Arjan in a pair of his most outrageous shorts!

Age? 25
Year’s climbing? 16

How did you start climbing?
Antonie van Heerden (teacher at the school) started a team at the local school, Hoerskool Hexvallei

Where are you from?
Hex Vally in the Western Cape

What work do you do?
Family Business, Farming Table Grapes

You’ve predominantly been a Sport Climber, when did you start taking bouldering seriously and why?
I never take it seriously, climbing is just fun, life is good!

Earlier this year you spent a few weeks in Spain mostly climbing sport routes that were way above your normal redpoint grade… what was the reasoning behind trying such hard routes?
I wanted to do the routes of course, some days they didn’t feel so difficult. I just didn’t manage to do them. I like to be free of grades, just climb what I want to get on, no matter the intensity.

Have you done any hard Sport climbs this year?
Not really, hardest is 8a+, and that was a onsight, no hard redpoints

You’ve been ripping through Rocklands this year, tell us how the season has been for you?
I got to Rocklands in May, I was suppose to go back to Europe to go sport climbing, but I just ended up staying! just love it here, I cant even get myself to go home for a weekend.

Who you been climbing with recently?
Caroline Sinno and some French climbers from Grenoble.  Climbed a bit with Paul Robinson, mmm… you don’t have to be famous to have good energy.

What are your ideal weather conditions for climbing?
Sending weather, come rain, storm or heat, its always good weather for something

Arjan on Golden Shadow (8B+/V14) Photo by Marinus Coetzee

Do you find it more motivating to climb with people who are better or worse than you and why?
If you are strong as a bull, but complain and nag like a little girl, the psyche just dries up and then I’d rather climb alone. I love to climb with people who love climbing… its all about the energy, Danie Moolman has really good energy… he truly is happy for me when we have a session.

Do you see differences between SA and overseas climbers?
Dunno… this is a trap, we are all the same!

What has made such a difference to your climbing?
Climbing as much as humanly possible

Training?
See the thing I wrote on the Follow the Psyche Blog, things like Kitesurfing/Surfing/Mountain Biking and all that stuff helps.

What is your Schedule?
Wake up early

Arjan on Golden Shadow (8B+/V14) Photo by Marinus Coetzee

Do you diet?
I lost 7kg in 3years, if you can pinch fat anywhere on your midsection, you could probably loose it!

Do you have a routine?
Screaming every morning to wake everyone up, try to be hyper active

Do you warm up? I feel weak warming up, so I try to stretch the nerves and Theraband exercises and play with a powerball on the walkin.

You managed to onsight Green Mamba (8A+), what enabled you to onsight the route (what was different about it)?
I try to Flash most things I get on… most of the time you don’t succeed.  Its a hit and miss thing, I try to move confidently and just go ‘balls to the wall’.  On Green Mamba things just worked out for me, plus Benji gave me good beta for it.

What gets you physced?
Things that are good, water/wind/rocks/friends

With the rock being so hard on the skin at Rocklands, how many days are you able to climb for without taking a break?
The rock is not so bad here.

Favourite problem of this season?
Mmm, maybe the Vice and Mooiste Meisie

Toughest problem of the season?
Maybe Derailed, it took me the longest to do.

Arjan De Kock on Amandla (8C/V15) Photo by Marinus Coetzee

Where else have you been climbing this year?
Spain

Favourite Sport area?
Ceuse

2nd favourite bouldering area to Rocklands?
Some places off the map

Will you continue to Sport climb?
Not for now, maybe do Oudtshoorn and short sport routes. But I want to climb everything.

Do you do any other sports?
Kitesurfing, Surfing, Skydiving, Mountain Biking, Swimming.

What do you do in your spare time?
Take some photos, maybe some video, hang out with mates, most from Stellenbosch

What is the biggest Epic you’ve had?
Not tying my knot properly on Two To Win/Streetfighter last year, almost killed myself… what an idiot!

Who is your hero?
Prob Fred Nicole, he’s just a legend, but locally Sean Marsch is a King, he embodies the psyche…

What’s your best pickup line?
Prob my cooking, maybe the honey mustard orange glazed snoek, although the lady friend does not eat fish, so prob not that!

Tea or Coffee?
Both has their place.

Panama 8A, Rocklands

Any progress/plans on the Brave Cave in Du Toits Kloof?
I have friends that put up lines, I will try them soon enough…

What projects are you working (Boulder / Sport)

Amandla and Sky, maybe Monkey’s Wedding

How far do you think you are from 8C?
Maybe a couple of tries, who knows…

What is your favourite food?
Indian food

how much do you weigh?
67 / 68 kilograms, now I’m a little fatter cause my girl eats a lot of cookies and chocolates – she’s not fat though

This last weekend, Arjan Onsighted Captain Graffiti (8A) at Topside

Arjan’s 8a.nu score is now at 11198 ranking him as 5th position…

Related Articles:

• Love For A Rocklands Local on ClimbingNarc.com
• Luminous Balls Of Plasma Held Together By Gravity on 8a.nu
• Arjan cranking like a mo-fo!… (forum discussion)

Also check out Follow the Psyche Blog, where Arjan and friends write about their recent adventures

Click here for Roc Rally 2010 Rules & Registrations

Kilimanjaro Jenga

Kilimanjaro may have left a permanent mark on the members of Team First Ascent, but it seems that the lizard has also left those on Kilimanjaro in August 2010 with long lasting memories. The top of Africa and the world’s highest free-standing mountain is a must for any African to climb, not only for the sheer challenge of its altitude and unique landscapes, but also to experience the dichotomy that is life in Africa, embodied by the mountain’s equatorial glaciers and fast moving, highly loaded porters offering the advice “pole pole” which means “go slowly”.

From  17-26 August, a team of five First Ascent staff members set off to climb Kilimanjaro, going via the Machame Route, with the goal of summiting under a full moon. The trip was a combination of mountain climbing experience for new members of the First Ascent team and gear testing for new ranges due to arrive at the end of the year. Products that were sent for testing included various models in the new backpack range, gators, new waterproof jackets, new fleece technologies, sleeping bag liners, socks and trekking poles. Other issues had to be settled as well, such as the “Diamox vs Gingko Biloba” debate, and the age-old ‘Super VO2 max fit vs. Bit too much winter padding” argument. So geared up to the max, the team jetted out from OR Tambo.

The trip began on the back foot, with Mark Jackson reacting horribly to Diamox. He was laid low and spent the first day fighting dehydration from the word go. Luckily Mark did not let that get him down, and he excelled in his designated role of Tour Dancer, offering traditional African gumboot dances as a welcome greeting to Americans, English, Germans the Spanish and even a 69 year old hiker from Eritrea (Trivial Pursuit question – what’s the capital of Eritrea?) called Obi Wan Kenobi! The first day’s walk through the rainforest is truly a magnificent experience, and we soaked it up – eventually our guide, Hilary Kombe – a soft spoken, but highly knowledgeable guide -  stopped giving us the “pole pole” and told us to hurry up or we wouldn’t make it to our 3000m high camp. Even Obi Wan blazed past us, chatting away to his guide or anyone else who was keen to find out what the capital of Eritrea is.

The next day’s climb to 3840m onto the Shira Plateau was another day for testing. This time the lead members of the team checked whether the “pole pole” was good advice or not, and Ryan ‘Stoom Trein’ O’Mahoney pushed the pace at the front of the group, matching and then beating the pace of the porters. It seemed like a good idea at the time – get the juices flowing, nice endorphin rush – but he paid the price in the currency of headaches and nausea when he entered Shira Camp. This was not helped by the sight of Boris the Alpine Mountaineer, fully clad in tight fitting, spandex clothing, curly locks blowing in the Kili breeze, having a glass of red wine and offering for us to join him on a quick acclimatization hike because ‘zis is sooooo eeeasy…’  (you can find Boris the Mountaineer on Facebook – follow him as he hikes up the highest mountains in the world with ease!)

On day 3 we met up with mountaineering legend, Ronnie Muhl and his expedition of 10 South African ladies, with a self-proclaimed average age of 52 (although we would never have guessed). This was a well-organised expedition, with the ladies forming a tight formation, keeping an excellent pace throughout their expedition. When asked by an American where all these ladies were from, the answer came through proudly ‘South Africa’. The American then looked at Ronnie, and exclaimed, ‘With all these wives, you must be Zuma!’
Day 3 takes in the Lava Tower and is the first taste of real altitude at 4600m. Durban team member, Denver Morris, an inexperienced hiker started to really feel the effects.  It is amazing to see what happens to your body as altitude takes effect. Denver was ill, couldn’t keep anything down, leading to dehydration followed by pounding headaches and a general loss of a lust for life. He battled through, and immediately felt better on the descent into Barranco camp at 3950m. Barranco is the Kilimanjaro equivalent of the Elfish Rivendell, perched on the edge of a cliff next to the Great Barranco Wall, surrounded by Senecio’s and waterfalls.

By Day 4, Kobus ‘Mountain Man’ Bresler was really getting into his comfort zone. An experienced mountaineer, Kobus has summited Kilimanjaro before (twice in one day) and has spent many years walking across Southern Africa’s high places. It was also, much to the rest of the group’s delight, time for Kobus to change his shirt, exchanging his trusty Bladerunner for the UV protection of the Explorer shirt. As you get higher, you get more exposed, with more radiation. First Ascent Trek n Travel gear really performs well in these dry conditions, offering the right kind of protection from the wind and sun.

The hike was a mild, up and down affair into Karanga camp at 3960m, but the group was to lose a team member at this windy, dust filled place. Mark Jackson had been struggling all morning, and had put this down to not eating enough and hydrating badly. It was settled to have an extra acclimatization day at Karanga, and while Mark rested, the rest of the team hiked up to 4300m to acclimatize further. Mark heard the gurgling in his lung and immediately knew he had HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema), a condition caused by extreme altitude whereby fluid seeps into the lungs, effectively drowning the victims at thousands of metres above sea level . He confirmed this by testing his blood’s oxygenation level, which, at 76%, was dangerously below the safe benchmark of 90%. The only solution was to descend, and the most prepared member of the group was forced to abandon his goal of bagging a Kilimanjaro summit. Karanga coughed up some more surprises, with gale force winds blowing over our mess tent and filling our other ‘leaky’ tents (should have taken our own) with dust and sand. We had to sleep with our buffs over our mouth and nose to avoid the creation of a gravel road to our lungs.

Day 5, and the summit push greeted us with spectacular weather. The dust and wind at Karanga was replaced by clear skies and gentle breezes of Barafu. Summit night under a full moon was unbelievable, and the weather played along beautifully. Nevertheless, for 3 of the 4 remaining climbers it was still an incredibly tough ascent into the oxygen-depleted air of Uhuru Peak. Theuns Botha, master of the “pole pole” felt the altitude hit him like a wall at 5500m, and found it exceptionally tough after that. After going at a steady pace, he suddenly found himself grinding to a near halt, with no energy.

At the Top !!

Altitude deals with each individual differently, but loss of energy, shortness of breath, nausea, headaches and a general intoxicated feeling (without the bad dancing and overwhelming confidence) are common experiences. The push to Stellar Point is pretty steep, hiking up gravel and scree. We pushed to get there by sunrise and were greeted with the most awe-inspiring sight, with the sun peeping up over the clouds. It felt like we were standing on top of a very steep island in the middle of an ocean of white, puffy cumulus.

From Stellar Point, it is a mere 100m ascent on a gentle looking slope for another 800m to Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa. After the struggle to get to the crater rim, one feels that the gentle stroll to Uhuru will take a few minutes. Nothing could be further from the truth! The walk takes over an hour, and whilst there are the lucky few that do not get affected by the altitude, the majority of climbers are taking serious strain at this point. There is a stream of exhausted people trudging to Uhuru to get a picture, and then get back down to a more suitable altitude. The views from the top are truly beautiful, and the glaciers are awe-inspiring. One has to force yourself to take it all in, despite how bad you feel at this point. You jostle for position for a photo, and then you find yourself standing at the place you have been dreaming of, training and preparing for, and hoping that you will reach. It will literally, take your breath away.

Before you know it, you are back at a oxygen-rich 800m, sparkling clean after a warm shower, cold beer or coke in hand, regaling all the other hikers with tales of your courage and physical prowess. It is a wonderful experience, not easy, but accessible to all those that have some grit and determination. It is something that I would recommend to all South Africans, and when you do it – make sure you are geared up with First Ascent!

Check out Facebook for all the gear reviews, and post some comments of your own.

Our blue beanied porters - aka The Ninjas. These guys are very poorly equipped and have to put up with so much - heavy loads, unhappy climbers and fierce conditions. Furthermore, many of the tour operators don't even cover medical insurance, so if one breaks an ankle, he has only his friends to try and help him! We donated a lot of gear to these brave guys, so we hope to see more of them proudly wearing the lizard.

Premier outdoor retailer, Cape Union Mart in association with LED Lenser, Deuter, Merrell and K-Way, has announced the launch date for the local leg of international extreme sports film festival, Banff Mountain Film World Tour 2010. Showcasing the world’s finest mountain culture and extreme sports filmmakers, the festival kicks off on South African big screens on 17 September 2010.

Launched in 2006, the tour has received widespread acclaim by outdoor enthusiasts across the globe. 2010 sees this trend continuing as Cape Union Mart showcases short films featuring mountain biking, rock and ice climbing, kayaking, skiing and skateboarding. Included on the list of must-see films is the 2009 Banff People’s Choice winner – Kranked Revolve. Directed by Bjorn Enga, the film creatively displays mountain biking as the ultimate adrenaline rush.

Cape Union Mart Marketing Manager, Evan Torrance, says, “We’ve been in the business of outdoor and mountain sports since 1933. Our association with Banff, for the fifth consecutive year, is testament to the growth and popularity of these and related activities in South Africa.” He adds, “Locals are in for a treat as the festival promises a unique viewing experience.”

The South African leg of the Banff Mountain Film Festival will run from the 17-23 September at selected Ster Kinekor cinemas including Cavendish Square and Tygervalley in Cape Town, Sandton Square in Johannesburg and Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria. Bookings can be made through Ticketline on 08216789 or www.sterkinekor.com.

For more information visit www.banff.co.za or call 021 464 5800.

So its a week now before 6 of us head off to discover if there is any decent rock in the Indian Himalayas. We’re all pretty focussed on last minute shopping, packing, logistics and mental preparation. A round of flu’s and colds recently haven’t helped either. But things are on track and we’re all well psyched. Here’s the plan:

The Plan

Fri 9 July we fly to Delhi. On Sunday 11th we hop on a plane to the town of Leh. This flight should be spectacular as we fly over the eastern Himalayas and land at an altitude of 3500m. We’ll spend two or so days in Leh sorting logistics and supplies and then we set off by truck or jeep, initially alongside the Indus River, and then East to the military town of Kargil. Hopefully we can do this trip in less than a day a press on South on the road to the high peaks of Nun and Kun, alongside the Suru River. After a bit the road curves West, and we’ll start to pay attention.

We’ll be looking out for friendly-looking big rock walls, hopefully with fairly short approaches. When we see something juicy, we’ll pile out of the jeeps and set up base camp. Who knows what will happen then?

Above: a map of our planned route

And here’s some photos of rock walls in the area. So far we know of a handful of existing rock routes. Most of the walls, however, are unclimbed:

The Team

This plan, like all good climbing plans, was originally hatched at 1am after a heavy party to celebrate Bernard and Linda’s wedding. We therefore had a team of four – Myself (Hector Pringle), Rushad Nanavatty and Bernard and Linda Spies).

But we read somewhere that its good to have strong climbers on an expedition so we roped in Julia Wakeling and Clinton Martinengo. Clinton, conveniently, is already in Delhi, while Rushad is flying in from Washington DC where he now lives.

Comment by Hector Pringle on July 8, 2010

Below:  Eish, packing not going too well…

Comment by Bernard Spies on July 11, 2010

Our team has arrived safely in Leh!!!
What an amazing little town – lots of prayer-flags, friendly Ladakhi people and good food.

To have gotten here was quite an epic. Firstly, at OR Tambo, we were a little bit over weight (about 20kg!!) After quite a re-shuffling, and very friendly check-in staff, we managed to get that all into our hand luggage -including a whole rack and 3 ropes This all went well, until Dubai, when we had to re-Xray our hand-luggage, and the rack was certainly not allowed. Luckily we got that checked into the main-luggage, and before we knew it, we landed in Delhi.

After checking out the Delhi streets at night (the place is still sweltering hot, even at night!), we got on the plane 6:30 this morning (Sunday 11th) and took a spectacular flight over the mighty Himalayas.
Truly breathtaking!

Today our team is just chilling a bit, getting used to the 3500m altitude. We hired a cook and are stocking up on supplies for the next 2 & half weeks – lots of rice & dal (lentil-dish), dried fruit and nuts, it seems.

The excitement is definitely here (and at the world-cup finals, in Joburg, I guess). Tomorrow we’re driving into the heart of the Zanskar mountains – from Leh to Kargil, to halfway on the way to Rangdum, and setting up base-camp in the next couple of days at around 4000m altitude.

Comment by Hector Pringle on August 5, 2010

We’re back! Well mostly. Julia and Clinton are still eating rice and dhal in India, but they’ll be on their way home this weekend.

The following blog post is courtesy of Julia:

“Huh, these crampons are made differently”, Clinton said at the base of a long snow ridge on one of our acclimatisation hikes. Hector managed to take a long enough breath from his laughter to say, “No dude, you’ve got one on backwards!” How he actually attached the crampon firmly to his shoe, backwards, we’re not sure.

Leh: A green oasis in the desert mountains of Ledakh Four days previously we’d met up with Parshuram Rai, our Nepali cook, in the captial of Ledakh, Leh. We were all set to go after an afternoon of food shopping and tea with the army General. (There’s a huge military presence in the area and Rushad’s military contacts had helped us in advance with advice and maps.)

Having tea in the stately residence of the General, Linda innocently asked if the bunny-rabbits hopping around the immaculate garden were for eating!?!

Base Camp
After two bumpy days in buses, we were spat out at a small police check point on the opposite side of the mighty Suru river from where we wanted to be, next to the majority of granite in the area. In the day it took us to get permission to cross the bridge, we all went on various acclimatisation walks. The flowery meadows of the valley bottom are at 4000m, and Bernard, Linda and I went up a snowy gully to 5100m.

We were several hundred metres below the top of the gully and it was awesome to realise that every single peak around us was higher than Mt Blanc (that Bernard and Linda had climbed a year ago). That afternoon and the following morning we moved base camp across the river, to near a small steam at the base of some sizeable granite walls.

Let the games begin!

“The Namoona Ridge”

Hector and Rushad’s first objective was a long ridge just behind base camp. The first day involved 15 pitches and a bunch of simul-climbing mostly on good rock, but some wet slabs. They camped at 4600m on a flat ridge with 600m drops on all sides.

Despite extremely organised packing they were forced to eat their dehydrated meals dry as they’d forgotten the gas for their stove (he he he).

The following day, a long snow ridge and a handful of rock and mixed pitches lead them to the first of a series of summit pinnacles on the ridge (5100m).

Stymied by a car-sized block stuck on with marmot snot they sensibly retreated and had another glorious night with no hot food. They then downclimbed, rappelled and scrambled back to the joys of base camp.

(“Namoona” means novice or “nincompoop” and refers to the fact that they lost a belay-device, dropped two water-bottles and left the gas for their stove behind!)

A failed attempt at the Golden Sentinel

Clinton and I had our eyes on a beautiful dihedral on the Golden Sentinel and had left gear at a high camp on the day Clinton learnt how to put on crampons.

The approach to our climb was somewhat involved.

Crossing the river was as terrifying as ever but we survived to slog up the long snow slope again. Our ridge campsite was truly spectacular and not even that cold at 4am the next morning when we started off for our route. After 5 hours, of snow slogging and multiple “easy” pitches on terrifying choss-scree affectionately nick-named “jenga”, we were still far from the base of the route.

We made a grumpy decision to turn for home as we weren’t keen for a night at 5000m with no bivvy gear. Our spirits were raised by silly Vuvuzela-blowing atop two ridge-peaks (5045m and 5000m) on our very long way home.

The next day it took us 5 hours with 28-30Kg backpacks to get to base camp. The river crossing was again unpredictable and terrifying.

That whole mission was a whole bunch of mountaineering and not a lot of rock climbing. Although we’d learnt a lot, we felt like we’d “had our asses handed to us” (in Hector’s words) and we didn’t feel at all successful, despite probably being the first up the two ridge peaks. (The Golden Sentinel was first climbed from the other side by an Italian team.)

Exploring the valley below Nun and Kun

Bernard and Linda set up a camp at the base of a dramatic valley, a few hours from base camp. They spent a day boulder hopping, crossing scree and glaciers, and were rewarded with views of hanging seracs and 7000m chunks of terrifying snow and ice.

Bernard got chased by a bumble-bee which required several 100m sprints (no joke at 4500m), and they had the pleasure of watching a himalayan bear for half an hour…the sighting if the trip!

When Julia and Clinton get back to SA we’ll sift through the rest of the photos and write up our other adventures. Turns out Namoona Ridge and the Golden Sentinel Ass-Handing were just the start.

We’d like to thank our sponsors…the Mountain Club of South Africa, First Ascent, RAM Mountaineering; and Evolve & Bluewater for Clinton.

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|Update Starts here:|
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And here’s the rest of Julia’s blog:

We had spied an arete from the other side of the valley and went to scope it out…long and steep…we decided to try do a few pitches that day, so we could then scramble up to our high point the following morning to give us a head-start.

The climb turned out to be four pitches: an 18 crack, a 22 crack, a 20 scary slab of mine and a 23, heroically lead by Clinton.

A single abseil landed us in a gully. We saw an easier line right on the arete and decided to start there the next morning.  The route turned out to be four pitches and we name it “Nanga bakra” (Hindi for naked goat) and we really could have done with a goat at base camp to attract the mosquitoes away from us). This had been a great warm-up.

Boulder problems:
“Slatch that hoe” 7A,
“Do it in crocs” 6A,
“Flying marmot” 7A
and so many more…

From single pitch 27′s, multi-pitch 15′s and big wall 24′s to easy snow-slopes and technical mixed climbing, this really is an awesome spot, well worth a visit!
We can only recommend that you take a goat and a razor

Funny Guy

We’d again like to thank our sponsors… The Mountain Club of South Africa, First Ascent, RAM Mountaineering; and Evolve & Bluewater for Clinton.

Arjan De Kock at Rocklands. Pic: © Caine Delacy

Its a cold day here in Rocklands, the wind is pumping up the pass, the waterfall between “” and “” is blowing up the mountain. Benjamin de Charmoi, John Reeding, Julia Chen and me make our way to Roadside, feeling the cold conditions hardening my skin I briefly think back on what Berndt Zangerl said in The Rocklands Movie, “when its cold here, you can crimp almost anything ”! I have a little smile inside and my heart glows in the anticipation of what might unfold in this landscape of endless possibilities.

Fully equipped with long johns and down jackets, we pack out at Roadside boulder the iconic landmark first climbed in the hay day of Rocklands. Benj and me worked Nutsa on a previous session here, so the pad stack goes out underneath the bulge. Not being on for too much warming up, I do the stand-start (Sunset Arête) to ingrain the top crux and set up a rope for the possibilities of some filming.

My previous approach has always been to get the strongest as possible and just attack lines with as much energy as I can conjure from within. This time around I want to make the moves count, I sit down, chalk up, and start pulling, up and up I go, pulling through the crux at the lip, set the heel, and that was it, no hesitation, no wasted energy on unnecessary movement, just giving what is required to send, SWOOSH!

There I stood on top of this boulder, smiles from ear to ear, pure pleasure!

Walking down I’m shaking a little, feeling the charge that built up, MMM, the hunger sets in with this need to chill out and conserve for the next “attack”! Sitting there, watching Benj pulling in, harder and harder he goes, just throwing himself at the line, I get really inspired watching how hard he can try! I feel his energy, just loves giving 100%, giving everything on every try, he whispers something to himself and psyching up, blasts off… falling on the last moves of Nutsa and this is only his second day of the season in Rocklands!

We chill at the base having a snack and contemplating on where to go next! I remember chilling here with Berndt and Barbara Zangerl, he was describing his project, a direct variation of Black Spider, a shallow tight three finger pocket up to a small hard to hit crimp, then a small explosion to a horn! I remember looking at it back then, wondering if it was at all possible. Benj had done this line the year before, but was getting well worked by Nutsa so we decided to go check it out so he can rest a little! (we have a similar problem, getting too Psyched and not getting off the rock for long enough to recover for the next go!) Rocking up there in the “stepped cave”, the place is padded out by the Americans, we through some more pads down and I put on my shoes and chalkbag.

I talk a little with Jessy, a really strong guy trying Green Mamba, but I recon I will just have to try it and see, since you can see all the holds from the “step”. Jumping down, Im thinking to myself, ‘just to warm up on the bottom traverse’ since it is not that hard. So off I go, putting on heels, hanging around on the traverse, chalking and warming up! Climbing to the direct finish, I place the heel, thinking that my left hand is sliding a little on the slopy crimp, but somehow I just continue climbing, I try to place my right hand in the pocket, (Benj explained this was tricky to get the positioning right). I remember not having a firm grasp on it, not knowing if I should re-adjust or not, I just hear screams, COME ON, COME ON, the energy is good, and I through for the tucked away crimp, and MY WORLD STOPS!

I’m in this zone, my hand just gripping down, the next thing I knew I threw for the horn, I stuck the last hold! As I looked back in disbelief to the group of climbers behind me, it felt like watching Nalle Hukatavial in a movie, but somehow I was the one topping out!

Somehow doing the hardest lines can feel effortless, ONCENESS!!!

Click here read more on Follow the Psyche

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.