SACIN - CLIMBING NEWS ARCHIVE 2003

ARTICLES * NEW ROUTES * HARDEST ROUTES * CALENDAR

Win a pair of Mambas 12/12/2003
Win a pair of Saltic climbing shoes by visiting Ram Mountaineeerings website and answering a question.

Fred Rouhling 10/12/2003
Fred Rouhling sends Bain de Sang 9a(36) at Saint Loup. He now has done one 9b(38) and three 9as(36). His controversial 9b(38) Akira has not been repeated or confirmed.

Quickdraws Taken 05/12/2003
5 Fader quickdraws were taken off a route in Oudtshoorn by clibers in a white Jeep with an EC number plate. Could these guys please contact the owner on 083 453-0655.

Solo of 9a/36 05/12/2003
Jason Kehl soloed/bouldered The Fly a 5.15a (36) and since it is technically a route is a solo. The previous hardest solo ascent was of Archipel a 8c+ (35) by Dani Andrada. News by 8a.nu.

Ten year old 05/12/2003
Adam Ondra from Czech Republic has onsighted another two 8a (30) routes at the age of 10. In addition to that he is quite short at only 132cm so no complaining about being too short! News by 8a.nu.

Ten to 28 02/12/2003
Chris Rudolph flashed Be Quick or Be Dead 25, redpointed Task Saturated 25 2nd go and sent Nuns on the Run 28. Chris has only been climbing for 10 months.

New lines at Fernkloof 01/12/2003
Eric Riemann added a new bolted line to Fernkloof called Liquid Glass 26. He is looking for confirmation on the grade. It is the line right of The Looking Glass and starts from the little island right of the tree. He also replaced what might have been the most rusted home-made bolts ever on the line left of Slight Change and called the unnamed route Directly Unknown also about 26. The old bolts are still on the route and need to be chopped, please don't use them.

Durban Bouldering Competition 13/11/2003
The Durban bouldering competition will be held on Saturday 17th January 2004 at the University of Natal.

A cash prize of R1000 will be given to Mens as well as other cash prizes.T-shirts will also be given to the first fifty registrations. Entry is only R25 and there are four different categories.

Click on the image for more information and contact Dave on 072 419-5473 for more information.

More information on Durban bouldering competition.

Paul in Reunion 29/10/2003
Paul Brouard competed in invitational bouldering competition in Reunion last week. He placed 3rd, 2nd was Loic Gaidioz and 1st was Ludoic Laurence.

14yr Old climbs 8b+/33 27/10/2003
14yr old Daniel Woods climbs Doctor No, 8b+ (33), at Rumney in the US, he also climbed The 7pm show at Rifle another 8b+ earlier this year. News from 8a.nu.

Route Guides 21/10/2003
Crags of Gauteng is now avaliable and on sale for R80. Copies are available from some climbing shops and at the Mountain Club in Johannesburg. Contact Rory Lowther for more information on 083 308-5663.

Comp at Rock 2 Ten 21/10/2003
An open Climbing Comp will be held at Roc 2 Ten in Pretoria on 30th Nov 2003. There will only be 2 catagories: Open Men and Open Women. All are welcome, and there will be cash prizes. Check out www.rock2ten.co.za for more information.

Umpukane boulder competition 19/10/2003
The first official bouldering competition in the Free State on the farm Umpukane, outside Clocolan in the Eastern Free State turned out to be a huge success. With excellent prizes from Outdoor Warehouse, MCSA, Petzl and SA Mountain Magazine as well as refreshments from Red Bull, climber's performed at their peak. With a variety of climbing ranging from cracks to overhanging traverses the 15 problems proved to be exhausting and the winners thoroughly deserving. The winner of the competition was Jaco Venter followed by Gawie Bosman and Piet Erasmus.

Worn hands from the Umpukane bouldering competition

Kalk Bay activity 13/10/2003
Marijus Smigelskis opened Espionage 29 , the long-standing project about 50m left Oyster at Kalk Bay Crag. He also pulled off a 3rd acsent of Golden Eye 30.

Justin Ending off the Rocklands Season 10/10/2003
Sad but true Rocklands 2003 is getting a little too hot for optimum climbing now. Justin Hawkins ended off by repeating two 8A problems, The Arch and Ron Ron Caramel.

Roc Rally 09/10/2003
The Roc Rally held at Waterval Boven recently was a great success. See our Articles for a full review. The team of Mark Seuring and Alard Hufner won the event with Jason & Douglas taking second and Alwyn & Peet taking third. Full results can be found at RocnRopes website.

El Nino gets a dual repeat 04/10/2003
Both Andy Davies and Ross McBride both repeated the classic El Nino 30 at Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape.

Cranking at Boven 02/10/2003
Rowan Toselli redpointed Nuns on the run 28 and flashed Women aint nothing but trouble and Lithium both 24. Lorne Schnug also flashed Lithium. Andy Davies managed to onsight Dutch Popcorn 26 and flashed Wicked 26. Ross McBride onsighted Jigaboo 24 which both he and Andy thought was 25/26. Ross also flashed Playpen 26.

Climbing venue 29/09/2003
There is a small climbing facility in a health club in Rivonia Boulevard, JHB called In Toto. There is an 8.4m outdoor section and an indoor traverse wall. See our training venue section for more information.

Scavenger sponsors Hot Rock 22/09/2003
Scavenger is now sponsoring Gary Wilson the South African climber that is a member of the Hot Rock Global Challenge Expedition (a 3 year round the world climbing expedition). For more information see http://www.scavman.com or http://www.goingoffroute.co.nr

Climbing in Natal 18/09/2003
Faye Brouard repeats the exposed Betamaster 27 at the Canyon in Kloof. Greg Streatfield opened the Dominatrix 7B at King Solomons Mine on the Point Road Boulder, and Michael nabbed the second ascent.

Rocking around the World 17/09/2003
Rocking around the world slide show by Andy Davies. Travel & Sport climbing pictures of the 'best of SA climbing spots, as well as 1992 World Cup, France, USA, Spain, Italy, & Thailand." Entrance R10 (MCSA members) R15 non members. Part proceeds to Sport Climbing development. Waverley Girl Guide Hall Cnr Scott & Stirling Str, Waverley at 20h15.

Roc Rally - Waterval Boven 11/09/2003
The Roc Rally at Waterval Boven will be held on 27 and 28 Sep, it is being hosted by Roc-on-Climbing in Nelspruit and Roc 'n Rope Adventures in Waterval Boven. See their website for full details.

Umpukane Bouldering Comp 10/09/2003
Umpukane will be staging a bouldering comp, cash prizes and prizes from Outdoor Warehouse & other brand names. It will be on 26 September, more details to follow.

Urban X 10/09/2003
Urban X is all about doing extreme events. They have added a special speed climbing competition at Rosebank on Sat 27th September from 18h00 onwards Good prizes, good fun - just come and enter, and race other climbers up the 14m-high walls. Climbers are also invited to join the main event - check the website: www.urbanx.co.za and enter for the really big prizes.

12yr Old climbs 33! 01/09/2003
12yr old Bálint Kámvás from Hungary climbed Chiquita 8b/b+ (32/33), Popaj 8a+/b (31/32) Oktoberfest, 8a/30 and Albanski konjak 7c+/8a (29/30) all in Slovenia in record high temperatures. Back in Hungary, he sent Harangok 8a+/b(31/32) and Transz-Gerecse Expressz 8b/b+(32/33) at Kis Gerecse. News from 8a.nu

First 34 flash 01/09/2003
Alex Chabot flashed Le Cadre 8c (34) at Ceüse in France. The route has been confirmed at this grade and is the first 8c(34) flash. News from 8a.nu.

South African Climber Puts Up World's Highest 27/08/2003
South African Climber Puts Up World's Highest
PlanetFear.com has entered Mission Lunatica into the climbing records book as the highest multi-pitch sports route in the world. The route was put up by a 8 person team, led by South African climber, Gary Wilson, earlier this year. The route is in Peru's Cordillera Blanc and tops out at 4712 meters. See PlanetFear.com

Abseiling World Record At\tempt 26/08/2003
The Abseiling World Record attempt (one of a number of adventure sport events) will take place during the SuperSport Show at the Tuks Sports Grounds in Pretoria. The Show is from 29-31 Aug, and the record attempt is from 08:00 Sa 30 Aug - 08:00 Su 31 Aug (24h record). We're going for a 12 hour record on one rope, a 24 hour record on one rope, as well as a number of additional ropes for the public to abseil off during the course of the Show. It is an extremely exiting and unique opportunity, but unfortunately we'll need a lot of volunteers (with the opportunity to make some money as well) to help us with the abseiling, and would really appreciate help in the following ways: 1. We want to run up to 20 abseiling ropes during the course of the Show for the public to participate in. We still need a lot of equipment, especially ropes! We can affort to give R2 per rope per abseil to whoever supplies a specific rope and equipment, with an additional R2 if the supplier manage the rope as well. So if someone/some club/some group take responsibility to provide and man a rope, they can get R4 per person abseiling off that rope. The ropes for the public need to be manned during the following hours: Fr 10:00-18:00 Sa 08:00-20:00 Su 08:00-18:00 It would not be a crisis if some of the ropes are not active all of the time. (e.g. on Friday we'll probably have less participants than on Saturday) 2. For the record attempts, we need people who can abseil down 22m fairly fast, so the more experienced rock climbers/abseilers we can get, the better the chances of breaking the world record (please see web site for costs and logistics) 3. If there are any people/companies out there who would like to have an advertising board up on the structure, we still have a few spaces available.
For more info, www.outs.co.za or email Coenie van der Merwe on info@outs.co.za

Gecko Grips Bouldering Comp 26/08/2003
There will be a bouldering competition for all ages and opens on 30 August at Rock2Ten in Pretoria. See the calendar for more information.

Craig on Form 24/08/2003
Craig Reed gets Mono 29 at the Mine in Cape Town on his first attempt.

Tidal Wave 24/08/2003
Rowan Toselli 15 repeats the classic Vandals 26 at Fernkloof in the Magaliesberg and Guy Hubbard opens up Tidal Wave 29 at Strubens Valley on the upper section, a short bouldery route. The old project had two drilled pockets and he only used the upper one.

Justin gets Leopard Cave 17/08/2003
Justin Hawkins repeats Leopard Cave 8B/V13 at Rocklands, probably the hardest bouldering ascent by a South African so far.

Greg and Mark at Hilton 06/08/2003
At Atom Smasher Crag, Hilton, Greg Streatfield got Acid Reign 26 second go and Creatues of the Wall 25. Mark Olver onsighted the technical arete Mother Crushers 22.

Topside News 05/08/2003
At Echo Valley area, Evan Wiercx made the second ascents of Doubt and Expectation 7B, Believe It Or Not 7C+, and he also re-repeated his own problem Captain Grafitti 8A, thinking it more like 7C+. This problem still awaits a "2nd ascent" from someone else to confirm the grade. Also at Topside, Guy Holwill and Jason Whyte in the space of one day discovered and established a new area called Bertie's Balcony with approx 20 new problems ... Guy finished the day off on a "good note" by opening Nude Goat 6B. On a subsequent visit Evan did the first ascent of Big Jim and the Round Twins 7B+.

Urban X event 04/08/2003
MasterCard Urban X is a multi-skilled cross-over extreme sporting event that will take place at the four major shopping centres around South Africa. There is R100 000 prize money up for grabs. The categories involve obstacle(climbing and roping skills required), physical fitness, MTB(bike) Team(further climbing challenges and Orienteer(further climbing). Anyone interested in competing visit: http://www.urbanx.co.za

Rowan gets Grimslade 03/08/2003
Rowan Toselli, now 15 redpointed Grimslade 27 and flashed Minas Tirith 24 at The Chosspile.

Martin gets FatBoys 03/08/2003
Martin Renz managed to repeat Fatboys Aerobic Workout 30 at Howies near Grahamstown.

Monteseel situation 01/08/2003
Andrew Friedemann reports the following on crime at Monteseel:

It is important that EVERY incident is reported to the local SAPS (Inchanga - 031 7834441) no matter how minor. This has been confirmed by the Captain at Inchanga. (The SAPS station is just at the turn off from the Old main road into Monteseel).

The SAPS operate largely on statistics and when a complaint is received, they look at the total number of incidents reported. If there are none then it is not regarded as a priority area. However if there are numerous cases of petty theft, harassment, etc. then there is a good probability that active policing will take place. Even if you just loose your lunch in an incident, report it. It will ultimately be for the benefit of all climbers.

When reporting incidents, make sure they give you a CR number. This way you can be assured it is going to show in the statistics even if there is no
investigation done.

Wildways is committed to trying to make Monteseel as safe as possible for climbers, and we will be making the Mountain Inn for a trial period (ex Mountain Club Hut) freely available for climbers to park at to try to ensure the safety of vehicles. We would encourage you to also leave everything you don't actually need for climbing at the Inn and return there for lunch. All we ask in return is a small donation if you utilise the toilets at the Inn to cover the cost of water. Or buy a cold beer. Vehicle access is off Magdalene drive and the walk onto Seels drive is less than 200m.

Craig still cranking hard 30/07/2003
Craig Read did Point Break 30 and the 30 to the left of it both on his second try with no beta. He also repeated Hypoxia 29 on the same
weekend at Montagu.

Rory on form at Chosspile 29/07/2003
Rory Lowther was on form redpointing Bully for Brontasaurus 29 and Mourn not Overmuch 25 and for good measure re-repeated Gandalf 25/26 and Grimslade 27 all in a day. Chris Rudolph also redpointed Gandalf all at The Chosspile. Rory also freed Project 22 an aid route in Cedarberg Kloof at about grade 25.

Strong boys in Rocklands 28/07/2003
Fred Nicole and Bernd Zangerl are in Rocklands at present and have done the following: Fred opened a new project on Mandelas birthday called 'Madiba' 8B+ at the Roadside boulders and Bernd Zangerl did 'Pendragon' 8A, 'Nutsa' 8A+ and 'Leopard Cave' 8B.

Justin Hawkins also repeated a slew of hard problems including: 'Ulam Battar' 7B+, ' Kingdom of the Sky' 7B+/7C, a 7C Undercling at Champside, 'Umbuli' 7C, 'Spider in the Roof' 7C+, 'Roycopp' 7C+ and 'The Glory of Papu' 8A.

Mugging at Melville Koppies 27/07/2003
There was a mugging at Melville Koppies on Saturday 26th. Two black men were hanging around the crag being very friendly. When the two climbers were climbing there they grabbed the bags and ran. The climbers chased after them and got most of the gear back. A brief 'tussle' ensued where the one climber was hurt when falling onto some rocks. When returning to get the rope down they started throwing rocks. Please take care at this crag, try only come in big groups.

New from Natal 26/07/2003
At Monteseel Dave Drummond and Eric Riemann both redpointed 'Child of
Darkness' 25, both then repeated the route by headlamp as there was a MCSA night climbing meet on. Also at Monteseel, Greg Streatfield opened 'De-void' 25. This new route is a direct start to 'Empty Void' on the Hallucination Wall featuring commiting openning moves that are unprotected till the first gear on Empty Void.
At the Fernkloof bouldering area, Greg Streatfield and Michael Macrae developed the Matrix boulder. Greg opened 'The Glitch' 7A which is a pumpy and sustained traverse problem. On the same boulder, Greg and Michael opened 'The Virgin Trinity' 6C+, 'Agent Spliff' 6C, and 'The Oracle' 6C.

Thugs arrested 25/07/2003
Mark Misslehorm reports that the 4 thugs responsible for the recent incident at Shongweni have now been arrested.

Please remember to phone the day before to advise that you are going to be climbing and to book the armed guard to accompany you.

Hard sends around SA 21/07/2003
Marijus Smigelskis repeated 'M&M' 30 and 'Eraserhead' 2nd try both at Waterval Boven. Martin Renz got 'Monkey Pump' 29 and 'Neanderthal Rex' 27 both at The Scoop in Montagu and repeated 'Tears for Fears' 27 at Oudtshoorn.

Paul Brouard onsighted 'Demons and Wizards' 28 while his sister Faye flashed 'Vandals' 26 at Fernkloof and redpointed 'Baseball Bat Treatment' 28 at Montagu.

In the Magaliesberg Mark Miller got 'Lawyers Guns & Money' 27 at Fernkloof & Eric Riemann repeated 'Bully for Brontasaurus' 29 at The Chosspile.

9b+/39 Grade Route? 19/07/2003
As reported on 8a.nu Bernabé Fernández redpointed his mega project at Villanueva del Rosario near Málaga, Spain. The route is more than 80m long, has almost 400 moves and is very steep. He graded 'Chilam Balam' 9b+/39 , the route is apparantly not chipped or glued. His previous hardest ascent was the unrepeated 'Orujo' 9a+/37 at Archidona.

Drakensberg Guides 18/07/2003
The 3rd edition of "Rock and Ice Climbs of the Drakensberg" is available in limited quantities. Contact Dan Ryding to order a copy.

Chosspile Guide Updated 05/07/2003
The Chosspile online guide has been updated with the lower crag (Harry Potter Area). This climbing area which is much better than its name implies now has 39 routes and 6 projects with many easier lines that have been added recently.

SASSU Results 02/07/2003
The SASSU Inter-varsity competition was held at Rock 2 Ten in Pretoria on the 30th June & 1st July. Winning the mens was Paul Brouard (Rhodes), followed by Craig Reed (UCT) and then Scott Sinclair (UND). Kath Fourie (Rhodes) & Sue (UCT) tied for first in womens.

Muggers caught 01/07/2003
Gustav van Rensburg reports that the muggers involed in the incident reported earlier were recently apprehended.

Spanish woman sends another 8c+/35 29/06/2003
Josune Bereciatu from Spain has climbed 'Nai Nai' 8c+/35 in the Baltzola Cave. News from 8a.nu.

Justin at Rocklands 28/06/2003
Justin Hawkins gave the new 'Tea with Tommy McBride' on the Teapot, 8A+ its second ascent and also did the sit start to 'Cedar Spine' 7C.

Hard bouldering at Rocklands 17/06/2003
At Rocklands Anthony Lamiche almost sent all the hard problems there. He flashed 'Leopard Cave' 8B and 'Au bord de l'eau' 8A, climbed 'Nutsa' 8A+, 'Oral Office' 8A+/8B, 'Tai Chi' 8A/8A+, 'Black Eagle' 8B and did a hard project on the Teapot, starting under the roof where the 7A is, climbing onto the lip, traverses left and then goes up the middle of the face by means of an obvious side pull, it is called 'Tea with Tommy McBride', it weighs in at 8A+. A hold snapped off the sitstart to 'Black Eagle' too. He also sent 'Armed Response' 8B at The Fortress.

Andrew Pedley sent 'Kingdom in Sky' 7C at the Champside, 'Rooi Clavier' 7C and 'Cedar Spine sit start' 7C which he thought was a 5 star problem, 'Ulan Batar' 7B all at Roadcrew. He also sent a new 7B+ at the far right Campground boulders, 'Secret of Olives Preserve Cupboard' 7B and 'Ground Control' 7A at the Fortress.

Sean Cremen at the Roadcrew also did 'Ulan Batar' 7B, 'Rooi Clavier' 7C and 'Cedar Spine' stand start 7B+. At Roadside he did 'Question of Balance' 7B and then at the campground and unnamed 7B in the Upper Campground and a 7B+ in the Campground.

Clinton Martinenego was also ast Rocklands and fired 'Au bord de l'eau' 8A, 'Pale Rider' 7C+, 'Cedar Spine sit start' 7C, 'Rooi Clavier' 7C and 'Ulan Batar' 7B at Roadcrew.

After coming back from a finger injury Evan Wiercx got 'Ulan Batar' 7B, and 'Rooi Clavier' 7C.

Mark Millar did 'Secret of Olive's Preserve Cupboard' 7B, 'Colin the Librarian' 7A, 'Munereheim Roof' which he thought to be 7A not 7B as well as the 7A on the Teapot.

At Topside Shaun Harris did 'De Capo' 7A+, 'Mr Smiley' 7B+ and 'The Don' 7C.

Boulder comp - Pta 17/06/2003
There is an Inhouse Boulder Comp happening at Rock 2 Ten on Friday 20 June 2003, starting at 19h00. Entrance is free and you can register at the counter any time from now up to Friday at 18h30. Refreshments will be available and non-participating audience members are welcome. Prizes up for grabs. Phone Hein for more info: 072 136-6298.

Crime at Boven 16/06/2003
There was a mugging at Waterval Boven this last weekend at The Ivory Towers (Right hand side of Coven). Two black men with guns robbed the group. Due to the amount of incidents at The Coven and Flying is fun it seems that the Sport Valley area is quite risky. The Gorge area is also very risky.

Rock Rally 2003 15/06/2003
There will be a Rock Rally Climbing Festival from 24-28 September 2003 held at Waterval Boven.

Compo in Cape Town 15/06/2003
S.A.C.S. Junior School in Cape Town will be hosting an indoor bouldering competition at 13h00 on Sat 21 June. The competition is open to all school children, from beginner to advanced level. Entrance fee is R20.00. Parents should accompany children to sign the entry form. No need to pre-register as entries will be accepted on the day. For further information contact Charles Howell on 083 256-0286 or mail them

Bouldering Development 12/06/2003
Andrew Pedey opened up a new problem called 'The Nipple Milker' a V4/6C, he then repeated 'Stagger' a fingery V8/7B, 'Significant Other' a steep V8/7B slap problem.

At Swinburne James Roberts repeated 'Curious Nurse' V7/7A+ and the classic 'Dunce' V6/7A.

Natal climbers get back to the crags 10/06/2003
As the weather cools down the Natal climbers are moving back to the crags from all the surfing! Benjamin, 13 managed to redpoint 'Sargasso seas' 26 at Swinburne and also made an impressive assent of 'Voodo Guru' 27 at the Boneyard in Kloof, having just turned 13 this is one of the harder routes by somebody of this age in SA. Faye Brouard also managed an easy redpointed of 'Voodoo Guru'. Back at Swinburne Brendon at age 14 and Faye also got 'Sargasso Seas' 26, Bredon flashing it. They also all did 'Poseidon' 24 and 'Tritan' 25. Both Eric Riemann, Scott Sinclair, Dave Drummond and Angus managed to redpoint 'Going Gonzo With King Louie' 28 also at the Boneyard.

SASSU Comp 03/06/2003
The SASSU Inter-Varsity climbing competition will be held on 30th June & 1st July at Rock 2 Ten (Old Barn) in Pretoria East. Contact Shaun Kroukamp for more information on 073 236-5597

Rhodes Open Bouldering Comp 02/06/2003
The 31st of May saw the Rhodes Open Bouldering comp being held in Grahamstown. Paul Brouard won the mens with Martin Renz second and a tie for third by Cam Richards and Adam Ludford. Women's was won by Ingrid Sabbagh, Kathy Fourie second and Shirly and Heather also tying for third.

Everest 'first' for SA ranger 26/05/2003
Game ranger Sibusiso Vilane became the first black South African to summit Mount Everest when he reached the highest point on Earth.

Natal Bouldering League 20/05/2003
Natal Bouldering League for Winter 2003.
22 May @ University of Natal Durban
5 June @ The Rock Gateway
19 June @ Westville Girls High School
Other Dates and venues to be announced later. The entrance fee is R7 in support of the natal bolting fund. Times 6:00pm to 8:30pm. Come and enjoy a social occasion, and get to now some of the other local climbers. For Further details Call Dave on 072 419-5473.

Inter-School Climbing League 10/05/2003
An inter-school climbing league for primary school pupils will be taking place at The Cage Climbing Gym in the St. Peter's Prep. Sports Hall (Sandton, Jhb). Fixtures will be held every Friday, from May through till August. Seven schools will be fielding teams. For further information, please contact Carole on (011) 315-7277 or on 082 480 9574.

Paul in Alicedale 29/04/2003
Paul Brouard has opened up a few highball problems in Alicedale near Grahamstown. He did a sit start to 'Straight Up' at V8/7B, 'Genocide' V7/7A+ and 'Falling Raisins' V5/6C+.

Martin Renz on form in Swinburne 27/04/2003
Martin Renz flashed 'Black Mirage' which seems to be settling at V8/7B now. He also repeated 'Spatchcock' and 'Chinese Wall' both V8/7B and 'Ebb' V7/7A+.

Melville 23/04/2003
Melville Koppies route guide added, some short routes that were bolted late last year near Melville.

SPY-da man Winter Challenge 23/04/2003
Urban Crag in JetPark, Boksburg presents the SPY-da Man Winter Challenge on May24, June 7 and June 21. It is a series of 3 rounds, 1hr each where the climber tries to collect as many points as possible on any of the 50+ routes.

Rhodes Open Bouldering Comp 23/04/2003
The Annual Rhodes Bouldering competition will be held on Saturday 31st May. Registration is at 09h00 and there should be wicked prizes.

Durban Open Competition 20/04/2003
Durban Open Bouldering Competition saw Paul Brouard winning with Martin Renz coming second, Faye Brouard won the womens with Kath Fourie coming second.

Andrew gets Bully 14/04/2003
Andrew Pedley repeated "Bully for Brontasaurus" 29 at The Chosspile with relative ease. On a previous trip to Boven he also did "Eraserhead" 28 and "Devil in a Cauldren" 27 thinking the latter to be quite solid.

Bouldering in CT & KZN 14/04/2003
At Amazon.com, Topside Greg Streatfield got Ponder V8/7B, and at the Silvermine Boulder he did Dyno Man V6/7A. On Table Mountain, he flashed one V6/7A problem and got two others.

At King Solomon, Michael McCrae flashed "Something Porno" V5/6C+ as well as "Captain Slapper" V4/6C, which was also flashed by Faye Brouard and Craig. Greg Streatfield opened "Exfoliator" V6/7A, "Serotonin" V6/7A, "Dr Evil" V4/6C, and "My Brother's a Hooker" V3/6B which Michael flashed as well.

New Gym in Cape Town 11/04/2003
CityROCK, Cape Town's first real indoor rock climbing gym, is officially opening on Monday, April 14.
- 27 top anchors, up to 10m high, featuring over 50 different routes.
- 400 m2 of wall climbing area, plus 150 m2 of bouldering wall & cave.
- A dedicated beginners & kids wall.
- A wicked overhanging roof with high-grade routes.
- Orca's new Gear Shop is on our premises and sells & rents all the climbing gear.
Address: Cnr Collingwood & Anson in Observatory. Hours: 1-9 Mon - Thurs; Fri 1-7; Sat, Sun 10-6
Phone (021) 447-1326
For more details and photos, check out www.cityrock.co.za

Hurners Cranking 07/04/2003
Brendan Hurner (14) has been doing some impresive ascents with flashes of both the "Tritan" 25 and "Sargasso Seas" 26 at Swinburne. Colin Hurner and Benjamin also managed to redpoint "Tritan" in 2 or 3 goes.

Cartwright at it 01/04/2003
Mike Cartwright had a quick 6 day family to South Africa so arrived without any climbing gear. Roger Nattrass and Dion van der Riet dragged him off to Tonquani in The Magaliesburg for "old times sake" where the highlight of the day was a team ascent of the ultra exposed Boggle (19) which Cartwright climbed with a pack on his back, in slipslops, in the blazing sun and without a chalk bag!

Faye at Swinburne 23/02/2003
Faye Brouard sends "Sargasso Seas" 26 and "Tritan" 25 at Swinburne.

Rhodes Website updated 23/02/2003
Have a look at the new Rhodes University mountain club website.

New Wits Website 19/02/2003
Wits now has a new website at www.wumc.za.net, go check it out.

New SA Climbing Video 17/02/2003
New SA Climbing Video Release: High Society a film by Chalk and Cheese Productions follows Paul Brouard and Kevan Watkins on a month long road trip in the Western Cape. They visit Rocklands, Topside, Montagu and Oudtshoorn. Boulder sends include: "Pendragon" 8A/V11 as well as a bunch of V9s and V10s. Route sends include: The second ascent of "Ebola" 33, "Bobbejohn" 33 and "Short Circuit" 32. Features a sound track by Inishi8. Duration 40mins. Cost R120 including shipping. Click here to order your copy.

News from Abroad 16/02/2003
News from 8a. Adam Stack repeated "Kryptonite" 8c+(35)/9a(36) near Rifle. Apparently after Francois Legrand aggressively cleaned a hold Yuji Hirayama said it may be only 8c+/35. Stack did the route without this hold and thought it to be 9a/36.

Uros Perko opens up a new 9a/36 in Slovenia, an extension of "Sanjski par", making it the hardest line in the country.

The now famous boulder problem "Dreamtime" 8C/V15 in Cresciano, Switzerland got its fifth ascent by Christian Core of Italy, the other ascent were Fred Nicole, Bernd Zangerl, Dave Graham and Chris Sharma.

Climbing Comp at UrbanCrag 10/02/2003
1 March friendly comp 2hrs to collect as many points as u can ,prizes for 1st ,2nd,3rd placments speed and technical prizes also awarded check out www.urbancrag.co.za for entry details .Prizes from Outdoor Warehouse and much more.Prize list available shortly .....

Durban Bouldering Comp 04/02/2003
Held at Old Mutual Sports Hall, University of Natal, Durban climbing wall on 12 April 2003.
Open to all ages and abilities
Entrance fee : R25 per climber. Spectators free.
Prize money and Lucky Draw prizes for all competing. Come and join the best rock climbers around for a day of hard climbing, loud music, other activities, pumping atmosphere and lots of fun for big and small, again. Whether you are climbing or just checking out the skill and determination of the next big sport, this event is not to be missed. Registration begins at 9:30am and the comp will run till late. Categories are boys U18, girls U18, men and women. Beginners are welcome. For details contact Dave on 072 419-5473

Bradshaw and Marijus in Cape Town 02/02/2003
Steven Bradshaw Jr redpointed "Strange Days" 31 at The Palace in Montagu despite a 6 month layoff from any climbing in the UK. Marijus Smigelskis, 18 sent "Virus" 28 at The Hole, got "Wings of Glory" 28 in Kleinmond on his second try, and redpionted "Hypoxia" 29 at the Supertubes in Montagu.

New Website 28/01/2003
Go check out Urban Crag's new website!

Ebola Repeated 22/01/2003
Paul Brouard returned to Montagu after his Rocklands trip wrapped up 'Ebola' fairly quickly, thinking it to be 33. This means it is still one of the hardest lines in SA but probably not the hardest, it was originally opened by Clinton at 34.

KZN News 20/01/2003
Mark Olver, Greg Streatfield and Robert Strause bolted on lead and opened "Bugs, birds and bees" 25 in a day at Uvongo Beach on the KZN South Coast. Uvongo is about 130 km from Durban. The crag has potential for more routes. However, Robert "Bugs" Strause has opened two other trad lines there as well so others interested in bolting should inquire before hand. The crag is fairly steep sandstone and is right on the beach and easily accessible. It is definately a must for those who enjoy babes, beach, sun and climbing. It is in the shade most of the day, getting a little afternoon sun from around 4:30 pm so good photo opportunities.

Kevan gets Short Circuit 20/01/2003
Kevan Watkins at the end of his road trip put it together and redpointed "Short Circuit" 32 at Oudtshorn.

Paul in Topside 17/01/2003
Paul Brouard stopped by at Topside quickly sending "Bitter and Twisted" 7C/V9-10 and flashing both "Jeremys Problem" 7B/V8 and another 7B/V8 right of "Bitter & Twisted".

Paul at Rocklands 14/01/2003
Paul continues on his roadtriop, this time in Rocklands and then moving on. He has pulled together an incredible ticklist inspite of the hot conditions. He repeated "Pale Rider" 7C+/V10, "Yesterday" 7C/(V9-10), the 7C Dyno in the campground, "Tea Time" 7C+/V10, "Spider in the Roof" 7C+/V10, "Pendragon" 8A/V11, Another V9/10(7C) Dyno in the Ceder Rouge area and "Kingdom in the Sky" 7C/V9-10. His sister Faye got the 7A/V6 on the Teapot.

Also at Rocklands Guy Hubbard and Kyle Odonoghue got "Yesterday" and Guy also did the 7C Dyno in the campground.

Natal Climbers 05/01/2003
Dave Drummond flashed "Tripolactic Fairytales" 27 and Scott Sinclair redpointed it. Dave, Scott and James Benson all redpointed "Nuns on the Run" 28 all thinking it to be soft. At the Hallucingenic Wall, Greg Streatfield got "Panty Slapped" 28 on his second try.

Down in Natal 16 year old David Wilkinson redpointed "Satanic Mechanic" 24, "Seperate Tables" 25 in Kloof then in Monteseel "Bunsen Burner" 24 and "Child of Darkness" 25.

Cranking in the Cape 03/01/2003
Andrew Pedley did a road trip in the Cape doing "Demons and Wizards" 28, "Paws" 26 onsight and "El Nino" 30 at Oudtshoorn. At Montagu he did "Digital Bitch" and "Thruster" both 26 and both onsight.

Marijus Smigelskis redpointed "The Germans" 27 at Fawlty Towers and bouldered "Invisible Monsters" at TDA a 7B/V8, "Slam Dunk" 7A/V6 at Shady Nook. His brother Edvinas did "Salami" 27 at Kalk Bay, "The Germans" 27 and bouldered "Jeremy's Jump" 7A+/V7 and "Slam Dunk" 7A/V6 at Shady Nook. Jason Whyte did "Leo's Problem" 7B/V8 and "Jeremy's 7B" 7B/V8 both at Amazon.

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