Grootkloof (Magaliesberg) Apr 2005

Gordon and I drove to Sparkling Waters Hotel and left for the kloof as soon as we got there. unfortunately our trip was cut short soon after we descended Main Gully into Grootkloof, just before the waterfall. Gordon slightly misjudged a jump onto a rock and bashed open his big toe badly. Since it was easy to get out from here, we decided to turn around and walk back the way we came. Unfortunate, but these things happen!

Kransberg climbing Apr 2005

I was at Rob’s place at 06:00 and we left about 15 minutes later to pick Jaco up. We left Pretoria just before 07:00 and arrived at the MCSA campsite turn-off at about 10:00.

Day 1 (23 April): It had been raining since before we got to Thabazimbi and it didn’t look like we would be able to do any climbing. Instead, we drove to Grobbies’s place and walked up to his bouldering spot. Rob and Jaco evaluated his bolt protection and gave him some advice on what to do. We walked back down to Grobbies’s house where we had lunch. After lunch we visited Grobbies’s climbing and abseiling spot, a nearby waterfall as well as a possible training venue for Search and Rescue. We were back at the farm just after 6pm and were invited to a dinner prepared by the Grobler family members. We went to bed fairly early as we all wanted an early start the next morning

Day 2 (24 April): Both Jaco and my alarms went off at 05:15. We got up, had a quick breakfast and got packed for the day’s climb. We decided to try Sunshine crack, an 11 graded climb close to Groothoek gully. We first drove to the MCSA campsite and was surprised to discover about 8 other members camped there. We said hello but bid them farewell as we headed up towards the base of the cliffs. It was a long slog through the familiar ferns and thorny underbrush that I hated so much when we were at Kwela Anget. We managed to reach the base of the cliffs at around 09:00 and Rob went to show us the campsite. We left our gear at the campsite and got ready for the climb. We then traversed across to the bottom of a fairly steep and vegetated scramble from where we reached the bottom of the first pitch. Jaco started climbing with Rob belaying. After about five minutes I took over from Rob until Jaco reached the first stance. He combined the normal first two pitches of 34 and 8 metres to make a single pitch at 42m. Rob climbed second and I third. It was a relatively straightforward climb but it was well exposed and a good climb. While I was climbing, Rob started to belay Grobbies up. When I reached the first stance I took the belaying over from Jaco and then proceeded to belay up Chris and Dean. In the mean time, Rob belayed Jaco on the second pitch. The second pitch had an interesting start, traversing to the right around a blind corner before starting up. But the handholds were huge and it was an easy climb to a fairly large ledge for a second stance. While I belayed Jaco on the third pitch, Rob brought Chris and Dean up. Soon the rest of us also climbed the third pitch and then only a short scramble to the top remained. We immediately descended Groothoek gully to the campsite, collected gear and returned to the MCSA campsite. We drove back to Grobbies’s place and had something to eat before leaving for Pretoria.

Boskloof hiking trail Apr 2005

Just after 14:00 Friday afternoon, I drove over to George’s. Brian and Norma arrived close to 3pm. The drive to Boskloof was uneventful, but when we heard there was going to be another club joining us, we were a bit apprehensive of the crowds at the hut and on the trail. When we arrived, Gordon was there already, as well as most of the Boksburg hiking club. We were able to use one and a half huts, but there was still one bed short – I decided to sleep outside. Everyone arrived eventually and we had a nice braai.

Day 1 (16 April): The Boksburg hiking club was up early and busied themselves with breakfast and packing up. All this commotion got us out of bed as well and we were all ready to go before 8am. The trail started with a leisurely climb up a small kloof, which looked a lot like part of the Skeurkrans trail we did last year. Louis and Retha Strydom from Discovery Trails had laid out the trail and Louis’s style was apparent early on – plenty of ladders and walkways over rocks and rivers and aptly naming a lot of the scenic spots on the way. We were all impressed by the time and effort put into the trail. We topped out at the Ledge, a rocky outcrop where we abseiled from on the Skeurkrans trail. Past the Ledge the path climbed steadily, criss-crossing the kloof numerous times. We caught up with the stragglers of the Boksburg hiking club and some of our faster walkers managed to pass them. With the path rising continuously, all of us were sweating and panting up the hill. Luckily, it was not nearly as hot as on the Meteorite trail a few weeks ago. The path finally rose to just under 1600m with a lovely eastern view towards the highveld and north towards Skeurkrans. From here the path rambled in and out of a few rocky outcrops until it came to a short cliff where I decided to set up an abseil. While waiting for the others to arrive I set up anchors and got all the equipment ready. When Shirley, Eddy, George and Gordon arrived, I quickly set up the rigging and rope and soon all of us had a quick abseil. Although it was a bit of a mission to get back up, most of us abseiled twice. Just before 1pm we packed up and left. I set off in front and soon passed some of the group spread out on the trail. Ominous clouds were building in the east as I reached the viewpoints looking out onto Skeurkrans. It was a pleasant surprise as Skeurkrans trail never came close to this awesome feature. The rock pillar lent itself to a few interesting climbing possibilities. The path soon reached its highest point and descended into a high valley. At this point I picked up my speed – thunder and lightning threatened on my heels. Beyond the high valley, the trail aimed for a steep kloof north of Skeurkrans. The kloof promised to be bone jarring and with the impending rain I knew the trail would become dangerously slippery. Down the kloof there were a number of cliff faces that would have been far more fun abseiling than the one we used earlier in the day. I promised myself that I would come back just for the abseiling. The path zig-zagged precariously down the kloof until it eventually flattened out for about 700m before the hut. By then it had already started raining but I made it to the hut before the worst of the storm broke. As the rain continued, bedraggled-looking people started coming in. At around 4pm there was nobody left on the trail and most of the rain had gone too. We started the fire by 16:30 and despite the damp wood, we soon had a roaring fire going. Once again there were a few beds short and while Eddy and Shirley pitched a tent outside, George and I decided to sleep on the porch.

Day 2 (17 April): Dew that managed to sneak through holes in the roof, made it onto our beds outside. But the dawn was clear and it promised to be a beautiful day. We had breakfast quickly and set off before 8am. The trail led through the flat acacia forest below the high cliffs of Skeurkrans and it seemed we were going to be back at camp quickly. But after 3km the path started climbing towards the lower cliffs south of Skeurkrans. It wound past a rock captured by strangler figs before continuing upwards. It finally climbed precariously up a few rocky ledges before settling on the plateau above. Then it was an easy walk to where it joined the first day’s trail and descended down the kloof back to the basecamp huts. I had a quick shower while waiting for everyone. At around 10am everyone was back but we lingered a little longer to pack up and decide where we were going to have lunch. Eventually we left for the Wimpy on the highway, just past Kranskop.

Climbing Cuzco (Magaliesberg) Apr 2005

Rob, Jaco and I had a quick morning out in Cedarberg kloof to climb Cuzco, graded at 15 (SA).