Shongweni 23May 2004

Shongweni Meet 23 May 2004

Good morning to you all Some feedback from this weekend's climbing at Shongweni. Quite a big turn out considering all the people that should be frantically studying. We gathered in the car park at 9:00 except for Allen and Angus, the stragglers who only arrived at 9:30 and had to join the rest of the crew down at the Magnetic Wall. Great weather for climbing though - warm, but not humid. Karen made a cameo appearance. Since Western broke his ankle we have not seen her around much. She and Al made a valiant effort of 'Dissing the Home Boys' (21). Errol has some great photo's of Al's epic decent of the route with Karen belaying and flying around in the air. The German contingent of Bastion and Sebastian managed to the find the crag on time. Bastion showed some hidden talent by flashing 'Dissing the Home Boys'. Brett, Dale and Glynis were also there.

Dale showed real commitment by making the meet despite a small stomach problem. The really funky route 'Natural Progression' (18) was climbed by Dale and Brett. Chris and Trent worked on 'Take Away' (25) where Trent showed the upper hand (or the finger) by grabbing the red point. Scott and Angus had a go on 'Oh Mercy' (23). Angus managed to flash the route although it was noted that it is easier to climb the route once the draws have been put up and the critical holds have been dusted off!! Scott red pointed. Errol has been away for a while, so it was great to have him at the crag. Although he hasn't' been climbing he showed some impressive power and endurance on Take Away. Our beginners, Adam and Tyrol (spelling?), tried out 'Smiling Happy Engineers' (15) and 'Xawm' (15) and even had a go at leading. Well done guys for your tenacious effort on these routes.

At around lunch time all except for Brett, Dale and Glynis, headed over to the Wave Cave. We decided to walk. Considering that we are heading into winter (you might argue that it is already here) it was a warm day. The hike to the Cave was brisk and had Bastion commenting that he would not like to see our summer!! The cave was deserted except for the bedding of 3 Rastafarians who seem to have taken up residence. I'm not sure if this is usual practice as it was my second visit to the cave. Great climbing here. Very steep. Bastion and Angus enthusiastically started the climbing on 'Wild Sheep Chase' (23). Bastion came very close to red pointing - providing suitable motivation for Angus to successfully red point the route. Chris and Trent worked 'Rapture of the Steep' (23). Trent also came very close to red pointing, falling on the last move. Pumpy as hell. Really need an extra set of forearms for the routes in the Cave. Chris also had a go on 'Wild Sheep Chase' and should red point soon. Tyrell, Adam and Karen all tried back climbing 'Rapture of the Steep' and received a first hand introduction to the steep climbing at the Cave. The great thing guys, is that these were the easier routes!! Scott (I'm so unfit) went up 'Cyclone Central' (28) and then into the extension Riders on the Storm (30) to do some cleaning of the route. The man is looking fit folks. Don't listen to his "I'm so unfit" and "my finger's sore" excuses. He's looking good to red point soon. A great day. We headed out of the Cave at about 16:00 and got back to the car park (top side) by about 16:30. Mammoth hill to walk up. Hey, I'm not complaining. Since doing the hike into the 'Wolfberg Cracks' 3 days in a row, there are no hike ins that are worse than that. Once again, beers at Stokers were the order of the day. We really need to speak to the guys at the brewery to let them know what a great job they are doing on making that ice cold beer!! Other news from the weekend. On Friday, Tamryn Vivian red pointed her route at the Canyon - 'Magnus Power Mouse' (23). She cruised the route on her first red point attempt. Too strong. One club goal achieved and exceeded. Dave is back in the actual climbing game. In case you hadn't noticed, he is the guy that has been organising the bouldering comps and making sure you have decent routes to climb and great prizes to win. Oh, and in between all of that he has been bolting more routes than you would care to remember - basically running his arse off for us all!! Nice to see him back. Dave was out at the Canyon this weekend working on 'Phantom of the Opera' (28) - possibly one of the hardest 28 face climbs in KZN. If I know Dave, this route will going down very shortly. Cheers guys Have a great week.

Divot.

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