I was at the Ledge yesterday with Robert. Somehow, after his umpteenth attempt he "sent" Magentic Wall (grade 21 the reason being that to put out all the gear in the places he did made it at least that grade). 10 outa 10 for tenacity. He did it! He styled it! This is what climbing is all about. You try, you try, you fail and you try again. And hey. You do it. He did!!!!
Meanwhile, Tony and Darkhorse appeared and so did Hilton Davies and Bruce Daniels. One could call it an accidental TATWOC meet with one wannabe: Darkhorse aka Neil Havenga. Bruce and Hilton were cajoled, if not bullied, into doing an independent (albeit riddled with beta) ascent of the upper 3 pitches of Africa Edge. At the end of it I was throat hoarse (if not Dark Horse) from giving Hilton move by move and piece by piece and number by number beta on every inch of the route. But by golly gumdrops the old F***ker did it in sorta good style. At the last pitch he had to wait for me to abseil past and talk him up the arête. There he was lying on his back having placed the gear sunning himself on the ledge. I detailed exactly how you do it and once he turned around, did the mantel back-step and found the little divot on the edge he got it. Their ascent confirms the on-sight grade at 22. But once you know the tricks there is hardly a move harder than 20 on the whole route. He was coerced (by me) into agreeing that it was an “all time classic” on the Ledge. And indeed it is. Bruce muttered something to Hilton about my vision to spy out new lines. Now I know that I am pretty good at it but when somebody complements you, then its rather nicer than stroking your own ego. It’s a bit like good sex versus wanking.
This morning Tony tells me that Darkhorse gobbled up Sanitorium 25. This means he shook, rattled and railed up it like a turkey, not quite in the same style as the black eagles that were soaring around. I have to give Tony at least 60% of the credit for the ascent because he has forsaken me yet again and climbed with Darkhorse 3 times in the last week or so and nursed him up a variety of routes to train him up.
Another thing that struck me is that all my old mates were up to the ledge and I did not get an SMS or a phone call or an email inviting me. Only poor old Robert can suffer me right now. Last year all my mates would not climb with me claiming I was too fired up and climbing too well and this year, being stuck on my back for 2 months with sciatica I am not good enough? Fine friends I have! I think that perhaps they just can’t deal with me. Shame on them seeing as I have to live with myself all the time and they, only once or twice a week when I climb with them.
Anyway all’s fun, that’s good fun. My butt is a little better and I only spend half the day chewing pain killers and lying on my back. You all better start training up cause there are lotsa routes to do!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Wetpups campout 22 February 2009
Kids being dragged behind a 4X4.____________Chocolate puke on Duncan's sleeping bag
Terror, Mayhem, Chaos and Anarchy. Our work was well done at the Wetpups Grade 1 and 2 Camp-out. The day ended with the kids being dragged behind a 4X4 after being fed bacon and egg rolls by Ray Cadiz. Prior to this every vehicle was clambered on, in and under; every nook and cranny searched and inspected.
But I digress and lets start at the beginning. It was perfect camp out weather. Nice and cool, and clouds threatening rain, which it did. The men precisely followed the rules. They bonded, puffed their chests, postured (just a little) talked about expensive toys, hunting and the like and us older dudes compared our various ailments. We benignly neglected our children who all got on famously around an endless cricket game. Some of the kids were very entrepreneurial selling everything from Marie biscuits to their Dad's cars to each other at cut-throat prices. Marie biscuits went for 50c and the cars, 25c each. Around my fire was a General Surgeon, a Plastic surgeon and me, an Orthopaedic surgeon and despite our children's best efforts there was no business to be had.
We exposed our kids to some very special education about certain things that adults do and kids simply don't and that includes drinking beer, wine and whiskey, telling naughty jokes and communicating in some choice language. And as the evening was just gaining momentum a mom was spotted but she scarpered when we told her that she would have to tour the camp-site and spend 3 minutes in each tent.
The kids ate and drank but I don't recall any of them eating anything that could be called food. Around 11 pm Duncan, my son begged to go to bed. But he really had to plead before I let him and only if he did not brush his teeth. And then an hour later a very bewildered kid came out from a tent into the rain where I was feeling a little miffed as Ray Cadiz was one upping me with his endless supply of fire wood.
This kid said he was getting wet in his tent so, as I had spare sleeping bag, I tucked him up in my van. About 02h00 this kid, Harry, decided he would part company with his meal which had consisted of a litre of coke and a kilogram of chocolate. This he duly puked over Duncan's back and into his sleeping bag. He then wondered off into the darkness back to his tent where Roger nursed him back to health and this morning he was running around fit as a fiddle again. Kids are so strong!
I was just settling down to sleep, around 04h00 and when Martin's dog raided my campsite and I spent the rest of the night listening to him crunching through JJ's spare rib debris.
Next morning another mom was spotted cleaning up after her husband, Clive Elliot, who ostensibly went off to run a marathon, but she also soon scampered off when I tried to get her to pack up my mess.
Of course the day had to end with a moment of high drama when I got locked in the pavilion clubhouse, without a cell phone, when on a visit to the porcelain. I just managed to attract attention with much hollering and banging but I was beginning to think I might have to don my Houdini hat and escape through the roof tiles as the pavilion is a veritable fortress.
Shocking this all must sound indeed. But believe me it was spectacularly successful and we all got to know the inner darker secrets of many new friends. And to boot the Cobras won the Pro20 cricket final and none of us got to watch it on TV!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Africa Edge 21 The Ledge Table Mountain South Africa
Of late, my perspective of the “Ledge” on
Glancing up one gets the impression that the arête will yield a few meters of tricky climbing and then the angle eases. In fact this is not the case. The first pitch is tricky and quite bold. It took several starts to work it out including placing pro around a dicky bollard on the right of the arête. On the arête at about 4m one can spy a good hold. A thin lie back move gets one to the hold where a less than optimal RP or other micro-nut and half-in cam was be placed on the first ascent. On a repeat ascent a pretty good Rock 7 (or an 8 will also work) was found to fit in a cunning constriction rendering the pitch much safer.
From here there follows a tricky step up to a rail. One then has some respite on the left of the arête but as it gets chossy you avoid the lichen by swinging back right around the arête to get to a rail and ledge. Again there is an easy option up left but sticking to the arête yields excellent airy climbing and the pro is good.
The second pitch starts on the face 3m right on good crimps to a rail that is thin to the right but much better to the left of the arête. Another little trick gets one to easier moves and another decent ledge. One can continue straight up on the left but this really amounts to climbing Quiver Crag and does no justice to this route.
The third pitch again starts around to the right of Quiver Crag with a powerful crank to a good rail. One is still in the shade if it still morning. A high nut/RP is placed and then a lie back move is made on the edge on the right which is rather reachy and balancy for us vertically challenged dudes. But a good rail with excellent pro is arrived at. One then steps around to the right and does awkward and balancy moves to get back left and into the obvious crack or a straight through lie back crank allows you to attain the crack. From there it is a doddle but still aesthetic climbing all the way to the abseil station.
It is best to do this section of the route in 3 pitches both for the leader and the follower as there are large ledges at the start of each pitch. With rope stretch a second can deck if one combines pitches. The route is not trivial to do on-sight.
Anyway I did not rest there and considered adding pitches on the lower two buttresses and this was successfully achieved. With Robert Breyer another aesthetic pitch was added on an arête situated just off the trail where Africa Ledge ends on the corner of Fountain. It is a nice easy warm-up on good clean rock.
I then again returned on the 29 January to inspect the final buttress and again it yielded to my efforts and an interesting pitch evolved at around grade 20. As none of my mates wanted to play with me I did the first ascent solo using a TRE as a self belay device and tying it off every now and then. It was objectively fairly safe but subjectively quite scary.
The route was opened on-sight without pre-inspection or any cleaning except the second pitch that had a lot of lichen and loose flakes in places. The upper pitches had enough lichen and scary, brittle little holds to be very exciting at times. This has now been improved to render another stoncking good addition to the Ledge repertoire and a definite test piece for anyone who is maxing at grade 21 or even 22. Repeat ascents, as is so often the case, can belittle one’s appreciation of the “head” factor required to on-sight a route such as this. I certainly found it more mentally and physically challenging than the Good Doctor 22a route we have both done a few times. So time will tell.
Start: Just before the India Venster trail turns the corner from
Pitch 1 12m 16
Climb the arête to the top of the buttress.
Pitch 2 15m 20
Ahead is the next buttress. Start on the right on blocks under the huge overhang. Climb up into the corner and rail right onto the arête and round it to easier ground. Continue easily to the top.
Pitch 3 20m 21:
Step up on blocks to the rail on the right side of the arête and then to thin moves up to a good hold on the edge at about 4m. Place some pro including a half-in cam and an RP and a reasonably good rock 7 and then do a lie back into and under cling to reach the next rail. Continue up the arête with good gear on the left. Avoid the lichen and choss by staying on the arête higher up – the holds unfold as you climb. Belay on the large ledge.
Pitch 4 15m 20
Step up onto the face on the right around the corner to a thin rail. Continue up the arête to another large ledge.
Pitch 5 20m 22
Climb up to the obvious rail just right around from the main edge of the arête (see photo). Lay back up the right edge after placing a high micro-nut or RP and the step around to the right. Continue up a move and then back left into the crack and continue more easily to the bolted abseil point.
First ascent: Pitches 3 to 5 Charles Edelstein and Tony Dick January 21 2009.
Pitch 1 Robert Breyer and Charles Edelstein
Pitch 2 Charles Edelstein
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Rock rally and meet Du Toit's and Hellfire 21 to 28 April 2008.
Introduction:
The Cape Town section of the Mountain Club of South Africa confirms that a meet and rock rally will be convened in Du Toit’s Kloof region from 21 to 28 April 2009. The meet is open to everyone and not limited to club members. The MCSA Du Toits kloof hut will be used as a base for most of the activities.
Du Toit’s Kloof sports some of the finest classic country trad routes, some wickedly good crag trad routes and some very challenging sport routes.
At the end of the valley near Rawsonville there is a completely un-developed boulder field second to none.
And finally, there are several easier sport and trad routes to cater for all needs.
The Du Toit’s Kloof range also has some of the most adventurous hikes and rock pools for those less inclined to the vertical.
The format of the meet and rally will be somewhat different to the past. The rally will be held over 36 hours and there will be several categories. The score attributed to an ascent of a route will depend on a variety of factors including whether it is on-sighted, or top roped or red-pointed. And also it’s accessibility and difficulty. A variety of super prizes have been pledged for each category.
The provisional programme is a follows:
Tuesday 21 April 2009
Meet and Greet at the MCSA clubhouse in Hatfield street, Gardens from 18h00 onwards. Bring and Braai and a cash pub i.e. bottle store prices (but as things are developing we are sure to get a round or two thrown in by our sponsors).
Anybody who participates in the meet or the rally will qualify for a free entry at CityROCK, Indoor Climbing Gym (www.CityROCK.co.za) anytime on Tuesday for climbing and bouldering prior to the social. The gym is well attended on Tuesdays by many of our local rock jocks who train there. Overnight accommodation will be provided at CityROCK for those in need.
Wednesday 22 April 2009
Convene at CityROCK 41 Anson Street, Cnr Collingwood, Observatory, at 09h30 for registration and head for Paarl Rock and then on to Du Toit’s Kloof. Accommodation will be provided at the MCSA hut.
Thursday 23 April 2009
Guess what? more climbing….An ascent of a major country route will count towards your score in the competition. Climbers with local knowledge will assist with the beta.
Friday 24 April 2009
More climbing or a rest day fishing trout at the Du Toit’s Kloof lodge
Evening social at the MCSA hut: Free Pasta meal; Movie, talk, slide show….Music, you name it… Again, our sponsors are making some good noises and there no doubt will be free beer too…. Aaaahhhh…. We have a generator! Noisy but nice! But Lights out at 22h30…. I mean the generator.
Saturday 25 April 2009
5am! Rock Rally starts.
(Late) Registration for the Rock Rally at the MCSA hut from 07h00 to 09h00.
19h00 Social, talk or movie and (spit) braai by at the Du Toit’s Kloof lodge (or at the MCSA hut depending on availability). Die-hards sleep on a ledge somewhere. But there will be a few bonus points awarded for attending the social and a few more for anyone on a proper bivvy!
Sunday 26 April 2009
Rock Rally continues and finishes sharply at 5pm at the MCSA hut. Although if you proved you epic-ed you will probably score some bonus points but you must have a functioning cell phone!
And while we hang out getting the geeks to work out who won or who should have won, we are surely going to have another feast and as already mooted, this is likely to be sponsored. There will also be a slack line competition.
This must happen at the MCSA hut for the simple reason that no-one will be allowed to drive, (through fatigue of course!)
Monday 27 April 2009 (Freedom Day)
Free day to do whatever. Climb on Paarl rock, chill, hiking, kloofing. Again our local talent will be there to sandbag you…
Tuesday 28 April 2009
Back to Cape Town and farewell…
Backup plan if the weather is bad.
Montague is but an hour from Du Toit’s and we shall divert to there if necessary. Check out www.Debos.co.za for camping and accommodation.
The rally and the social events will be arranged at Montague if the Du Toit’s Kloof weather is poor!
Costs:
There is a nominal cost of R50 per person to cover (some) of the costs of the event including permits, designer T-shirt’s and other bits and pieces. The entire event is being organized by volunteers and any profit will go into buying beer or be allocated to next year’s event.
All accommodation at the Du Toit’s kloof MCSA hut will be gratis but one must be self catering depending on our sponsors. Watch this blog and the relevant websites for updates or subscribe to caperocknews@yahoogroups.com. To do so, send a blank email to caperocknews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Transport to and from Cape Town will be provided by us local dudes gratis. But we must have numbers ASAP.
It helps to have a Wild Card so please let us have your number.
Should we divert to Montague then camping costs R30 per person but transport will be provided.
What to bring:
Ideally bring a climbing partner and climbing gear; sport and trad if you wish to do both.
You need camping gear as there are limited bunks in the MCSA hut.
Please try to plan and print route descriptions in advance. Info about many of the trad routes is available on the climb.co.za wiki. Greg Hart and Ross Suter have committed to publishing the “Hellfire route guide” well in advance.
Food and booze supplies can be obtained at the Spar in Obs, walking distance from CityROCK prior to departing on the 22nd. Once at the hut arrangements will be made to replenish supplies at Paarl which is 20 minutes drive from the hut.
Finally, this is your sport, this your passion. Arrive! and the bleeding heart organizers will make it happen year after year. Without your support, the sponsors will stick to pumping time, money and effort into the “bling” activities like cycling where you don’t have to be a winner to look like one.
Let’s give our sport some horns…..Capice!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
TATWOC first ascent on Table Mountain 25eish
TATWOC: (Tired and Totally Wanked out Old Climbers!) 25eish.
About a year ago I noticed a break through overhang 2 metres or so to the right of the start of “Touch and Go” and sent Tony up there on the sharp end. He fiddled and flailed and grumbled that the rock was crumbly and pro was sketchy. I followed on a top rope and could not quite agree with him despite his disparaging remarks.
About the same time about 20m below this break we noticed a tricky looking step up to an under-cling and a move to a jug and then up some thin looking bouldery moves. Tony tried this too and bailed. It seemed too bold and hard for us lesser mortals.
Some weeks ago, in separate incidents Tony and
I added a 3rd pitch which is a busy grade 21 pitch that happens to use the crux of Touch and Go but instead of moving across the face, it ascends straight up once pulling round the roof.
The last pitch proved much more challenging and my first attempt on the sharp end was very scary. So I succumbed to my fear and inspected it on a top rope. This resulted in a nut being stuck in a hole and expanded to prevent it falling out by a sharp smack with a hammer on a blade peg. The nut, a rock 3, does not inspire confidence on direct inspection and I find it hard to clip as I have to use a very thin crimp to reach it. So it is still committing! Once clipped, one can reverse to the ledge and test it.
The top part of this pitch is extremely difficult to “read” and this resulted in me placing another fixed nut at the last rail purely as a marker. Without it, one would have no idea where to pull up onto the final “head wall” and the phrase “sand bag” comes to mind. The top pitch is already much trickier than the first 3 pitches and ideally one wants a route that is do-able for us mediocre climbers even if we are a little better than the average. Unfortunately there are very few, and probably only one local climbers that can, with abandon, jump onto committing trad routes on TM and even he, Clinton, is nursing a dicky shoulder injury at the moment and showed no enthusiasm of late to do so.
So TATWOC is born. Ably supported by Adam Roff, I did a clean ascent last Saturday, 20 December, at the ripe young age of 50 years and 7 days. This with knobbly finger tips, an arthritic PIP joint of my index finger, swollen and stiff hands, a chronically sore neck and severe sciatica. Besides this, I had a major crisis as I was in a sub-prime deficit with house points and this resulted in me feeling a little pressurized for time but it probably resulted in me getting the red-point of the last pitch as I had no time to dither.
I also had to pay dearly for being late as I got banished from the house by 08h00 Sunday morning with all three kids including Lucy who is still very Ma – verskrik and warned not to return for at least 36 hours.
I consider TATWOC a fine route and a great addition to the test piece repertoire on TM. It has 4 pitches that are challenging, each, in their own way. Even the 21 pitch is no push over. It is as straight a line as one can expect on TM sandstone and has all the attributes of an excellent TM trad route. It is by and large safe but scary. The last pitch can probably be straightened by pulling directly through the overhang above the nut fixed in the hole but this will make it much harder and beyond us “better than average” mediocre climbers and possibly even beyond some “really good climbers” but I do intend pursuing this.
There are no other routes on TM that exhibits 4 pitches of excellent quality on clean rock and certainly none at this grade. I just hope that other climbers at least attempt it and enjoy climbing it as much as I and my mates, who participated in the making of it, did.
The overall grade for the onsite is 25 or harder as it has so many tricky pitches! With beta or a red-point one can knock off at least a grade or even two. I felt it was about 24 having worked it before. There is also some lichen on the top pitch that can be removed to improve the route.
Climbers involved in TATWOC include Tony Dick,
TATWOC Grade 25eish!
Start: The route is situated on Fountain Ledge and starts 20m below the start of Touch and Go. Scramble up from the path to the first proper rock face 20m below the steep overhanging break of Touch and Go. Walk right along the ledge for 10m to below a scooped undercut face just. If you look up at 3m there is a thin under-cling slot that takes small Alien cams for pro. Taller dudes can place these cams by standing on blocks. Up left of the scooped face and left of a blunt arette at about 3.5m one can see a pillar box slot that is an invites gear placement and a hand hold.
Pitch 1: 23
Step up onto the scooped face and tenuously – if you are short reach round to the pillar box slot. Place good small cams in the horizontal slot just to the left. Move up on thin holds to easier ground. Climb straight up to a ledge below the overhang. Lean back and see the fixed nut up and to the left.
Pitch 2: 23
Move up to the higher, second rail above, and the traverse left 2m to below the fixed nut. Move up past the nut and then to easier ground that is a little run-out and scary but quite safe. Continue to the ledge
Pitch 3 : 21
Climb the grey face to a mantel onto a ledge. Climb straight up the left leaning crack to another ledge. Step right and up onto the undercut face and climb diagonally to the Touch and Go stance under the large overhang. Avoid drag with slings and climb through the Touch and Go roof to the right and step onto the face. Climb up slightly left for 3m and then stance on the Touch and Go stance.
Pitch: 4 25ish or eish.
Clip the fixed nut and test it if you dare. Climb to the rail. Move left 4m to where the overhang peters out and climb up on brittle feeling flakes to the next rail. Rail back right to the fixed nut directly over the start of the pitch. Pull onto the face above and continue straight up to the jumbo ledge.
Descent: The abseil chains are 5m or so to the left and down 2m on the edge.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Oh my oh my oh my……… Tsk Tsk Tsk Tut tut
I despair:
I have verifiable evidence that some of the COCK and Bull members are straying from the path, losing their way and being unrighteous. We need to recalibrate them before they further stray.
Oh woe is them!
So dear stalwart members. Please berate them and release them from their blasphemy before they tear their finger tendons, rip up their rotator cuffs, get stiff necks from doing overhanging climbing and succumb to further doing de-bottling bolted routes….. This stuff can really mess with your head.
What’s more there is evidence that they were on-sighting routes they have not on-sighted previously.
Oh woe is them indeed!
The TATWOCian was then, having placed the RP, too pumped to do the very tenuous stemming move to reach the finger jug.
So the RP was tested and as it was weighted it slipped and popped……
down the tiny crack it was in and seated itself better. Gulp! Phew. No air time!
Dave Vallet was belaying and he also tested the gear and thought that a discretionary bolt would allow for a more user-friendly ascent but I am pretty sure there are several hundred if not thousands of hard core Brits, Austrians and even Americans who would hike this pitch.
My feeling is a fixed RP and/or a fixed nut in the lower rail (that can be replaced from time to time) is a better option. That way you don’t have a deteriorating fixed piece in situ that would ruin the commitment that makes the pitch very, very exciting and memorable.
The pitch then continues up a left facing corner to an overhang. The moves required include some funky stemming, lie backs, and even a knee-bar and there is excellent pro. At the overhang there is a rail that takes you onto a very exposed arête and then some more airy-scary but safe moves take you up to a rail and then right and up to the stance below the 22 pitch of Prime Time.
The problem with this busy marvelous pitch, which is technically 23 or so and definitely 24 to lead on-sight, is that TATWOCians would universally feel like the route should end there but unfortunately one is but a mere 60m off the deck……… Hoh hum……
Well back to business: Wednesday 3 Dec is TATWOC day. See you all at the ledge.
And Ged Desforges response: He did Prime Time with me earlier in 2008
Big numbers? Bolts? Oh dear oh dear oh dear. Here's my tuppence worth.
Let's face it, sport climbing in
However, the trad you boys have got is certainly something to be considered carefully. My screensaver at work, and picture on my fridge is of my foot, below which can be seen a notorious
The pitch with the crucial offset blue alien was fun, and the steep finger crack was great until i got cramp in my arms and nearly peeled off. But the crux pitch! Now I'm not one for foul language, but fuck me. That was something. I just couldnt make myself make the moves onto the detached, booming pillar. I hung on the belay, trying to force myself to do it, knowing how much Snort wanted to get up this route. He'd done that pitch, and once I'd committed he coaxed me up to the roof, warning me to save the green alien for higher up. Fuck that, the first decent break and I stuffed in every cam I could find to put some emotional distance between me and that pillar. The pinchy, pumpy, crumbly stuff above that was the stuff dreams are made of, especially when you're staring a perfect green alien slot in the eyes, wishing you'd saved it. That belay was a nice one. Stumbling down to the road at midnight, after 14 hours on the go, a long way from Cape Town, and an even longer way from Sheffield, tired, hungry, thirsty, bleeding; I couldnt have been happier.
Point is you lot have got some of the finest adventure climbing imaginable. Don't waste it. I'll be back soon, so keep your filthy mits off that crack line we abbed down.
Cheers
Ged
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