Mossel Bay’s St Blaize trail offers pristine views, crisp ocean air and, now, a resurrected and expanded sport climbing crag.
Deon van Zyl moved from Cape Town to Mossel Bay a few years ago. While exploring the St Blaize Cliffs, he found five routes that were bolted by Danie Smit decades prior. It seems that these routes were bolted back in the ‘80s using expansion bolts, now rusted and dangerous.
With a new vision, Deon reached out to the Mountain Club of South Africa (MCSA) Cape Town section. The Club offers funding for both anchor replacement (via its ARF programme) and a new bolting subsidy program, in pursuit of developing South African climbing and ensuring that sport routes are as safe as possible. Even though this crag technically falls in the Southern Cape, the MCSA Cape Town section supported Deon.
Deon (and spouse Yvette) re-bolted the five original St Blaize routes, and added about 20 new routes, all with glue-ins, allowing climbers to safely enjoy the crag for years to come. Mossel Bay would make for a great addition to an Oudtshoorn trip, as well as a fantastic off-day for J-Bay surfers looking for some vertical adventures.
Take a look at the crag guide here.
To discover more crags in the Southern & Eastern Capes, check out this resource.
MCSA Subsidies
If you are looking at developing and improving new or existing crags, consider applying for the MCSA Anchor Replacement Fund (ARF) or Bolting Subsidy Programme (BSP) via the form below.
