SACIN - CLIMBING NEWS ARCHIVE 2002

CLIMBING NEWS ARCHIVE 2002

CURRENT NEWS * COMP NEWS * ARTICLES * NEW ROUTES * HARDEST ROUTES * CALENDAR

Hilton to Montagu 22/12/2002
Paul Brouard has started his road trip in style by sending all the hard problems at Swinburne and is continuing his run. In Natal he onsighted "Touchstone" 27 at Howick falls removing two wasp nests on lead during the onsight. He also did "Gravities Rainbow" a 29 at Hilton. Down in Montagu he onsighted Justin Hawkin's 30 "Whoashepoopie".

Swinburne guide updated 20/12/2002
The Swinburne guide updated with all the latest boulder problems and routes. Swinburne is set to see some serious development in the next few months.

Swinburne Ripped up by Paul 09/12/2002
This last weekend Paul Brouard ripped up all the opened and hard boulder problems at Swinburne. He started by flashing "Pfertl Pfani" 7A+/V7, flashing the sit start to "Dunce" that the Austrian Kilian put up at 7C/7C+(V9-V10), he then flashed "Ebb" 7A+/V7, "Subconscious" 7A+/V7, "Conscious" 7A/V6 and "Black Mirage" 7B+/(V8/9). On his second try he got "Chasing the Dragon" 7B/V8 and "Chinese Wall" 7B/V8. He also wrapped up "What Wanda Wanted" in the rain a 7C(V9/10) and "Spatchcock" a 7B/V8. All this in one day!

James Roberts repeated "Blue Funk" 7A/7A+(V6/V7) and Faye Brouard and Elke visiting from the States both got "Awareness" 7A/V6.

Social Comp at Kya Sands 07/12/2002
There will be a social climbing competition on Thurs 12 Dec at Kya Sands, see the link for more information.

Good and Bad from Kloof 02/12/2002
This weekend, Thomas Vergunst and Scott Sinclair both redpointed "Phantom of the Opera" 28 at the Canyon in Kloof Gorge and Dave Drummond did "Eroica" 26, also at the Canyon.

Greg Streatfield reports: "I would like to report that two climbers were mugged at knife point at the Lab, Kloof Gorge on Sunday 17th Nov, at 14h30. Greg Streatfield and Geoff Jobson are both OK but lost cellphones, shoes, a backpack and Wallets and another climbing area in Natal, so that leaves two "safe crags" in Natal. Thankfully the muggers left climbing gear and cards etc behind."

Slide Shows This Week 01/12/2002
Two slide shows this week, Year in Review in Cape Town on 3rd & World Cup trip, Italy & France in JHB on 4th. See calendar for more details.

Cape Bouldering league 23/11/2002
The Cape Bouldering League is happening on the 28th of November, once again at UCT. It wil start at 18h30, and run for 2 hours. Bring R5 entrance fee, and a pen or pencil to mark your sheets. The Route setters are Cheryl Jenks and Brett Hochfeld.

Bradshaw gets V10 22/11/2002
Steve Bradshaw wrapped up Jerry Moffat's direct finish to 'Bubka' at the Seaside boulders at Topside V10/7C+. He also did Clinton's and Colenso's problems both V8/7B at the Lookout and Shady Nook.

Steve Bradshaw on Direct finish to Bubka, V10

Missing Chain! 12/11/2002
There is a missing chain at the top of 'A Shortcut to Mushrooms', the 21 on the left side of the main crag at The Chosspile. Please can someone bring some new chain, a nut, washer and a spanner to put a new one up. It was not stolen but fell off. It is always good to check top anchors and other bolts to make sure the nuts are not loose as with time they can work loose.

FatBoys gets 2 repeats 12/11/2002
Both Kyle O'Donoghue and Guy Hubbard both sent 'Fatboys Aerobic Workout' recenty, it is a 30 at Howies near Grahamstown.

Paul fires Bobbejohn, 33 11/11/2002
Paul Brouard repeats 'Bobbejohn' 33 at Oudtshoorn, the route was first opened by Klem Loskott in 1998 and Paul's repeat is the second ascent. Many people have already tried this steep bouldery testpiece but failed.

Sends in the Freestate 10/11/2002
Andrew Pedley sends 'Swiss Cheese' 29 at Mnt Everest on The Bird, he commented that it was one of the best routes he has climbed in South Africa so far and solid at its grade. At Swinburne he also sent 'Black Mirage' 7B+/V9 on the Spearmint boulder. Eric Riemann also repeated 'Black Mirage' as well as 'Ebb' 7A+/V7 on The Reservoir boulder. Sean Cremen also completed the problem. Pieter Martin wrapped up 'Swordfish' now 28 at the Whale Rock boulders at Swinburne.

Establishing V15/8C 08/11/2002
Chris Sharma has repeated 'Dreamtime' 8C/V15 at Cresciano in Switzerland. This is the problems fourth ascent after Fred Nicole, Bernd Zangerl & Dave Graham. There are also a few more V15/8C problems that have been established recently. In Japan called 'Banshousha' opened by Tokia Muroi. John Gaskins also opened 'Walk Away sit start' at Fairy Steps in Lancashire. Bern Zangerl opened his new 8C/V15 called 'Viva la Evolution' in Austria and of course our very own 8C/V15 in Rocklands opened by Fred Nicole, the 'Black Eagle sit start'. News from 8a.nu.

First 9A by a woman 08/11/2002
Josune Bereziartu has repeated 'Bain de Sang' a 9A(36) in Saint Loup, France. This makes it the hardest route to be climbed by a woman.

Clinton gets Bubble 08/11/2002
Clinton Martinengo repeats 'Bubble' 31 at 'The Mine' in Cape Town.

Slideshow in Pretoria 07/11/2002
There is a slideshow and talk by Steve Toovey 11th Nov at 19h30. He will give a talk on health and medicinal issues surrounding mountaineering, hiking and traveling. It will be held at the CSIR Tarentaal club hall in Lynnwood, Pretoria.

Some activity in Durban & Mnt Everest 28/10/2002
On the weekend Angus 'Divit' Macfarlin red-pointed 'Graffiti Limbo' 27 and Dave Drummond repeated 'Rage'also 27 both at Rumdodle in Kloof Gorge. At Mnt Everest Andrew Pedley onsighted the airy 'Bird Brain' 25 which Tim Dunnet repeated.

Slideshow by Willem Daffue 27/10/2002
One of the best mountain photographers in SA, Willem Daffue, is presenting a slide show on South America and Africa on Monday 28 October 2002 at the Magaliesberg Section's club evening at 7:30 pm at the CSIR Clubhouse (Tarentaal hall).

BTK Club's website updated 26/10/2002
The BTK Club's website updated, check it out. They are a rock climbing club situated on the campus of the University of Stellenbosch and have a bouldering wall.

7C in Reunion 21/10/2002
After doing well in the bouldering competition in Reunion Paul Brouard repeats 'Mass Hysteria' a 7C/V9-10 boulder problem on the island.

Paul takes Second 20/10/2002
Paul Brouard was invited to Reunion to compete in the BUT Roc Challenge, a bouldering competition with the French A-team and top climbers from Reunion. He placed second in the strong field with Fred Tuscan winning. The day before Paul won the Dyno competition.

More Crime at Boven 19/10/2002
The following was reported to us by Heniz Jacobs: "Climbers were robbed at Flying is Fun (W-Boven) on Saturday (19Oct). Goods to the value of about R23000 were stolen by two black youths with pangas - while 7 people were climbing and partners belaying! In spite of a furious chase through the bush afterwards the two got away. These 2 guys appeared to be friendly at sat watching the climbers untill all were on the wall, when they grabbed the items and ran... the police reported that another incident occured on Monday (21Oct)."

We urge everyone to take care at Waterval Boven, the general Waterfall Area, The Coven and Flying is Fun seem to be the most frequently hit.

Andrew at Boven 18/10/2002
At Waterval Boven Andrew Pedley wrapped up 'Mostly Harmless' 27 and 'Lotter's Desire' 27/28.

Static Patterns 09/10/2002
Durban has seen some action recently. On the weekend Scott Sinclair and Dave Drummond both redpointed 'Static Patterns' 29 at the Lab in Kloof, and Thomas Vergunst, after redpointing 'Static Patterns' last weekend, flashed 'Nattrass Oxide' 27, also at the Lab.

Justin gets 8A+/V12 08/10/2002
Justin sends 'Nutsa' the sitstart to 'Sunset Arete' which Jerry Moffat repeated recently at Rocklands. It goes at V12/8A+ and probably the hardest bouldering send by a South African so far.

New Events for October 30/09/2002
There are several new events for October including slide shows on Denali & Greenland, a Power of Adventure conference and a Veteran's meet at Waterval Boven. See our calendar for more information.

Andrew gets Acromax & stuff at Swinburne 29/09/2002
Andrew Pedley now getting stronger easily did 'Swordfish' now 28 at Swinburne on his 3rd try, did 'Sargasso Seas' 26 and also bouldered 'Ebb' 7A+/V7 and 'Energy' 7A/V6. At Fernkloof he quickly pointed 'Acromax' 29 while Heidi Rohwrer wrapped up 'Crook and Crime' 24 which Rowan Toselli, now 16 also got. At Swinburne he got 'Tritan' 25 on his second go and 'Poseidon' 24.

Development continues at Groblersdal 28/09/2002
There has been some more development at Groblersdal, a guide should be up in a month or two. Andrew Pedley opened up 'Focus' 7A+/V7, and Sean Cremen opened 'Superstar' 7A/V6 and a variation to 'Fired Up' which goes up leftward and comes in at about 7A+/V7 called 'Stagger'. Contact James Roberts or Sean Cremen for current access details.

Hardest Female Ascent in SA 27/09/2002
Yvonne Niederberger from Switzerland repeated "Au bord de l'eau" 8A/8A+(V11/12) in Rocklands at the new Riverside Area on 19th September. This may be the hardest female ascent in South Africa.

New routes at Boven 26/09/2002
There are a few new routes at The Restaurant. At Triple Tier Crag accessed by rapping in, left of 'Too Early for the Sky': 'Too Late for the Stars' 9 ** opened by Nerine Richards and 'The World is not Enough' 21 ** opened by Sean Ferguson. At Hallucinogenic Wall on the left hand end there is a short wall with approx four easier routes on the left hand side including 'The Flying Scotsman' 26 ** by James Roberts.

Touring Brits bolt Ladybrand 25/09/2002
Some visiting Brits touring Africa in a bus stopped past Ladybrand at a little camping spot called Leliehoek. There were previously a handfull of bolted routes here and these guys added another 13 routes. All shortish lines from 15-24, one of the locals in the area will be sending a guide along soon.

New Gym on East Rand 25/09/2002
There is a new climbing gym in Jetpark, Boksburg called Urban Crag. At present there are 15 top-rope routes with some challenging routes. There is also a natural feel wall and a small bouldering cave. They are also working on a hand jamming wall. The place is really coming along, please go check it out.

Speed Competition 16/09/2002
Paul Brouard and Julia Davies win the TuffStuff Speed Challenge at The Dome. This 30m high wall created a new kind of speed/endurance event. The event was a big success with a great turnout. We hope to have future events possibly with bouldering and difficulty as well.

Full results now online with all times.

King Solomon's Mine and Kloof 15/09/2002
King Solomon's Mine is still seeing much activity, Paul Brouard opened up his project on the Shagadelic boulder and called it 'Gold Member' 7C/V9-10, he also repeated 'Yeah Baby, Yeah!' 7B/V8 on the same boulder. His sister Faye got 'Spank the Crank' 6B+/V3 and 'Boob Job' 6B/V3 while Thomas Vergunst got 'Sharon's Gas' 6C+/V5.

Kloof gorge in Natal is seeing some traffic again with Stefan Swanepoel repeating 'Nattrass Oxide' 27 and Thomas Vergunst getting 'Static Patterns' 29 both at The Lab. At the Canyon Stefan also got 'Viper' 27.

Thomas Vergunst on 'Static Patterns' 29, Kloof Gorge

Strange Days 15/09/2002
Clinton Martenego wrapped up the bouldery 'Strange Days' 31 at Montagu.

Andy goes bouldering 15/09/2002
Andy Davies went bouldering at Rocklands and repeated 'Tyrolean Traverse' 7B/V8 and 'Backbreaker' also 7B/V8 on his second try. At Topside he got 'Bubka' 7B/V8 and 'Guysguts' 7C/V9-10.

Gateway Speed/Height Records 14/09/2002
Three teams set 3 records at The Rock at the Gateway centre in Durban. Erin Adams, Trent Burnett, Dave Drummond, and Benjamin Herr 11,111m in 24 hours including belaying. Another team did the 'Sea Level to Top of Everest' record, a height of 8848m 17 hrs, 27mins, the team consisted of Dale Boucher, Willem Fourie, Nic Geere, and Matthew Gibbon. Then Mark Kojetin, climbed 3848m in the 24 hours - the height
from Everest Base Camp to Summit. See our articles for the full story.

Meanwhile in Gauteng Sean Ferguson, Robert Streicher & Andrew Sheahan climbed the height of Kilimanjaro in under 24hrs.

Melville gets more bolts 09/09/2002
Melville koppies is seeing a bit of development, the top-rope routes are being properly bolted, there will be a chunk of routes graded in the teens & twenties. A guide will be put up as soon as the bolting is done.

The Brouards in the Lab & Fernkloof 09/09/2002
Paul and his sister Faye now 15 visited the Lab at Kloof Gorge, Paul onsighted 'Nattrass Oxide' 27 and Faye onsighted 'Bunsen Burner' 24. At Fernkloof Mark Millar wrapped up 'Vandals' 26 and Gordon Forbes got the direct version 26/27. Heidi Rohwer also wrapped up 'Strong Arm of the Law' 24.

Groblersdal Bouldering 09/09/2002
This new bouldering area near Groblersdal is about 1.5hrs from Joburg, very scenic and has many good boulders, some a little rough but good. James Roberts found the area and opened up 'Enigma' 7A/V6, Sean Cremen repeated it and also opened up 'The Illusion' 7B/V8 and 'Fired Up' 7A+ a dyno problem. In addition to this they opened up about another 15 easier problems. Access being negotiated, please FIRST contact us before visiting!

Wits Wall Opening Party 06/09/2002
Wits Wall opening party, this event has been postponed, a new date will be set some time, keep checking.

Opening of The Rock, Gateway for Leading Routes. 03/09/2002
All climbers in the KZN area are invited to attend a session of free sport lead climbing on The Rock at Gateway, a 23m high artificial climbing wall. See our calendar for more details.

New 8B/V13 by Jerry in Topside 03/09/2002
Jerry Moffat still in SA did 'The Accountants Project' on Her Majesty's Boulder. This problem has been tried by many (Nic Sellers, Tommy Caldwell and Arnaud Petit amongst others) but done by none. After a couple of goes Jerry got it & graded it 8A/V11.

Later on he sent the roof problem that he'd tried a few days earlier - 'Ard Ay' is 8B/V13 and the hardest problem at Topside. The problem is just down the hill from Bubka. It starts from a huge jug and 14 moves later you get to two wee crimps (the crux).

News from Waterval Boven & Swinburne 02/09/2002
At Waterval Boven Andrew Pedley managed a repeat of the bouldery 'Panty Slapped' 28 at Hallucinogenic Wall. Sean Kroukamp repeated 'Monks in the Gym' 28 and 'Tripolactic Fairytales' 27. At Swinburne Sean Cremen repeated 'Pfertl Pfani' 7A+/V7 on the Reservoir Boulder.

Arousal & Anxiety Article 02/09/2002
Check out our Articles page for a new article by Greg Streatfield on Arousal & Anxiety in Rock Climbing.

Malcolm Pearse Slideshow 02/09/2002
'Where heaven and mountains meet' slideshow at Magaliesberg Section of MCSA by Malcolm Pearse on 2 September in Pretoria, 19h30.

Faye gets another 27 plus bouldering at KSM 29/08/2002
Faye Brouard redpointed Viper 27 at the Canyon in Kloof. At King Solomon's Mines, James Benson got 'Shout at the Moose' V7/7A+. Thomas Vergunst flashed the 'Principal' thinking it 6C+/V5 and 'Something Porno' V4/6C, he also opened 'Peeping Tom' V4/6C which Greg Streatfield grabbed the second ascent of. Stefan Swanepoel also got 'Something Porno', and opened 'Wish she were here' 6C/V4.

New 8C/V15 boulder problem 26/08/2002
Bernd Zangerl, the first repeater of Dreamtime has opened what he believes is the hardest problem in the World, at an area called Alm near Flirsch in the Tirol (Austria). The problem, Viva la evolution, can be found at around 2300 meters altitude and can hence only be worked on in the summer. Bernd is convinced this problem is harder than Dreamtime and proposes a grade of "hard 8C". News from 8a.nu

Slideshows by Jerry Moffatt 26/08/2002
The MCSA has organised slidehows to be held by Jerry Moffatt during his visit to South Africa as well as bouldering meets in Topside, Rocklands and de Doorns. See the calendar for more details.

MCSA looking for a Banff Film Festival Organiser 25/08/2002
Based on discussions that it has held with the Banff Film Festival organisers, the MCSA has put forward its proposals for the basis on which it wishes to enter a further three year agreement to screen the Banff Festival Mountain Films in South Africa. This agreement will accord the MCSA the sole rights to screen the Banff Festival Mountain Films in South Africa during the agreement period.

When the MCSA signs the new agreement with the Banff Film Festival organisers, it will also wish to enter an agreement with an appointed Festival Organiser, whose function will be to promote and organise the screening of the Banff Festival Mountain Films nationally in South Africa on behalf of the MCSA.

The purpose of this post is to extend an invitation to parties who will be interested to submit applications for the position of Festival Organiser to contact the Hon Secretary, Mountain Club of South Africa by fax at (021) 461-8456 or by e-mail on mcsacc@iafrica.com so that a formal application procedure can be set in motion. The following information summary indicates the basis on which the appointment of a Festival Organiser will be made :

The Festival Organiser will carry responsibility for arranging the screening of the Banff Festival Mountain Films nationally in South Africa, including liaising directly with Banff with regard to all aspects of the planned Festival screenings, securing suitable screening venues, arranging all screening details and arranging for the promotion of the Festival and the sale of tickets. The Festival Organiser will be required to seek sponsorship for the Festival and to negotiate sponsorship agreement(s) to be entered between the MCSA and the Sponsor(s)

All the above duties must be fulfilled in terms of procedures agreed by the MCSA.

The Festival Organiser will be remunerated on an incentive basis calculated as a percentage of gross income (ticket sales and sponsorship) and a percentage of net profit (or loss).

The Festival Organiser does not have to be a member of the MCSA, but preference will be given to candidates who are members of the MCSA.

The Festival Organiser's contract with the MCSA will be for a period to be agreed for a particular screening year, but with provision for extension for a similar period for the following screening year, subject to both parties agreement.

Interested parties must respond to the Hon Secretary by not later than 6 September to be considered for appointment.

Regards
Andre Schoon
National President Mountain Club of South Africa

Jerry Moffatt in Topside & Rocklands 25/08/2002
Jerry Moffatt flashed 'Bubka' 7B/V8 at the Seaside Boulders and did the opening ascent of one of the projects at Mutant Snail area - ie, the overhanging face opposite 'Mr Smiley', it went at about 7C+/8A apparently. Both at Topside. At Rocklands he flashed 'Kingdom in the Sky' 7C/V9 and repeated the sitstart to 'Sunset Arete' 8A+/V12.

Austrian climbers at Swinburne & Chosspile 25/08/2002
Kilian Fischhuber opened up the sitstart to 'Dunce' grading it 7C/V9 as well as opening the 'Fish Called Wanda' traverse grading it 7C traverse. He also repeated 'Spatchcock' 7B/V8 and 'Black Mirage' 7B+/V9.

At the Chosspile both Kilian and Reinhard repeated 'Bully for Brontasaurus' 29 and 'Fossil Fuel' 32 in a day.

Eric repeats Faberge 25/08/2002
Eric Riemann repeats the classic 'Faberge' 28 at Fernkloof, Andrew Pedley wrapped up 'Glass Menagerie' 27 and Rowan Toselli redpointed 'Crook & Crime' 24.

Jerry in Rocklands 21/08/2002
Jerry Moffat now in Rocklands started off his first day by repeated 'Sunset Arete' 7C+/V10 and 'Pendragon' 8A/V11 on his second try. Stay tuned for his & Freds sends.

Possible 8C/V15 in SA 20/08/2002
Frederic Nicole has opened up the sitstart to 'Black Eagle' which was a solid 8A+/V12 and it is rumoured to be 8C/V15. This beautiful boulder is in the Ceder Rouge boulders in Rocklands. This would be the second 8C/V15 in the world after the 'Dreamtime' sitstart in Cresciano, Switzerland that was also opened by Fred. We are still seeking confirmation on the grade.

Andy Davies repeats Not For Sale 19/08/2002
Andy Davies has managed to redpoint 'Hypoxia' 30 and 'Not For Sale' 31/2 at Montagu. Clinton Martinengo also managed to point 'Not For Sale' and an hour later sent 'Twisted Steel & Sex Appeal' 29.

King Solomons Mine bouldering area sees a few more problems 17/08/2002
King Solomon has seen a spate of new ascents. James Benson opened 'The Principal' 7A+/V7 and 'The Hooker' 7A/V6 which Greg Streatfield then flashed. Geoff Jobson also repeated 'The Hooker'. James also opened a side swinging dyno called 'Something Porno' 6C+/V5 which Greg repeated. Greg then opened 'Contrification' 7A/V6 and 'Insane in the Membrane' 7A/V6 which were also both repeated by James and Geoff.

On a previous trip to Swinburne Scott Sinclair got 'Ebb' 7A+/V7 and 'Awareness' 6C+/V5, Dave Drummond got 'Dunce' 7A/V6 and 'Blue Funk' 7A/7A+(V6/V7) while Greg also wrapped up 'Awareness'.

Still by Natal folk Faye Brouard managed a quick repeat of 'Reflections' 27 at the Magnetic Wall before Shongweni was closed to climbing.

Austrians in SA 17/08/2002
A group of Austrian climbers have been visiting SA. They repeated a few classic routes at The Restaurant and then did some good bouldering at Swinburne. At The Restaurant Kilian Fischhuber repeated 'Satan's Temple' the classic 29 on the Acra wall and 'Snapdragon' now considered to be 29. He also flashed 'Lotters Desire' 27/28, onsighted 'Panty Slapped' 28 and repeated 'M&M' 30 at Hallucinogenic Wall. Reinhard Fichtinger also repeated 'Snapdragon', 'M&M' and flashed 'Panty Slapped'.

At Swinburne Kilian repeated 'Chinese Wall' 7B/V8, 'Mooning Miss V' 7C/V9, 'Dunce' 7A/V6, 'Ebb' 7A+/(V7), 'Blue Funk' 7A/7A+(V6/7), 'Spunky Monkey' 7B/V8 and opened up two projects, the first called 'Wegneem' a 7B+/V9 on the Longtonk boulder and 'Pfertl Pfani' a 7A+/V7 just left of 'Mooning Miss V' on the Reservoir boulder. Reinhard also got 'Chinese Wall', 'Blue Funk', 'Dunce' & 'Ebb' as well as 'Die Krupps' 7A+/V7.

Bouldering in Grahamstown 16/08/2002
At Alicedale in Grahamstown Paul Brouard onsighted 'Everthing is Nothin' 6C+/V5' and opened up 'Nothing is Everthin' 7A+/V7. At The Grots he opened 'Door into the Dark' 7B+/V9 and repeated 'Grots Traverse' 7A+/V7.

Paul gets 'Seven' 32 at Oudtshoorn. 12/08/2002
Paul Brouard repeats 'Seven' 32 at Oudtshoorn the long extention to the 29 opened by Tommy Caldwell in 1998.

Bouldering in the Cape 11/08/2002
Jason Whyte did 'Make It Happen' 7B/V8, and re-repeated both 'Mr.Smiley' 7B+/V9 and 'Riptide' 7B+/V9 all at Topside.

Sends in Swinburne 11/08/2002
Shaun Harris repeated 'Chasing the Dragon' V8/7B and repeated 'Unfinished Monkey Business' V5/6C+ which James Roberts opened. Andrew Pedley also repeated it as well as 'Polish Sunray' V6/7A. Joffrey Hyman repeated 'Black Mirage' V9/7B+ after a spectacular dismount and 'Polish Sunray'. Mark Millar also got 'Polish Sunray' and also sent 'Blue Funk' V6/7A and 'Piss' V5/6C+. On the bolted routes Heidi Rohwer got her first 25, 'Tritan' on the Pacific Ocean boulder while Eric Riemann opened up the old project on the Spearhead boulder and called it 'Peckerino' grade 26.

Wits Bouldering Wall 07/08/2002
Wits bouldering & ghluwein evening on 13 Aug due to their bouldering wall being given back.

Bouldering Comp in Durban 07/08/2002
Bouldering competition in Durban on 9 August, see calendar for more information.

Desert Friction 05/08/2002
Desert Friction video to be screened at MCSA clubroom in Johannesburg, see the calendar for more information.

Evan wraps things in Swinburne 04/08/2002
Evan Wiercx came upto Swinburne and onsighted 'Dunce' 7A(V6), 'Ebb' 7A+(V7), 'Piss' 6C+(V5) and quickly repeated 'Conscious' 7A(V6), 'Subconscious' 7B(V8), 'Chasing the Dragon' 7B(V8) and 'Black Mirage' 7B+(V9). All of that in a day.

Baboon Master Sitstart, 8B? 26/07/2002
Fred is visiting SA again and has managed a sitstart to 'Baboon Master' 7C+, we are still unsure of the grade, maybe around 8B?

Paul in Ceuse & Fontainebleau 25/07/2002
Paul Brouard returned from his World Cup & road trip. In rather hot conditions he onsighted 'Tenere' 29/7c+ and 'Corps Etranger' 29/7c+ and repeated 'Rosanna' 30/8a on his second try all in Ceuse. He also onsighted 'Super Mickey' 26 and 'Lapinerie' 26. At Fontainebleau he got 'Salle Gosse' a 7C/V9-10 sticking the finishing sloper in the hot afternoon sun! other problems he got there included an unnamed 7B, 'Jet Set' 7A, 'Lime a Ongles' 7A onsight and 'Achiles Talon' 7A .

Daniel and Sean in Rocklands 23/07/2002
Daniel Vecchiato from Italy visited Rocklands on his way back. He repeated the 7C+ in the shallow cave in the Ceder Rouge boulders, he also repeated 'Yesterday' 7C. Back in Swinburne Daniel opened up 'Polish Sunray' 7A+ and 'Black Mirage' 7B+/7C. Shaun Harris quickly repeated both of these on a follow-up trip to Swinburne.

Sean Cremen wrapped 'Super Chantall' 7A+ an unnamed 7B, 7B+ and a 7C at the campside boulders and then went on to repeat 'Bitter & Twisted' 7C at Amazon.com in Topside.

Daniel on a 7C+/V10 at Ceder Rouge, Rocklands

Invitation from Reunion 22/07/2002
Some visiting climbers from Reunion have posted this invitation:
All aspiring climbers are invited by the organisers of an open boulder competition in St. Denis, on Reunion Island on 19&20 October 2002. This is bound to be a fun event and a good excuse to go climbing, canyoning and having lots of fun over there.

Contact the Regional Climbing Comittee for more info on the comp or for info on the amazing climbing and bouldering to be found there kalanoro@netcourrier.com

M&M gets a repeat plus Thomas & Brendan cranking at Boven 20/07/2002
Brendon Hurner aged 13 has been at it again while on a recent 2 week trip to Boven with Thomas Vergunst and Joburg friends. Starting with 'Pocket Rocket' 24 on his second try, then almost flashing 'Be Quick or be Dead' 25 but falling at the end. He then went over to 'Woman aint Nothing but Trouble' 24 and while putting up the draws on his second go redpionted it. Later that same day he onsighted 'Blood on the Rocks' 23+.

Not to be outdone by Brendon, Thomas pointed 'The Gift' 27, then on the same day pointed 'Eraserhead' 28 just missing the onsight. To cap things he onsighted 'Jiggaboo'. The next day Thomas warmed up with an onsight of 'Screaming Demons' 24 and then flashed 'Devil in a Cauldron' 27. Eric Riemann also redpointed it.

Eric and Thomas both quickly repeated 'Monks in The Gym' 28 and Thomas also did 'Nuns on the Run' thinking it to be soft. Eric then wrapped up 'M&M' 30 on his fourth try.

Where its at! 09/07/2002
Clinton Martinengo repeated the desperate and bouldery 'Where it's At' 31 at Peers Cave. The route was opened by Jeremy Samson in 1996 and it is thought that this is its first repeat.

Pendragon 8A by Evan 07/07/2002
Evan Wiercx has repeated 'Pendragon' 8A/V11 at Roadide boulders and 'Kingdom of the Sky' 7C/V9-10 at Champside boulders, Rocklands.

Hilton Access Posted 30/06/2002
Access to Hilton (KZN): In future free permits have to be obtained by climbers and any other visitors who use the Hilton College estate. Fill in a small form and sign it at the estate office. To get to the Estate Office turn as to Beacon Crag. Just before the road turns to dirt , the office is clearly marked on the left.

Evan opens up an 8A/V11 problem 26/06/2002
Evan Wiercx opens up an 8A/V11 problem called 'Captain Graffiti' at Graffiti boulders, Echo Vally in Topside. He said: " I was a bit nervous about grading it 8A, but to me it definitely feels harder than the other 7C+ problems I have done recently, and took a lot longer ..."

Check out evan's website, Bouldering.co.za for more images & an animated sequence for the problem. There are also several new Topsisde images by Sean Cremen & Guy Holwill in our updated Gallery , check them out.

Muggings at Waterval Boven 20/06/2002
Unfortunately there were a few muggings again at knifepoint, this time at the Wonderland crags. Please take care when climbing there and report all incidents to the local police immediately. Read a report back from Gustav van Rensburg at Roc and Rope

Possibly SA's Hardest Route? 03/06/2002
Clinton Martinengo opened his project at The Cauldren, Montagu. He has graded it 34 and called the route 'Ebola', this would make it SA's hardest route .

The weekends cranking 27/05/2002
At the Wave Cave, Colin Hurner (12) redpointed 'Sip and Fly' 26 and 'Wild Sheep Chase' 23. Thomas Vergunst redpointed 'Love n' Demon' 29, and Scott Sinclair redpointed 'Cyclone Central' 28. At the Magnetic Wall Debi Tromp and Stefan Swanepoel both redpointed 'Reflections' 27.

At the Restaurant both Daniel Vecchiato and Joffrey Hyman repeated 'Nuns on the Run' 28 and Daniel also repeated the very bouldery 'Monks in the Gym'. Back at Strubens Valley Joffrey wrapped up Eric's new route 'The Fest' 28.

Bouldering in Natal 22/05/2002
Jeremy Samson redpointed 'Touchstone' 27 at Howick Falls on his second go. At Delville Wood, he also quickly wrapped up 'From Zero to Hero' 27. At King Solomon's Mine, Justin Hawkins opened 'Yeah Baby, Yeah' V8/7B ish. Justin, Jeremy, and Greg Streatfield all did 'Shout at the Moose' V7/7A+. At Ferncliff, Justin did the classic 'Snookered' V6/7A and 'Biggles's Dyno' V7/7A+. Down at the Wave Cave Dave Dave Drummond redpointed 'Sip and Fly' 26.

Bouldering around the country 20/05/2002
In Rocklands Evan Wiercx repeated the classic 'Caroline' V10/7C+ at the Roadside boulders. In Alicedale near Grahamstown Paul Brouard repeated 'Chasing the Dragon' V8/7B, opened 'Sumo Sex' V7/7A+ and 'Shiny Sumo Wrestler' V5/6C+, he also repeated 'Dungeons & Dragons' 6C+. Upcountry in the Freestate Daniel Vecchiato & Pieter Martin both repeated 'Chinese Wall' the sitstart V8/7B on the Long Tonk boulder in Swinburne. Sean Cremen opened up 'Chasing the Dragon' on the Spearmint boulder at Swinburne a V7-8 7A+/7B. Also at Swinburne Heidi Rohwer quickly repeated 'Art' and 'Yellow Belly' both V4/6C at the Spearhead boulders.

Eric repeats Swordfish, 29 20/05/2002
Eric Riemann repeats the powerful 'Swordfish' 29 on the Sharktank boulder at Swinburne, he also onsighted 'Tritan' 25 and flashed 'Poseidon' 24 both on the Pacific Ocean boulder.

Rocklands 20/05/2002
At the Fortress in Rocklands Michael Schiemann sent Stargate V9/10(7C) with John-Paul Harper re-repeating it. Michael also broke off the crucial crux grip on Rasta Roof V10/7C+, so now the problem will be far harder!

At the Scoop in Montagu Clinton Martinengo sent Monkey Pump 29 first redpoint try after narrowly failing to flash the sequency route.

Andrew gets Faberge, Daniel Acromax 10/05/2002
Andrew Pedley wrapped up 'Faberge' 28 in a few tries and then flashed 'Vandals' 26. Carl Kritzinger also pointed 'Vandals' and 'True Sailing is Dead' 25. Daniel Vecciato redpointed 'Acromax' the powerful and bouldery 29. All this in Fernkloof, Magaliesberg.

Thomas repeats 'The Big Mo' & Eric repeats 'Acromax' 02/05/2002
Thomas Vergunst repeated 'The Big Mo' a 30 in the Wave Cave, Shongweni opened by Paul Brouard. Eric Riemann up in Gauteng repeated the classic bouldery 'Acromax' 29 in Fernkloof.

Freestate bouldering 29/04/2002
Back in the Freestate Daniel Vecchiato onsighted 'Alice in Chains' 25, Andrew Pedley also gave it a quick repeat. Daniel also got 'T's & C's' 25 both at Mount Everest reserve. Andrew, Daniel & Joffrey all repeated 'Kudu' V5/6C+a 5 star boulder problem next to the Ostritch Egg at Everest and Daniel wrapped up the classic 'Conscious' V6/7A at Swinburne.

Natal youth get going 29/04/2002
With winter approaching the climbers in Natal are getting back into climbing with vengance. Faye Brouard has redpointed 'Invertigo' 28 and Brendan Hurner only 13 redpointed 'Sip and Fly' 26. Also at the Wave Cave, Colin Hurner aged 11 and Benji de Charmoy aged 12 redpointed 'Rapture of the Steep' 23 and at the Magnetic Wall, Scott Sinclair redpointed 'Headology' 28, and Brendan redpointed 'Take Away' 25. The Lab in Kloof Gorge has also seen some action of late with Brendan, Colin and Benji all pointing 'Bunsen Burner' 24, while Dave Drummond and Angus McFarlane redpointed 'Cold Fusion' 26. Greg Streatfield redpointed 'Gladaitor' 28 in the Wave Cave.

'Liquid Tunnel' at Surfside 15/04/2002
Both John Terblanche and Ben Harper managed to redpoint the steep and bouldery 'Liquid Tunnel' 29, at Surfside crag, in a typical Cape South-Easter. John-Paul and Ben Harper also redpointed 'Route 66' 27 at The Hole in less than desirable conditions.

Pieter gets into bouldering 15/04/2002
On a return visit to Swinburne Pieter Martin wrapped things up at Swinburne. He sent 'Spunky Monkey' 7B/V8, 'Die Krupps' 7A/V6, 'Dunce' 7A/V6, flashed 'Energy' 7A/V6 and 'Wine Showers' V4/V5 all in the morning. Daniel V ecchiato also got 'Spunky Monkey' 7B/V8, 'Blue Funk' V7/7A+ and 'Chinese Puzzle Traverse' 7A/V6 and flashed 'Wine Showers' V4/V5.

Evan repeats 7C+/V10 plusd other hard bouldering 11/04/2002
At Amazon.Com Guy Holwill applied various gardening techniques (stopping short of using a lawn-mower) to clean the top of 'Ponder' 7B/V8, and then proceeded to tick the first ascent of the new and improved extended version. Although it remains at the same grade, with the stupendous finish it is now a 5 star problem! Shortly thereafter the new 'Ponder' also saw repeats from both Steve Bradshaw (Prof) and Jason Whyte. Still at Amazon.Com, Guy, Steve and Jason also climbed 'Leo's Problem' 7B+/V8/9. At The Darkside, Jason Whyte and Evan Wiercx both climbed 'Low down and dirty' 7B+/V8/9, with Evan also repeating 'Drag Queen' 7C+/V10 as well as 'Mr Smiley' 7B+/V8/9 at the Mutant Snail area.

Howies in Grahamstown 09/04/2002
Faye Brouard redpointed 'Sputnik' 26 while her brother Paul did 'Body Parts' second go. Shaun Miles got 'Madam Golliwog' 27 and Carl Kritzinger also got 'Sputnik' at Howies.

Snapdragon repeated 09/04/2002
Andrew Pedley from the UK has repeated 'Snapdragon' the testpiece and super classic 28 at Superbowl, The Restaurant.

Faye & Kevan also cranking in Oudtshoorn 07/04/2002
Faye Brouard at 14 years has redpointed 'Paws' 26 second go, just missing an onsight. She also got 'Tears for Fears' 27 on her third go and 'Behr Hug' 24 on her second try. She onsighted 'Phalic Mechanic' 24 and 'Goonie Goo-Goo' 22. Kevan Watkins redpointed 'Up for Grabs' 32 now its fourth ascent. Back in Fernkloof in the Magaliesberg Daniel Vecchiato flashed 'Strong Arm of the Law' 24 and 'Vandals' 26 while Joffrey Hyman redpointed the classic 'Glass Menagerie' 27.

Repeats in Swinburne 02/04/2002
Daniel Vecchiato visiting from Italy wrapped up 'Ebb' now V6/7A (downgraded by consensus), 'Energy' V6/7A, 'Curious Nurse' V7/7A+ and 'Chinese Puzzle' 6C/6C+. Joffrey Hyman repeated 'Spatchcock' V8/7B and Sean Cremen put up a sit start to 'Monet' a V7/7A+ while Pieter Martin did the big dyno problem 'Blue Funk' V6/7A and 'Chinese Puzzle' 6C/6C+.

Clinton sending in Oudtshoorn 02/04/2002
Clinton Martinengo sent 'Up For Grabs' 32 on his third try. this is the routes 3rd Ascent after Tommy Caldwell and Paul Brouard. The next day the route got its 4th Ascent this time by John-Paul Harper. Clinton then wrapped up 'El Nino' 30 on his second try and flashed the two 27's 'Johnny Rotten' and 'Tears for Fears' at the main crag as well as 'Battery Powered Vorr-Vorr' 25. He then onsighted the two 26's 'Bitter and Twisted' and 'Paws'. He also gave 'Caldwel's Route' (Kohler-Turkstra) a hard 31 a quick send. All this in a weekend! Michael Schiemann also redpointed 'Tears for Fears' 27 and John Terblanche got 'Johnny Rotten' 27.

The Harpers in Rocklands 27/03/2002
John-Paul Harper sent the classic 'Rasta Roof' V10/7C+, 'Tea Time' V10/7C+ and 'The Egg Files' V8/7B as well as well as repeating 'Pendragon' V11/8A twice. Ben did a highball dyno to a crux sloper ending over 7m off the deck that goes at about V8/7B. At the Campground Boulders John Terblanche did 'Mike's Dyno' a V8/7B which was also repeated by some Norwegian visiters dounle-handed.

The fall of the 27s 25/03/2002
At Waterval Boven Andrew Pedley, visiting from the UK onsighted 'Tripolactic Fairytales' 27, 'Jambo' 25, 'Be quick or be Dead' 25 and 'Task Saturated' 25. He also repeated 'Grimslade' 27 at The Chosspile. Carl Kritzinger pointed 'Tripolactic Fairytales' on his second go - not bad for his first 27. Joffrey Hyman also gave it a repeat and then also got 'Paradise by the Sea' 27 all at the Wonderland crags.
Down in Natal both Greg Streatfield and Rodger Nattrass repeated 'Crease Master' 27 at the Magnetic Wall in Shongweni. Scott Sinclair and Thomas Vergunst both wrapped up 'Viper' at the Canyon in Kloof Gorge and Scott also redpointed 'Invertigo' 28 at the Wave Cave in Shongweni.

The Percolator 20/02/2002
John-Paul Harper repeated 'The Percolator' quite quickly and commented on the grade as "hard 30". The route is a Martinengo test-piece and is the hardest route at the Kleinmond climbing area. This is the routes second ascent since it was opened in 1999.
With some good bouldering training under his belt, Danie Moolman managed to flash his first grade 28 route, 'Winston'. John Terblanche and Ben Harper also repeated the route.

Paul keeps it up 18/02/2002
Still at it Paul Brouard onsighted 'Dance of the Devil' a 27 and got 'Parataxis' 29 on his second go at Coombs near Grahamstown.

SA's first 30 onsight 06/02/2002
Paul Brouard has onsighted 'Fatboys Aerobic Workout' at Howies in Grahamstown, a short powerful route. This is the hardest onsight to date in South Africa. A few years back Justin Hawkins managed to flash a 30 in the Wave cave.

Dreamtime V15/8C gets its third repeat 03/02/2002
A developer has bought Cresciano, the bouldering area in Switzerland made famous by having the world's hardest boulder problem, 'Dreamtime' an 8C/V15 opened by Fred Nicole and repeated by Bernd Zangerl. Dave Graham on hearing that the developer planned to raze the boulders decided to go and repeat the classic hardest problem while it still exists. Rumour has it that after much protesting, mainly by climbers the developer is reconsidering. On the same trip Graham sent many more hard problems including an 8B/V13 flash.

Swinburne's bouldering 28/01/2002
After a substantial revision to Swinburne's bouldering route guide there has been quite a bit of activity there. Sean Cremen opened up 'Ebb' a V8/7B on the Reservoir boulder, 'Energy' V6/7A on the Bolted boulder. He also repeated 'Dunce' V6/7A a classic problem. Shaun Harris repeated 'Ebb' V8/7B, opened 'Spatchcock' V8/7B down at the Long Tonk area and flashed 'Energy' V6/7A. Joffrey repeated 'Dunce' V6/7A and 'Die Krupps' V6/7A both on The Reservoir boulder.

The Brouard's road trip 20/01/2002
Late last year Paul & his sister Faye, now 14 went off to The Restaurant. Paul wrapped up 'Hack and Slay' 31 with his new Miuras, this is probibly the first repeat since one of the holds broke. Faye repeated 'Nuns on the Run' a bouldery 28 at The Gym and 'Tripolactic Fairytales' a 27 at The Superbowl that WAS thought to be reachy. She also onsighted 'Frozen Flesh' 24 and 'Miss McKinly' 23. On returning home Faye repeated 'Venom' a solid 26 at The Canyon in Kloof.
Paul was then off to Swinburne where he & Joffrey continued their epic route up the main face, called Miracle Fountain. This will be a 5 pitch monster, all on bolts of course. On a rest day from bolting Paul onsighted 'Swordfish' 29 and 'Bogey' 28. Joffrey also opened up 'Tritan' a 25/26 on the Pacific Ocean Boulder'

Next stop was Montagu where Paul quickly repeated 'Strange Days' 31 on his second go. Then after substantial new years celebrations and much resting Paul was off to Rocklands. First day, first problem was 'Evan's Problem' a V9 (7B+/7C), then a gradual wearing off of all his skin until the last day. This last day he ripped it up repeating 'Stargate' V10/7C+ at the Fortress, 'Sunset Arete' V10/7C+ and 'Pinch of Herbs' V9/7C at the Roadside boulders. After these last few quick sends several of his finger tips were bleeding.

Paul Brouard on 'Hack n Slay' 31, The Restaurant

December bouldering 15/01/2002
While in Rocklands both Sean Cremen & Greg Streatfield repeated 'Tyrolean Traverse' V8/7B, Greg also did another unnamed V8/7B at the Roadside boulders. Sean at topside repeated 'Slam Dunk' V6/7A and 'Jeremy's Jump' V7/7A+.

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