Malaysia / new multi-pitch climb on Tioman island by Jonas Wallin and David Kaszlikowski

The Dragon's Horns massif on Malaysia's Tioman island has two main peaks, locally known as Nenek Simukut. The first multi-pitch route was only climbed here in 2000 (Waking Dream, S.Nelson; N.Tomlin). The first regular trail leading up to the wall was cut by local jungle guru Uncle Sam only in 2007.

Featuring excellent quality climbing on compact granite, the Dragons Horns today boast a handful of long, quality routes on rock unlike anything else in SE Asia. Routes such as Damai Sentosa (2013,by Arnaud Petit, Stephanie Bodet, Yong Liu and D. Kaszlikowski), Polish Princess (2011, Eliza Kubarska, D.Kaszlikowski) and Waking Dream (2000, 2015 rebolted by S.Coupleux, D.Accot) have seen a growing number of ascents in recent years. Fever Dreams now takes development in Tioman even further with the opening of a brand new cliff on the island called Mumbar (a.k.a Kota Sirau), .

To find the best access to Mumbar David used aerial footage to obtain a better view of the surrounding jungle. At first it was thought that accessing the rock face might involve several days of jungle hacking. However, with the help from local jungle guru Uncle Sam, climber Tam Khairudin Haja and various volunteers, a trail was quickly established mostly along a dry riverbed. Cairns were built, fixed ropes were placed and machetes were used to clear and mark the trail, taking the whole approach down to around 1.5hours.

"Our main climbing objective was steep arête of clean granite dividing mountain into 2 sections" – recalls David - "Due to the jungle thickness, making it hard to spot the "enter" point for the route, it took us a few days before we found our actual pre-planned line".

"The route was put up between the 27th of March and 16th April 2016 and turned out to be an exhausting experience due to the fact that there were only two of us pushing the route higher. The daily 11km hike from our base in Mukut village and back definitely took its toll on us, and we were lucky to redpoint the route on our final day of Tioman trip."

"Since 2010, when I climbed my first multi-pitch here, I had the impression that Tioman is somehow incomprehensibly omitted as climbing destination which was strange because it offers best quality granite in this part of Asia. At that time there were just a few routes here, so in the last seasons we focused on quality lines, leaving well prepared routes with abseils."

Jonas, who has spent years climbing and developing routes around SE Asia, recalls: "David first told me about Tioman a few years back. Now, after finally having experienced the place for myself, I see a lot of further potential both on Mumbar and on the Dragons Horns themselves. The granite here is unique for SE Asia, and for those who prefer a pad over a rack, there are literally hundreds of untouched boulders littered thoughout the jungle and along the coastline. Definitely a place to come back to."

David adds: "Even through the discovery of huge potential for more 200-300m long lines on the Mumbar cliff, the island and its intense jungle continue to take my breath away. When approaching the cliffs, massive trees sway high above you while tangled vines tumble down to dip their fingers into pristine fresh water pools. Malayan flying lemur glide before your eyes while mouse deer, florescent snakes, and huge monitor lizards scatter in surprise at your presence. The island itself is quiet with the only 'mountain danger' being sudden tropical storms and – obviously - the size of the wall itself."

Fever Dreams
Mumbar cliff, Dragon's Horns massif, south part of Tioman Island, Malaysia
First ascent: Jonas Wallin, David Kaszlikowski
Grade: 7c max, 9 pitches,
Pitches: 6c, 6a+, 6b+, 7c, 6c, 7b, 6c, 7a+, 6a+).
Protection: Single rack up to BD#3. 16 quickdraws.
Note: Pitch 1: Natural (Allow 2 days to dry after heavy rain). Pitch 2 & 3: Mixed. Pitch 4 and up: Fully bolted (4th pitch has 2 variations: straight up at 7c or to the right at 7b+/c).
Descent: Abseil along the route backclipping the steeper sections.