Bukit Keteri, Malaysia

While Squeak stayed on Chandrika at anchor being visited by a fellow cat owner and sailor, we decided to take the opportunity for some inland travel and some climbing. Bukit Keteri, a karst limestone formation, lies in the northwestern corner of mainland Malaysia in the state of Perlis. The climbing routes at Bukit Keteri were put up by the Mammut team in 2007.

Bukit Keteri

The cave formations of Bukit Keteri, shown in the above photograph, are actually one gigantic cave inside the dome of rock. You could actually walk inside the rock from one end to the other. The largest “room” inside the cavernous system could easily have fit a jumbo jet. To get into the cave system, you first had to scramble up a limestone ramp, climb a bamboo ladder, squeeze through a hole in the rock, traverse up high along the edge of the cliff, and then enter through an archway.

the approach Graham and Sue

Many of the higher quality and more difficult climbs were approached via this route. The climbs would then begin inside the cave and follow along the arched openings looking out over the surrounding countryside and the local mosque.

"Belly Button Window" 7b+

inside the cave opening the view from Mata cave

the local mosque

Not knowing what to expect we had brought with us enough food for a week and a half, a twenty liter container full of drinking water, a tent, stove and other necessary camping gear. We were able to buy more drinking water when needed by walking along a dirt path to the main road. We slept in a cave at the base of the cliff, surrounded by rice paddies and banana trees.

camping

the rice fields

The cave in which we slept was visited daily by a few men (and one woman and child) who were actively mining rocks from the cave’s inside walls. We believe they were mining some sort of phosphate used for fertilizer. The miners spoke little to no English. Every day they would lug 50 kilo (110 pound) bags of rock out of the cave opening and stack them up along the dirt road for collection. We gathered they were earning 5 Ringet ($1.70) per bag and collected anywhere from 6 to 12 bags per man per day, so about $10 to $20 per man per day for their back breaking labor.

bags of rocks

A couple of the higher quality climbs were in the back of Mata Cave, and not put up by the Mammut Team. Graham enjoyed projecting one of these successfully and would be interested in any information regarding them. All routes are getting a bit old for their expansion bolt construction and will hopefully get rebolted in the future.

one of the new routes inside Mata Cave

November - December 2011