Click here to download the guide

Eben Basson on Four-eyed Funulator

The crag is about 35/40 meters high and the climbing is awesome!
The path is good but quite steep and care needs to be taken upon walking up and down.   As more people go up, the path will become more eroded and a path building / Crag base meet will need to happen sometime in the near future.  Don’t be shy

The crag has huge potential for new routes (as does the whole of Montagu).  The crag is also out of the sun for all of the day, so this will be a really great summer spot to climb at.

New Bolting Policy in Montagu:
I’m sure everyone is aware of the closure of Bosch Kloof.  I have been tasked by the  Montagu Mountain Committee to manage new routes in Montagu.
So if you want to bolt a new line in Montagu, please send me the details with a picture of the route(s) that you want to bolt.  I will give you the go ahead via email.

You can send applications to info@climbing.co.za and make the subject New Routes Montagu

As with the rest of the Western Cape, only 316 Stainless Steel Rolled bolts are allowed to be used for bolting routes in Montagu.  Check the Anchor Replacement Fund page for more information.

Crag Beta:
Walk in time: 15 mins
Rope:  60 meter (always tie a knot in the end of your rope as some of the routes are 30 meters in length)
Draws: +/- 15
Sun:  All day shade

If you would like to bolt a new line but have never bolted before / don’t have access to a drill, drop me an email and I’d be happy to bolt the line for you (you supply the hardware).
Below are topos / directions to the crag – Click the image to make them bigger.

Wiki Link: Riverside Crags Topo

Riverside Crags

South African adventurers are accomplished; many of their achievements are documented as World firsts and records. Our adventurers have traversed and circumnavigated countries and continents; they’ve rowed across oceans; scaled mountains; cycled extraordinary distances and descended rivers. In October, for the first time, 12 South African adventurers come together to tell of their recent expedition experiences at FEAT, a dynamic and captivating evening of time-limited presentations.

FEAT, Fascinating Expedition & Adventure Talks, is an evening of time-limited presentations where each adventurer speaks for seven minutes – no more, no less – focusing on an aspect of a recent expedition. Striking photographs illustrate their words, which tell of emotions, challenges and discoveries – of people, places and themselves.

Created by adventure racer and writer Lisa de Speville, FEAT brings South Africa’s adventurers together. “Most people would love to embark on an expedition; but they feel tied to ‘real life’,” she says. “It takes a different, special kind of courage and drive to abandon socially accepted norms of home and work to set off – often solo – on self-motivated and self-organised expeditions. Whether the adventure involves oceans, countries, continents, rivers or mountains, these achievements are extraordinary. I’ve yet to meet a person who is not captivated by tales of these adventures.”

Speakers at the inaugural FEAT are: Alex Harris, Andrew Kellet, Cobus van Zyl, Darron Raw, Kyle Meenehan, Mandy Ramsden, Marianne Schwankhart, Mike Blyth, Peter van Kets, Pierre Carter, Ray Chaplin and Riaan Manser. Their presentation topics cover the disciplines of mountaineering, kayaking (river and sea), big wall rock climbing, paragliding, adventure films, ocean rowing, adventure racing, ultra distance mountain running and long distance walking.

FEAT aims to publicise the achievements of South African adventurers, bringing their outdoor experiences indoors. FEAT is the ultimate armchair adventure experience.

The inaugural FEAT event will be held in Jo’burg on Thursday, 7 October 2010, at the Wits Theatre in Braamfontein. Tickets are only available through Computicket. Ticketing opens on Monday, 2 August 2010.

FEAT is made possible by its sponsors – Biophys, Buff, CAPESTORM and Hi-Tec – and media partners, AR.co.za and Go Multi Magazine.

For more information, visit the FEAT website at featsa.co.za

Fun starts on Saturday morning with International Beer-Pong competition and the Annual AirStar competions that evening – Spit braai with all the trimmings!

Entry Fee: R100 per person – This includes dinner and the entry fee to the Airstar Comp
Start Time: Saturday, August 7, 2010 at 8:00pm
End Time: Sunday, August 8, 2010 at 11:00pm
Location: De Pakhuys Campsite

Click here to visit the Rockstock Facebook page (note that the event is open to all)

Video Below: 2009′s Rockstocks Norwegian Airstar Winners

Click here to view the embedded video.

BPA is an endocrine disruptor and can mimic the body’s own hormones which may lead to negative health effects in high doses. Regulatory bodies have determined safety levels for humans, but those safety levels are currently being questioned as a result of new scientific studies.

What harm can BPA do to my health?

The studies on the effects of BPA in the human system are very much in their infancy.The Endocrine Society have expressed concern over current human exposure to BPA, reporting that BPA appears to be pouring in to the human body from a variety of unknown sources.

Studies done in 2009 on mice have shown:-

• BPA exposure caused long term adverse reproductive problems during prenatal critical periods
• Neonatal exposure to BPA disrupted ovarian development
• … plus many others

While there is much debate about their effects, do you really want to keep drinking out of unsafe plastic water bottles while we’re waiting for the results?

Environmental concerns with plastic bottled water

Here’s some fast facts about the bottled water industry. Even if you ignore the hype about BPA, these environmental concerns are enough to warrante everyone switching from buying bottled water ot carrying your own around in a BPA free water bottle.

• It takes 10 litres of water to make a 1 litre disposable plastic water bottle
• 200ml of oil goes in to the production of a 600ml disposable plastic water bottle
• In America, 1,500 disposable water bottles end up as rubbish EVERY SECOND

Click here to continue reading this article

See also:  The Perils of Plastic (Time.com)

2010 National Meet in Ladismith (W/Cape)

coinciding with the

125th Anniversary of Nefdt’s Route

The first rock climbing route in South Africa

18 – 25 September 2010

The event may include the following activities:

• Hiking & Rock climbing on Towerkop (trad only)
• Hiking Seweweekspoort Peak (highest in Western Cape)
• Four-day traverse from Seweweekspoort Peak to Towerkop
• Day hikes like Stanley’s Light (Elandsberg)
• Sport climbing: Montagu (143km), Oudtshoorn (De Hoek – 135km)
• General camping (a special site will be prepared)
• Local sightseeing (e.g. Seweweekspoort Pass, wine cellars, cheese factories etc.)

A dinner to celebrate the 125 year anniversary of the first ascent of Towerkop by Gustaf Nefdt, will be held on the Saturday evening (25 September 2010) in Ladismith.

Booking is now open.  For more information please visit:

www.towerkopinfo.co.za

mcsacapetown.co.za

For more info and updates check out the forum

You can see a complete detailed report of the ascent at http://borneobigwall.blogspot.com/

The team made it up 6000ft vertical through six ecologic zones to base camp on a high ridge of Mt. Kinabalu.

Although flat sleeping spots are non-exsistant and there is only a small pool of collected rain water, it is one the most awe inspiring, above the clouds camps we have ever experienced. We also got a look at our first ascent objective and are blown away by it’s size, steepness and beauty!

For a long term enjoyable climbing experience, you need to take care of several physical aspects of climbing – training, preventing injury, and improving recovery.

Let’s take a look at three general areas of training:

1. Strength: Strength and muscle size are not necessarily in direct proportion. When it comes to climbing you want strength, but not unnecessary size (weight). Focus on bodyweight exercises that mimic climbing moves to achieve this.
2. Balance: First, there’s muscular balance. If you only ever train the muscles you use for climbing – for example, the pulling muscles in the upper body – you will end up with muscular imbalances which leads to poor posture and injuries. Train opposite muscle groups by adding exercises like pushups, dips, and “Supermans” to your training program.Secondly, you need overall balance to help you stay in control of your movements. Every move you make originates from the core, therefore in order to develop balance, you need to develop a strong core.
3. Flexibility: Lack of flexibility will prevent you from advancing to higher grades simply because you can’t stretch far enough. Proper flexibility training will improve your flexibilty and range of motion, allowing you more freedom of movement against the wall.

Prevent injury and improve recovery by:

1. Warming up with some dynamic stretches before starting a climb – This will improve blood flow to the muscles and connective tissue, making it more supple and less prone to injury.
2. Cool down with slow static stretches after climbing – This will help rid the muscles of lactic acid. Also, the best time for static stretches as part of flexibility training is right after strenuous exercise when the muscles are warm and pliant. Do the stretches very slowly and hold it for at least 1-2 minutes each.
3. Supplement – Many people discount the value of proper natural supplementation. In a demanding sport such as climbing, taking the right natural supplements can really improve your results.

Three important supplements:

• Protein is necessary for cellular development – in both muscle and connective tissue.
• Glucosamine provides joint support.
• Omega-3 acts as a natural anti-inflammatory agent and also aids in lubricating the joints.

For more information, to book a training session, or to get a hold of these natural supplements

Contact Adele on 082 657 5257

Longer Video below (with commentary):

Click here to view the embedded video.

Quick Video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

At a meeting of the General Committee of the Johannesburg Section held on Monday, 7 June 2010, a unanimous decision was reached to support the Magaliesberg Protection Association (MPA) in taking a decision of the MEC of Northwest Province on appeal to the High Court.

To this end the Committee further agreed to guarantee costs of this court action in the sum of R100,000 to enable the MPA to instruct the attorneys to take the matter further without delay.

The deadline for the MPA’s attorneys to lodge initiating documents is 18 July 2010 and in order to meet that deadline, the attorneys must immediately start working on this enormous task.

Members will be asked to attend a Special General Meeting in the very near future.

The objective of the Special General Meeting is to gain ratification from our Members of the General Committee’s decision to guarantee an amount of R100,000 towards the costs of the high court action, and to further seek approval for the possible expenditure of a further sum of R200,000.

This is an appeal for financial contributions for this exercise. While the Committee has guaranteed the funds, it is hoped that the members will once again pitch in to assist in this legal challenge so that our Land & Access funds are not depleted.  This is particularly relevant with the possible up-coming purchase of Wilgepoort.    To date we understand that R100,000 has been bequeathed to the MPA by Hermann Vogl’s estate and that the MPA itself does have some funds available, as well as possible funding from Magaliesberg Section.    More information in this regard can be found in the attached documents.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In July 2008 members of the Magaliesberg Protection Association (MPA) noticed a massive development, Kgaswane Lodge, taking place inside the Magaliesberg Protected Environment (MPE) at Olifantsnek, while flying with the ‘Bateleurs’. The North West Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment had also just become aware of this development and were in the process of prosecuting the developer. However, in March 2009 the MPA learned that MEC had approved the developer’s application for rectification of his development, via Section 24G of the National Environmental Management Act. An appeal was lodged by the MPA, but this was dismissed by the MEC, claiming that the lodge is “in line with tourism for the area”. The Magaliesberg and Johannesburg Sections and the Johannesburg Hiking Club contributed towards the legal costs of this appeal.

Kgaswane Country Lodge is an upmarket hotel situated in an area classified as “highly sensitive” by the Environmental Management Framework (EMF) for the Magaliesberg. The EMF describes developments like Kgaswane as “incompatible activities”. This poses a threat to the declaration of the Greater Magaliesberg Region as a Biosphere under the UNESCO charter. If the decision on this development is not opposed in some way, it could also open up the floodgates for further illegal developments following the 24G route within the MPE. After taking legal advice, the MPA decided to take the MEC’s decision to court on review. This will cost in the region of R300 000 (taking into account a pro bono and a 50% discount from the two senior environmental advocates working on the case, amounting to personal donations of thousands of rands). The MPA hope to be able to put R100 000 towards these costs, leaving R200 000 to be raised by other means. The deadline to lodge the Review is 18 July 2010.

The MPA therefore asks the Johannesburg and Magaliesberg Sections, the Johannesburg Hiking Club and other parties such as the Wildlife Society [WESSA]) to urgently request their members and anyone else concerned about the consevation of the Magaliesberg, for contributions.

In the meantime we appeal to all to contribute any amount, no matter how small. Contributions can be paid into the MCSA account now (asap please!) which will be transferred to the MPA before the deadline.

MCSA Johannesburg Section
Nedbank acc #      1916044239
Killarney Branch Code    191605
REF: MPA Kga + your surname

IMPORTANT FACTS:

• The Mountain Club of South Africa owns tracts of land in the Magaliesberg, the conservative estimated value of which is between R25 and R35 million.
• One of the Objectives of The Mountain Club of South Africa is . . .

“Initiate and support actions towards protecting the natural beauty and wilderness character of mountains and to promote their effective Conservation Management”

• There are outside Organisations that could possibly be approached for funding. However, owing to the urgent nature of this matter, we do not have the luxury of time to approach them at this point.
• The R100,000 referred to in the attached PDF document headed “MPA Statement on Kgaswane Lodge May 2010″ (copy of which is circulated together with these documents) is a bequest by Hermann Vogl, whose  estate has not yet been finalised.
• Whilst this action goes against the grain of what we believe in in The Mountain Club, the Committee feels that we cannot afford not to do anything bearing in mind our commitment to the Magaliesberg, and its future.

NB NB – PLEASE read these attached documents.

Attachments:

1.             MPA Statement on Kgaswane Lodge May 2010

2.             Summary of Pros and Cons, author Advocate Peter Lazarus

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There is also a discussion on this matter in the Climb ZA forum