Rainbow Glen Climber Profile: Garvin Jacobs

Dave Webster of Rainbow Glen chats to climbing legend Garvin Jacobs

The first time I had the pleasure of meeting “The Garvin” was on a climbing trip to the Cederberg in around 2014.  He arrived on a motor bike and was a friend of Keith James and Tony Lourens, who I was camping with at the old “Lapa” campsite at Sanddrif.  We climbed together and immediately became friends.

Previously I had seen a climbing fundraiser that Garvin had organised advertised on climb.co.za and remember thinking that it was an impressive initiative.

To raise funds Garvin celebrated his 40th birthday by climbing 40 routes in a day around the East London area.

He and his wife Mie raised sponsorships and donated approximately R150 000 to the Eyabantwana, for the Children’s Trust in support of the Frere Public Hospital in East London, where Mie worked for many years as a pediatric surgeon.

“Garvin, Mia, Frank & Jef” 

Mie and Garvin bought a property in Montagu in 2016.  They rented it out while continuing to work in the Eastern Cape.  In 2023 they decided to move here to Montagu full time.

With Garvin having been born and raised in the small farming town of Alexandria close to PE (now Gqeberha) and Mie coming from a small chicory farming town in Belgium, the move to Montagu was an excellent progression.

Garvin comes from humble beginnings. His father was a hard working brick-layer and recreational body builder (so now we know where he gets those muscles) and his mom worked as a manager for various businesses.

Growing up with siblings and cousins it seems like it was the kind of close family household where strong morals and values were taught and offered with love.  Family and friends brought around homemade cakes to share over a cup of coffee.  Garvin’s mother always said “Een dag gan hierdie kind berge klim” because as a young child he was often found on top of the countertops, cupboards, piles of bricks and eventually on top of the roof!

When he was a teenager Garvin’s interest in the outdoors was stimulated after attending the “Veld en Vlei” camp in Sedgefield. An institution that he not so fondly remembers as being militaristic in their approach to training.  I think we can still see some remnants of that in Garvin’s approach to climbing to this day.

“Classic route – African Mama, Eastern Cape” 
“Cabinet making skills – some of Garvin’s creations” 

Garvin boarded privately in PE whilst attending Paterson High School.

After some time working in an art gallery, he did an apprenticeship and qualified as a cabinet maker

Today Garvin produces custom furniture from his home based workshop. If you’d like anything made from wood you should contact him at “anythinginwood.SA@gmail.com“.

“Procrastibate, Windmill Hole, East London” 
 “Forest Crag, Montagu”

Garvin’s first experience of rock climbing was in 1997 together with a colleague and friend, Steven Reed, who he worked with at Bradco (Joinery) in Port Elizabeth.  On his first climbing meet with the EC MCSA, Garvin had the good fortune of meeting Edmund February, who came to give a talk at the Mountain Club in PE.

Edmund spoke on his recent expedition to climb “The Hand of Fatima” in Mali. Garvin acknowledges that meeting and climbing together with Ed had a positive impact on his climbing career.

“Garvin with the enigmatic Ed February”  
“Diamonds on the soles of my shoes, Hogsback”  
 “Mojo Rising, Fort Fordyce, EC”

Garvin met Mie in 1999 on a MCSA meet in Hogsback and they fell madly in love and were married in 2003.

Together they have climbed all over the Eastern Cape in areas like Mary, Nagaskloof, The Cockscomb Gorges, Morgan Bay and Fort Fordyce.

Through the MCSA Garvin naturally met and became friends with “Mr. Eastern Cape Climbing”, Derek Marshall and together they bolted the first sport routes in East London at Pompies Pillar and Windmill Hole. This was before either of them owned a battery drill and they carried a generator to the crag in order to run the drill. 

Check out more about the climbing in the Eastern Cape on Derek Marshall’s website here:  https://www.easterncaperockclimbing.co.za//

Garvin went on to build a very decent sized climbing wall in his double garage at their house in East London and this wall was the training ground and meeting hub for many of the climbers in the area.

Garvin met Julian Wright, who was mentored by Keith James. Julian now operates the foremost guiding business on Mount Kenya called African Ascents.

https://www.africanascents.com

Garvin has climbed and guided on Mount Kenya more than 10 seasons. If you are considering a climbing trip to Mount Kenya, you should definitely contact him.

Incorporating climbing with visiting family in Europe, Garvin has climbed in France, Germany, Spain, the UK and Slovenia among other countries.

Amongst numerous other adventures Garvin has ridden his motorcycle to northern Zambia and back. As part of a fundraising team he cycled from East London to Cape Town in a relay cycling tour.

He was one of the Chief Sanitation Engineers responsible for building the long-drop toilet at Nel’s Cave at the summit of Towerkop.

Since moving to Montagu, Garvin has helped to develop the Rock & Roll Kloof and has also bolted routes on Cogmans Buttress.

Garvin and Mie are the proud parents of two boisterous Canine Africanis specimens named Frank and Jef who they have somehow managed to train and almost civilize.

“Free fall, Rock & Roll Crag”  
“Garvin on Jews with Glues and Spanish Rubber Shoes, Cyclops Crag, Harrismith. 
What a greate name for a route!”

Rock & Roll Kloof is still the trending place to climb in Montagu.  Thanks needs to go to “JTF” for building bases at Metal Haven to halt the erosion and make the climbing there more comfortable. View the Guano Caves – Rock n Roll kloof Route Guide

Yours in climbing …

David & Tara Webster

Rainbow Glen Climbers
Rainbow Glen Climbers