of the only areas in the world to be developed exclusively at the onset with glue in bolts. The initial development was done using only Climbtech Wave Bolts, The original developer spent enough time climbing in southern Thailand to know that stress crack corrosion on coastal rock formations is a serious hazard and witnessed bolt failures along with the considerable labor that went into redoing the old expansion bolts with titanium glue in bolts.

From the onset, we ran an experiment with removable Climbtech Legacy bolts to understand the effects of the environment over time (watch a video here). Our experiment with the Legacy bolts showed no sign of corrosion after 10+ years. Stainless expansion bolts are more than adequate in the Danao micro climate as we are high up in the mountains, not facing the ocean, with low humidity.

Now, the developers of Danao are proud to be the first crag in the Philippines to equip with 316L stainless steel expansion bolts and hangers from Lappas Climbing–a Greek fixed hardware company whose bolts and anchors are being used in establishing and reequipping lines in famous areas such as Kalymnos, Leonidio, Kyparissi and other areas throughout Europe and beyond. For anchors, we are using hardware developed and tested by Climbing Taiwan, the production partners of the legendary climbing safety experts HowNot2. We continue to evaluate our safety standards every year and develop with the utmost focus on climber safety.

The bolting style in Danao is very thoughtful, with each clipping stance and act of clipping treated the same as a climbing move. So a climber can expect that cruxes are very well protected and shouldn’t expect any hero runouts. Every pitch is bolted with the ethos of “Bolt As If”. Bolt as if the leader could be at their limit and would want to protect themselves if possible at crux sections. The art of bolting a climb is hardly ever a 100% accurate practice, but the developers of Danao have done their best to equip some of the finest stone in SE Asia. Enjoy the high quality climbs as well as top-shelf protection.

Danao sport routes have a reputation for being long. Currently there are 11 routes that require more than a 60m rope to safely lower. A few pitches will stretch a 70m rope. In order to fully sample the scope of Danao climbing, a 70m is recommended. Also, because of the length of the pitches it’s advised to have around 20 quickdraws. Make sure to bring a headlamp for getting around at night!

Climbers are rightfully concerned with rain forecasts. However, storm cycles often provide the best climbing conditions in Danao. When the forecast suggests a “chance of rain” but not 100% chance of rain, this guarantees two things: clouds and wind. Oftentimes, there is no rain at all or a minor sprinkle. Our advice is to be brave and gamble of coming to Danao even if there is rain forecasted. It’s likely you’ll be gifted incredibly cool prime climbing conditions.