The Chosspile is a crag above the Hartebeespoort
Dam wall. Unlike the crag's name there is actually some damn good rock
here with some fine routes too. The rock is a hard sandstone, semi quartsitic.
There are 17 routes with grades from 17 to 32/3 with some really hard projects
both open and in progress.
There is a bit of a slog to walk in
to the crag but you will have plenty shade in the trees at the base of
the cliff. The sun leaves most of the face by early morning.
Access
To get to the crags you need to get
into the Crocodile River picnic site, usually this costs R40 per car. No
booking is necessary. From the dam wall driving away from the quaint town
of Hartebeespoort turn right at the first stop street towards Brits. There
is an Engen garage on your left. Follow the road for about 1-2 km until
you cross over a river. Take the first right after this dip, pay the guard
and follow the road to the right then straight. Park when the road runs
out and find the path going along
the water. It forks after 100-200m where
there is a small flat rock with ripples in it to your right. Turn left
here and then stay right, the path goes up a short rocky scree slope. Follow
the path staying parallel to the water channel, just after some rocks you
will see a steel weir gate where you cross. Scramble up the rock slightly
right and back onto a path, follow this up to the crags. See the red line
on the photo to the left.
Safety & Medical
To date the area is secure from theft
etc. but please take the usual precautions. At present there is no stretcher
or first aid dump in the area. For serious accidents please call the MCSA
Rescue team on 011 315-0203. You can also call 112 from almost any cellphone
with or without airtime, with or without the pin code.
Weather
Hot in summer with occasional thunderstorms,
climb in the shade and you should be fine. In winter it gets warm too during
the day
and cool in the evenings. Generally
you can climb here year round.
The crag is mostly in shade all day
long except for the left 2 routes and the 4 rightmost routes.
Route
Guide Click above to get to the route
descriptions.
The guide is
not totally complete and if anyone has any more information on the routes,
first ascent information etc. please let us know.
There are still
a few faces in the general area that can be developed including a large
cave/ steep crag lower down the hill away from the dam wall. We recommend
that permission be sought first should any new crags in the area be eyeballed
to avoid closure to the current crags. There are also 4 hard projects all
in the thirties, 2 are currently being worked.
Please send
any new route information and any corrections/ suggestions to routes@saclimb.co.za
