Sandstone bluffs riddled with crevices ...
For the past decade, American climber Mike Dobie has been developing world-class routes outside the remote village of Liming. As the coronavirus triggers anti-Chinese sentiment worldwide, his mission is more important than ever.
Sandstone bluffs riddled with crevices. Maroon precipices wrinkled with scaly turtleback rocks. A never-ending wall called El Dorado (named after the Lost City of Gold) rising abruptly at a slight turn in the valley.
During a call with me on January 10, Mike Dobie and Ana Pautler, his fiancee, described the scenery surrounding their home in Liming, a bucolic town high in the mountains of southwest China’s Yunnan province. They were calling from the car as they made their way from spending Christmas and New Year’s in Seattle to Pautler’s hometown of San Francisco. Dobie, a typically reserved rock climber, bubbled with enthusiasm and giddiness as he described the daily offerings in Liming: a local flea market that pops up every ten days where he gets fresh meat, friendly greetings every morning from a vegetable lady who grows organic potatoes and peanuts, and $2 jumbo stir-fries from his favorite restaurant.
“Life there is paradise. It’s quiet, with lots of rock opportunities around,” said Dobie, 37, who has spent most of the past decade developing trad and sport routes in Liming.
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