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CityROCK Johannesburg

First post and replies | Last post by Catch_Donna, 1 week ago

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Hi All, I am a climber from Sydney. TR and lead. I come to Johannesburg for work here and there. Looking for a climbing partner on 1-3 October 2024. Hit me up if keen!

By Catch_Don...

1 week ago

NEW ROUTES @ FERNKLOOF

First post and replies | Last post by MCSA JHB, 4 weeks ago

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Fernkloof crag is the birthplace of sport climbing around Gauteng, with the first climbs appearing in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The kloof has a steep side and a slabby side, and with crystal-clear streams, big ferns and ancient trees, really is a beautiful climbing venue. A pleasant, mostly shady 15-minute walk-in will get you to the crag. Traditionally Fernkloof was considered an advanced sport climbing venue, with lots of very difficult climbs. However, things have changed, and we now have 20 new fully bolted sport climbs in the kloof of grade 19 and below. So, if you're tired of the same old climbs, make a plan to try somewhere different and join Neil Margetts at Fernkloof on the 8 September to try out these new climbs! Contact admin@jhb.mcsa.org.za for more details.

By MCSA JHB

4 weeks ago

IP? Is it ethical?

First post and replies | Last post by SNORT, 2 months ago

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A very cunning and naughty acronym has crept into climbing jargon: IP. I first came across it this year at RocknRoll crag when attempting some new routes and more particularly after I actually cleaned and bolted a new route. There was no physical evidence of anyone actually having climbed the route and my climbing partner noted the faint chalked IP on the rock. In fact the route was unclimable till I cleaned grass out of critical holds. This follows on when a climber bolted a trad route of mine called Slobber at Montagu and it was published in the Montagu route book as a project!!!! Really? The climber in question then tried to tell me that the route he bolted was different to the original route. Considering that this particular route is the only natural line on that face and that there was a bolted lower off in situ, this was, to say the least, disingenuous. Debates over how long a route can be a closed project has raged for years but in those cases, the protaganist has invariably curated the route to some extent such as bolting it and attempting it and putting in lower offs (as on Slobber).Writing IP at the base of a route that you have not bolted or cleaned does not in my view justify reserving it as a project. There must be some evidence of effort expended on it which is more than just going down a bit of rock on a rope. Clean it or at least leave a lower off to mark the route. Since I bolted it the route in question it has been climbed by others and published and named by others which in effect means they or he or she lays claim to it. It remains to be seen if the new "Owner" or owners replace the bolts I placed. As anyone who bolts routes knows, the cost and time and effort of bolting a route is huge. I have done by far the most of the onsight leads of the more than 500 pitches of new routing at Yellowwood as well as the thousands of pitches and routes around South Africa. Every single person who has had anything to do with a pitch or route is credited and also has some say regarding the naming of the route. So that is my ethic...

By SNORT

2 months ago

Accommodation in Cape Town

First post and replies | Last post by SNORT, 3 months ago

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Climbing visitors to Cape Town DM if you need accommodation. I have a house in Mowbray that has just emptied of students. It is on Airbnb if you look for Mighty Malleson to see the amenities. If your bona fides pass muster I shall give rates better than any equivalent place or back packers. Minimum 2 nights though.

By SNORT

3 months ago

Inflamation in DIP joint - Referals to good medical practitioner

First post and replies | Last post by elmari, 6 months ago

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Looking for outdoor sport gear to rent, borrow, or share for a few days in Boven in April

First post and replies | Last post by Gus in Boven, 6 months ago

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Upcycling Project

First post and replies | Last post by Gymnogene, 8 months ago

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Black Sabbath FIn and Face RocknRoll crag Montagu

First post and replies | Last post by SNORT, 8 months ago

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With Sebastian Prevost we did a free ascent of Iron Man and then also did the first pitch of Into the Void in keeping with the Black Sabbath theme and that continues up the tricky offwidth. It is maybe a ittle harder than 18 if you do not know how to climb cracks and do not know how to hand jam. Both routes are stellar for the grade and especially so for trad. The protection is excellent.I am super surprised that Montague rock has delivered such good trad routes and a bolted lower off is at the top of the second pitch of both routes and 60m ropes gets you all the way down. I strongly recommend Into the Void for anyone who wants to learn how to climb relatively easy cracks with good gear (up to the offwidth). I am quite confident on that kind of climbing so did run it out. If you are learning, take a triple rack one inch to 3 inch cams or break up the route into 2 or 3 pitches. You need at least one no 4 or preferably 2 no 4 cams for the Offwidth of Into the Void or a 4 and a 5.Then Iron Man, superb crack climbing, War Pigs a cruxy crack and arete climb and Paranoid a delicate steep face are added. Both top end steep and demanding 21+ routes. Good pro though. All the routes on the Black Sabbath fin top out on the pinnacle with the best option to climb up the front crack of the pinnacle, then move right on Jugs to the right arete where a bomber green camalot fits and then a delicate step uo left ascends you to easy rock. Another easier option is to go left around the back and up but rope drag is prohibitive.Mark Straughan and me also did 2 routes on the Pinnacle to the right on 30 March called Dying to Live 18 and Never Say Die 13 which was Marks's first ever trad lead and it was an onsight first ascent. The lower off is shown in the pic and found on the ramp up left of the Dying to Live pinnacle but this will be improved and beefed up in due course. Remember that when using such a lower off the heaviest person with all the heavy gear goes first and tests is properly with a back-up. The person without the back-up must slide down smoothly!

By SNORT

8 months ago

MCSA Climbers' Social: Violins and Crampons – A Summer of Alpinism in Chamonix

First post and replies | Last post by goodBETA, 8 months ago

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MCSA Climbers' Social: Violins and Crampons – A Summer of Alpinism in Chamonix Speaker: Amber De DeckerDate: Tuesday 6 February 2024Location: MCSA Cape Town Clubhouse () As a relatively new trad climber and novice ice-climber, Amber De Decker received funding from the MCSA expedition fund to embark on a training season of summer alpinism in Chamonix, France. Armed with 50kg kilograms of borrowed, slightly vintage rock and ice gear and a cheap violin found on Facebook marketplace, she landed in Geneva airport with not quite enough money to sustain her through five weeks of dirt-bagging and adventuring. Join us for her talk to hear the story of breath-taking routes, close calls, tough lessons, diverse climbing partners from around the globe, new friends and busking in crowded streets to cover her groceries and camping fees. Such were the experiences of a psyched 22-year-old student staring at Mont Blanc with googly eyes and a burning desire to climb.Clubhouse opens at 6:30pm, talk starts at 7:30pm.

By goodBETA

8 months ago

First post and replies | Last post by Henk, 8 months ago

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My name is Henk,I started Lion Head last year as a company to locally make climbing themed accessories that is good quality and more affordable than the imported brands. I have started making some climbing themed jewellery and Hangboards. I am in the process of designing T-shirts with a South African flair, enough of 'Walls are meant to be climbed" shirts, we all know real climbers climb on rock.With your support we can bring South African climbing to the international stage! Please Check out my gear on Instagram at , visit my shop at https://www.bobshop.co.za/seller/5163315/LioMan3359 or contact me directly.

By Henk

8 months ago

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