This past Saturday, 19 June, the inaugural Rocklands Rally was hosted at De Pakhuys in the heart of Rocklands, Western Cape.
The recently implemented level 3 regulations didn’t put a damper on the psych to get to the great outdoors and wrestle some pebbles, with capacity tickets selling out during the week. The fresh air and wide open spaces was welcomed by the city slickers who ventured from the mother city Cape Town, with some eager joining us all the way from Johannesburg.
The Rock Rally format has done its rounds at the popular Boven and Montagu sport climbing crags. The Black Diamond Tradathon has also toured the country. It was only a matter of time before the Rally format extended to the SA bouldering community. The team at CityROCK Cape Town made it happen together with Thys from de Pakhuys, and it was a hit! Rocklands provides an abundance of bouldering fields for all climbing levels and allowed the competitors to get lost in the mazes of incredible rock for the day.
The Rally kicked off at sunrise on Saturday; competitors were tasked to climb up to 10 boulders before sunset and try send grades above their handicap. The scoring system levelled the field and allowed categories to be won not necessarily by the strongest and most experienced climbers, but rather by competitors who put in the biggest effort and most psych to send grades above their previous personal bests.
A big congratulations to the following category winners:
Male Sprogs (under 12):
- 1st – Jake Olden
- 2nd – Ruan le Roux
Male Youth (aged 12-18):
- 1st – Drew Olden
- 2nd – Tiaan le Roux
Male Open
- 1st – Ruan Viviers
- 2nd – Ruan de Villiers
- 3rd – Stephen Hoffe
Female Sprogs (under 12):
- 1st – Annelien le Roux
- 2nd – Nina le Roux
Female Youth (aged 12-18):
- 1st – Cara Pepler
- 2nd – Ilke Pepler
- 3rd – Mia Davies
Female Open
- 1st – Naz Saldulker
- 2nd – Claire Currie
- 3rd – Anneke Eberhard
Sunday saw some great slacklining workshops hosted by Viper Slacklines and a campsite yoga session to rehabilitate those broken bouldering bodies. Every one left with a happy heart, some tender finger tips and great memories of the land of rocks.
A big thanks to CityROCK and de Pakhuys for organising this great event – we look forward to this becoming a tradition each year to open the Rocklands season.
If you attended this event, tell us about your experience in the comments below! If you took some great pics or videos, post them on social media before Sunday 27 June and include #rocklandsrally. Best photo and best video will win a weekend’s stay at Travellers Rest or de Pakhuys.
