Grissley Behr

Dewaal Rautenbach started climbing recently. Here he is leading a (13) Grisley Behr

at Waterval Boven. It is not clear if the position of the right hand indicates a cobra gripp or nervousness.





Not only was this his first lead climb but he also introduce Leander above, Deon and Marlie to the sport

The Beast Project

Andrew Pedley started working on a new project on Got no Wall, Watervall Boven. Below we see him working his way through some fancy moves. The project promises to add to the other spectacular 31/32 climbs in the area.

Jacky Chan - A New Dimension for Starters

The official first photo on the start of Jacky Chan (12) in the newly developed dynamic area for guys like Charles Snr and Mel Janse van Rensburg.

Mel is my co-founder and technical climbing advisor. He has been very tied up with his first year in school, ...what a load of hard work, and of course meeting new girl friends.




Below is Charles Snr in a totally effortless and strained to the bone first lead climb in a record breaking style and time. The photo was taken at a slight forward angle to hide the lay back. Yeeaah!





The ultimate aim. Eureka the anchor bolts.



What a privilege, Charles Snr. welcomes Charles Jnr at the top of Jacky Chan.


And there she was, Chade doing her first climb in the Creche at Jacky Chan.

Glen in a hurry to Rainy day, the jump is about 35meters. Good luck!

So a good festive season soon became last Christmas, last year and last holiday but alas not the last climb. Waterfall Boven remains the Capital of Africa.

The following can be said:

We made good friends
We climbed.
There was good coffee
We climbed.
Alex and Gustav organised another 100 things
We climbed.
Gustav officially took overs Charles's Yamaha 350 XT - our new biker climber, but Alex would not allow him near the bike, because she is riding it.

Charles closed the STP Place Restaurant - mining keeps him too busy. Where are we going to get a good cup of coffee!!

While you were all struggling on the plus 25 crags, Charles started what is now called 'The Play Ground' at Tranquilitas. An area where climbers like Charles Snr and guys like Mell can enjoy a morning climbing. The first bolted route in this section is called Chacky Chan - so named after Chris the Canadian and Charles Jnr decided that when Snr climbs it sounds like Jacky Chan in a fight Ugh Ag Ahh Ugh.

Climbing at The Gym

This is not typically what you think of when your climbing at the gym but this little area is called The Gym. It's located just below the Restaurant Crag and Gaper Buttress, the areas that were first developed here at Boven - see pic below. The Gym is in a narrow canyon slot and above the big waterfall that we hiked to the previous days. On one side is a steep and powerful section with climbs like Monkey Monkey 19/10a with a burley start and a short and stiff 24/11d called Lithium which Glenn cruised with ease. The rock is quite polished near the base from when the water level rises. The other side has a black slab wall which get's nasty hot in the sun and is referred to as the dark side for good reason. I noted an early ('93) Cartwright route called The Dark Side and decided to give it a run. It's a nice face with tiny little holds to make it good and technical as well as some high stepping and goes at 22/11b. I wired it in a couple of runs and I have to say nice job Mr.C. Only thing it needs is new top anchors as that 6mm chain has seen its day.

Upstream from the gym is a small waterfall and great place to swim and cool down. The hole there is deep enough to leap from the top of the falls into the pool. Further down the canyon is a narrow slot that has a couple routes on the right side with hanging belays. Glenn thought it would be cool to have a boulder traverse running down the canyon and set off to explore.

Later that day Glenn and I found ourselves on a classic line on Triple Tier Crag's He-Man area called Too Early for The Sky. A moderate that should be much much longer. It basically climbs high and directly above the large waterfall that we hiked too early in the week.


A nice day at the Restaurant Crag (left) and Gaper Buttress (right) with the now defunct original restaurant above.


Dieter and Nick getting set to jump on Monkey Monkey

Glenn Preps for his Lithium - spot the obvious jug

Chris using the force on The Dark Side

Cooling my feet after a hot run on The Dark Side while Dieter monkies on!

Glenn Bouldering the slot

Glenn Following "Too Early For The Sky"

Boven Hiking

Local hiking in Boven is wonderful and this trip is to a local waterfall that lays below Triple Tier Crag. It is a well secluded place and took about 45 minutes to reach. The day was nice and hot so swimming underneath it was magic. Last time Gustav was here he saw a Mozambique Spitting Cobra swimming in the water as well. They both avoided each other very well and shared the place. This is a place that just doesn't exist in real life anymore and so I must have been dreaming.

Slightly above this waterfall is the Triple Tier Crag and some awesome climbs. The walls are some of the bigger and longer ones at the Restaurant and a great deal more exploration can happen here.

Mandela's House on Fire - Swaziland

Swaziland was more than accommodating. I found the food great, the people very friendly and knowledgable, plenty of activities and a great place to stay called Mandela's House on Fire. It's a very artistic place with a great B&B, wireless internet (yes high speed!!!!), awesome breakfast, top notch restaraunt and a more than funky club/band venue.

The pic below are from the Dali inspired? venue next to the B&B where they throw great parties, concerts, plays and dances. There is also an adjoining Rural Women's Store which helps promote and export goods made by local villiage women. This provides the women a place to export their crafts and products and I noticed that the maps in the store displayed shops in Seattle and Vancouver that import items produced and marketed thru this shop. These are great opportunities for the rural villiage women who desparately need income.

A funny thing happened after the first night I stayed at the B&B. I woke the next morning to find this young chap washing the bakkie. I asked him why he was doing this and he told me that the car was too dirty and it needed a bath. He said that it is embarrassing to have an unclean car and he didn't want me to drive this dirty car in Swaziland. I told him it was due to the poor road conditions in South Africa and that they didn't have as nice roads as they do in Swaziland - he looked a bit puzzled. Nonetheless I guess it was time to have the bakkie cleaned because as I came thru the border in to Swaziland they almost didn't let me in. The border guard asked me where was my car registration ie. license plate. I told him it was there on the front bumper. He asked me to step out of the car and show him. I walked around to find that the plate was totally invisible as it and the bumper were caked in about 1/2 inch of mud. I had to chip away and scrape the mud off to show him the plate. All the guys standing around had a good laugh and the guard asked me why my car was so dirty and why I didn't clean it. I told him the same thing about South Africa's roads and he agreed!

Rafting the Usutu River - Swaziland

The Great Usutu River flows thru Swaziland and is the largest river in Swaziland. It flows from the Mkonda River and with the Pongola River into the Rio Maputo in souther Mozambique. It is well known for the awesome white water kayaking and rafting that it offers. I took the opportunity to hook myself up with a Swazi-Trails river guide to take on what they claim are up to grade 4 rapids. The day started out at the Swazli-Trails office where we jumped into a van with a couple of "croc boats" on top. These are basically inflatable canoes which take two people per boat in a similar fashion as a regular canoe; front man for stroke power and the rear man for steering and stroke power.

The river ride lasted a full day and included a break at a big waterfall for lunch. We ended up portaging the waterfall as it was almost suicidal to try and run it. The stories of crocodiles ensured that I was determined to not let our "croc boat" flip and end up in the drink. I am happy to say that Gustav's earlier instruction on picking lines thru rapids paid off well, my boat never went over. There was also a fair amount of calm water paddling which helped to make the day a good shoulder workout.

Unfortunately I didn't have a dry bag nor a waterproof case for my camera so I am limited on the photos. Sorry folks, I guess I'll just have to go back and do it again with Gustav and some kayaks!

Sibebe - Swaziland

My time in Swaziland included a trip to the largest granite dome in Swaziland. The place is called Sibebe Rock and is up the Mbuluzi River Valley and found amongst the Mbuluzi Mountains. Sibebe rises about 300m above the valley floor and the slabs of granite are quite steep in places.

After a quick discussion with one of the locals - did I mention Swazi's speak impecable English - he pointed out the route to the base of the rock but after that I was on my own. The rock itself reminds me of a large granite dome in Canada located in the Cocquihala (sp?) called Yak Peak. I prepared myself based on a prior discussion with Swazi Trails' guides and took a litre of water, good friction runners and a stop watch. They informed me it typically takes 4-5 hours car to car so I figured that it would mean about 2 hours up and a little less down.



Looking up at the base of the dome, the summit looked closer than what I had imagined but then looks can be deceiving. I flipped the Chrono on and started my ascent. The friction on the face is great and there are just enough ruggosities to keep the feet well secured. I can see how this would freak a non-climber out but with the La Sportiva trail shoes I was wearing and the comfort factor high I had no problem keeping a nice pace. 2/3 of the way up I snapped a couple of shots including the view down the face. Off I was again and crested the summit to touch the big boulder at a little over 24 minutes.
The summit is covered in great granite boulders with a ton of bouldering potential and the views were great looking up and down the Mbuluzi Valley. Game trails run all over the summit so continuing to trail run was a joy.

One thing that must be considered is that the rock is pretty hot and the heat is fairly intense. Do not forget to hydrate on this run. Eventually I made my way down and around the west side slabs. The only casaulty on the route was this little guy. I guess he never had the common sense to pack his own water.