CMRCA — Local services in Chiang Mai Province

Coming back down to earth after an incredible family adventure / bonding weekend for our family of five (we have 3 x boys aged 6, 8 & 10). Josh and his team set up a thrilling weekend of adventures and a lovely immersion into Northern Thai culture “The Lanna Culture & Adventure Experience”. We rock climbed, abseiled, rode a high line and explored caves of varyingly different sizes! Josh and his crew were attentive to our needs and were able to adjust activities accordingly. The entire crew are clearly exceptionally well trained and I felt completely safe the whole time (despite my postpartum fear of heights!). Each of us were individually challenged and inspired, all the while in a safe and caring environment.

We were privileged enough to hear first hand Josh’s integral part in the famous Thai soccer boys cave rescue. The inspirational stories will stick with us all forever.

Our experience included 2 nights comfortable homestay in a lovely remote countryside village where an amazing group of women provided us with an authentic Thai experience. We ate delicious northern Thai food cooked on a fire in a traditional hut kitchen, the Aunties even taught me how to make one of their delicious curries. The boys made animal mobiles out of rattan. We spent over an hour learning the ins and out of traditional cotton making, my son even had a turn weaving cloth on the traditional loom! We were completely enthralled the whole time.

We would 100% recommend CMRCA (Progression Vertical). This rare experience is a must for any group, it’s incredibly unique - I can’t think of...

I did the ‘Chiang Mai Outdoor Adventure’ in September 2023 which was a full day trip to Crazy Horse Buttress involving climbing different routes (30m), a rappel into a cave (40m), and a short scramble (10-20 min). Water and lunch was provided; Gear was all provided such as climbing shoes, chalk, harness, rope, belay device, helmet etc.

This was my first time belaying, climbing top rope outside, and first time repelling. With myself not being an amazing climber (approx V3-V4 indoor bouldering), you can understand that inside I might have felt a bit nervous. With this being said, my guides adjusted the day to my abilities whilst still pushing me a little, reassured me, and taught me all I needed to know such as the belay commands and rappelling etc.

This day trip was intimate with only me and two guides but I’m sure this was because nobody else had signed up for the same day. Lucky me!

My guide for this trip was with Bo and Phi (apologies if if spelt this wrong). Bo is practicing his English but nevertheless all the instruction was clear from both guides. Highly recommend from a guiding/climbing perspective and also from a personal perspective!

If I could improve this trip, I would use a cooler to keep drinks cold/make them cold since it was really hot that day. I would also try and increase the portion size for the lunch since a lot of calories are burnt during this trip (the food was yummy!).

Pro tip: lots of mosquitos here, bring some strong insect repellent! Also bring...

Came climbing with them in 2015 and knew I wanted to return on this trip. The guides were experienced, environmentally conscientious, and put safety first. On the way there, they asked us our climbing experience. Once at Crazy Horse Buttress, they started us on 5.7/5.8 to gauge the groups ability, and we continued from there.

Given nobody had climbed in the past several months, I would've preferred a quick refresher on belaying, commands, or key differences between the gym and the crag. It may be quick, but can also help out the more novice (stale?) climbers and their belaying partners. One in our group had never climbed outside.

After the first couple of climbs, we moved on up... to the right? and had a beautiful, steep, sometimes slick, sometimes sharp, hike/scramble. The views from the face were breathtaking.

To finish the day, we rappelled. Far. Into a cave, out of which we hiked back to start.

Would definitely book with...