…Our Rocklands Trip 2008! Finally, the South Africa footage is compiled and we have a little home video ready to share with our special peeps. Click on the pic below for a mild taste-tester.
Get psyched people!
Apologies to all for the lack of updates recently. We’ve been busy inching our way west over the last week.
Since we last spoke, Paul and I said our goodbyes to the South African boulders and boarded a flight headed back to the states. Landing in Syracuse New York, we then spent a few days chillin’ in Marathon with my family. From there it was on to Pittsburgh for some time with Paul’s family. And now here we are somewhere in Nebraska starin’ down Interstate 80, the van’s grill pointed toward California. Bishop! Here we come!
After three days of rain earlier this week we began to feel, for the first time this trip, that we were being rained out of a few valuable climbing days. In actuality I think we benefited well from some forced rest because when we had the chance to climb, we ticked more of the remaining Rocklands climbs left on our tick lists, with little effort.
Our first destination after the rain stopped was the Campground boulders. April and I went there one other day back in the earlier part of our trip (about 40 days ago, wow how time flies) and left several really good climbs incomplete. Our plan for the day was to each tick our projects on the famous Teapot boulder and then move on to the classic roof problem, John Denver, 7a.
For April, her focus was to send a several move 7a on the right side of the Teapot boulder. Previously she fell several times dead-pointing to a slot midway on the climb and after tiring herself, could not pull off a send in one day. After refreshing her memory about the movement she stuck the dead-point and cranked it to the top after just a couple tries. Sweet!
April setting up for the dead-point: No Name #2, 7a on the Teapot Boulder
Sticking the dead-point
Cruising to the top
For me, I chose a variation which starts on the 7a April completed and veers left. If you travel across to the left and link up with the classic, Up the Spout, you score a 7c+ called Tea Time. But, by sticking the 7c+ crux and taking the direct line up the blank face and adding another few hard lock-off moves, the full sequence comes in at 8a+ and is called Tea With Elmarie. To my surprise, I grabbed the lip and pulled over the top, sending on just my second try for the day! We high-fived and were off.
Paul nearing the top of Tea With Elmarie, 8a+
After Tea With Elmarie I ran over and tried a climb called Baboon Sumo, 7b. As I was working the climb April and I were talking about why it was called Baboon Sumo. Minutes later, we heard a bark, uh…a screaming, barking, howling battle taking place in the nearby campground. April, who was filming my attempts quickly flipped the video camera around and pointed it towards the action. Below the tree cover which was blocking the majority of our vantage point, a baboon sumo wresting match was taking place, right in front of us! All we could see was the congregation of over 30 baboons coming in to watch, or take part in the fight and all we could hear were what sounded like blood curdling yips and yells coming from whatever was loosing the battle.
When the baboon action subsided a little April flipped the camera back in my direction. You see, after spending nearly 7 weeks in Africa so far, we nonchalantly dismissed the baboon murder scene and chalked up the incident to a simple phrase we’ve learned well here: TIA*. I sent next go, we packed up and were off.
In the climbing video Rocklands, John Denver is a stunning roof climb that Scott Milton gracefully climbs. With the very limited guide we obtained from the Internet we had no record of where the climb actually was. However, in the video, as Scott Milton tops out you can clearly see the campground in the background. For us, that was the only clue we needed to perform a little detective work of our own and find the problem’s location.
After a short snack of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I was energized enough to find myself topping out John Denver. Rather than gracefully take in the view of the campground like Scott Milton had in the video, I glanced over to the baboon murder scene and doubled checked the status. To my relief I saw the baboons migrating further away from us and heading up the mountain side opposite the campground.
Unfortunately, April didn’t manage to pull off a send that day but was able to complete all the moves and give a few good sending attempts. As the sun started to set we called it a day and were off.
The following day we hiked to the Roadside boulders in the main Rocklands area to continue the clean-up of our tick lists. Throughout our trip friends we’ve met have recommended a variety of great climbs we should try. Two recommendations high on our favorite lists were a beautiful, high, sloping arete which April needed to send and a long, powerful traverse with a rewarding top-out that I needed to send. After warming up we went straight to business. April managed to give a few tries, getting higher and higher on the beautiful arete. Each time she got further on the route and fell off she would show me how little chalk remained on her fingers. The climb faces the sun almost all day and the heat was causing her to sweat off. Wondering if conditions were not in her favor she looked at me, questioned if it would go and then pulled on and showed me the answer…
April sending the unknown sloper problem on Boulder C, Roadside
I give our great friend Ander from Alaska credit for the recommendation of Black Spider. High up on the hillside near the Roadside boulders is a long traverse which ends in a steep face climb to a high top-out. After trying just a few moves I instantly got motivated to send. While blasting through the moves on my second sending go I realized that I was nearing the finish and starting up the scary face. April, who was filming my ascent decided she needed a better view and in order to get a better stance she grabbed a tree branch to pull up on. Well, as I was making one of the last moves, locking off a crimp, reaching to another, I felt the end of the tree branch she was grabbing clock me in the head and press on me. My lock-off became extra hard but I still managed to pull it off. Whew! As I stood up on the top I was rewarded with an amazing view of Rocklands in the late afternoon sun. Ahhh, another climb ticked off but millions more to go.
Paul sticking the crux on Black Spider
The top-out view from Black Spider
*This Is Africa
posted by pjv
Today should have been a full-on climbing day for us. Instead, the dang Cederberg mist blew in and hung around all morning. We still however, managed to get out for a couple hours in the early evening; a short 2 hour window of dry rock.
Our mission was simple, or shall I say “Paul’s mission.” Warm up. Send Black Velvet, 8a.
Mission complete.
Black Velvet, 8a
One hand…
…both hands! Send!
posted by arr
Five days lounging in J-Bay plus 1 “warm-up” climbing day plus 1 delicious chicken and dumplings dinner equals a well-prescribed rehab for Paul’s knee. So far so good anyway. Yesterday we spent a full 8 hours climbing on the Road Crew and Roadside boulders. And we’re back in action baby.
Getting right to business, first up on the day’s ticklist was Paul’s send of Purple Nipple Clan, 7c, a twisting slopey little-known gem under the Umbuli Roof. The famous Umbuli Roof, 7c problem, adjacent to Purple Nipple Clan, was what drew Paul to the roof in the first place, promised as a classic from the guides and fellow climbers. But upon entering the roof Paul was immediately drawn to the slopey non-existent orange holds of Purple Nipple and instantly bailed on trying Umbuli. Good choice. He briefly worked out the moves 2 days prior on our “warm-up” climbing day and yesterday made quick work of it, sending on his first go. No dropknees required on this climb.
Paul ticking Purple Nipple Clan, 7c
Next on the agenda was my quick work of the beautiful Roof on Fire, 6c+. The aesthetics of this climb are of the Rocklands norm: a boulder sitting precariously on a tall narrow pedestal, it’s bright orange underbelly roof propped up by only a sliver of an edge. I had tried this gorgeous problem previously when Mike and Raquel were visiting, but was a bit weary of the 8 foot or so cliff over which your ass hangs when you pull onto the climb. For whatever reason (perhaps being all psyched up from Paul’s Purple Nipple send or perhaps the hearty fuel of the chicken and dumplings dinner kicking in), on this particular day the aesthetics overpowered my wussy-ness. I erased the cliff from my peripheral and cruised the moves and ended up loving the climb so much I sent it 3 times that day.
Roof on Fire, 6c+
Left foot toe-hooked, right foot pressed
Pure rock climbing enjoyment: sticking the big move at full extension
Let ‘em cut and hold the swing
Match it up and cruise to the top
Totally jazzed from the morning’s ticks, Paul and I then hiked on over to the Roadside Boulders, hoping that our psyched spirits would cruise us up some more boulder problems. It was Paul’s turn now and his sights were set on the short, yet wicked powerful, steep and crimpy Caroline, 7c. Paul had tried this climb two other times since we arrived in Rocklands, but never after a rest day. Bonus. However…..his previous beta included FOUR dropknees, two of which were right knees. Negative bonus, times two. This seemingly significant fact didn’t seem to phase Paul though. He quickly worked out some new beta and within 30 minutes eliminated all four dropknees and climbed the problem bottom to top, straight on. The grade of 7c at Rocklands translates to about V9/10 for all you Vermin Scale climbers out there. And with a dropknee free send, probably pushes it closer to the V10 side of the grade. Alas, it ain’t The Vice, but still a worthy tick.
Paul crushing Caroline, 7c, dropknee free
More amped than ever, we next moved on to A Question of Balance, 7b, a climb that I’ve tried probably 20 or so times now. Just as the name implies, this problem requires a mystic balance-y move off of a left heel-toe-cam that I have yet to figure out. Unfortunately, I have no send to report on this one yet. I did however, feel signs of improvement. Sometimes the slightest inch of progression can feel just as good as a send.
Paul then decided it was time to seal the day off with a slam-bam finish with the dead vertical infamous Roadside highball Creaking Heights, 6c. Again, just as the name implies this problem is well, high and creaky. One must delicately move up the thin seam in the face on little sidepull crimps and slanted nubbin feet. About three quarters of the way up (in the leg-breaker zone), the climber is then faced with an enormous juggy stalactite feature, hanging down in the widening seam, beckoning to be grabbed and yarded on to gain the lip of the massive boulder. Only, the climber is not allowed to grab it. Because here is where the “creaky” part come in. Yeah, the stalactite flexes. Yikes. Fortunately though, if you keep it cool and just plain climb like a rock climber, the creaking stalactite-free finish isn’t so hard….or so I’m told anyway by Paul. Cause I sure as heck didn’t go up there!!! I used all my meager bravery reserves up on the first move of Roof on Fire, remember?!
posted by arr
Our much needed ‘vacation from our vacation’ is over now and we’ve settled back into simplicity here on the farm. Only now we’re kickin’ it at the Alpha Excelsior Farm versus the de Pakhuys Farm next door.
And life couldn’t be simpler in Liz and Connie’s charming 2-person Weaver’s Cottage. Like our previous accommodations in the de Pakhuy’s Blokhuys, there is no TV, no radio, and no neighbors. The cottage is very private, set far back from the main farm area and cute as a button. Not only does the little structure keep the rain out with an authentic thatched roof, but also comes equipped with a cast iron cookstove! The stove is the cottage’s only form of heat.
Having grown up as a child with wood heat and dinners simmered on the cookstove, I was beside myself with excitement to try our’s out….immediately. Majority vote (between Paul and myself) landed us on preparing chicken and dumplings on our next rest day.
Typically, the simplicity of our rest days match that of the quaint cottage. We wake up when our eyelids open (not when an alarm goes off), leisurely prepare and enjoy a nice breakfast together (not quick-kiss one another goodbye and grab a yogurt to slurp up on the commute to work), maybe check our email or read our books for a couple hours, and perhaps, if we need groceries for example, head into Clanwilliam and spend an hour or two in one of the town’s coffee shops. Then around early evening we usually start planning and preparing our rest day feast; always the highlight of every rest day that can last anywhere from 2 to 4 hours.
Up until now, most of our rest day feasts have been braais: meat and veggies or potatoes cooked over an outdoor fire. But now with our little cookstove, we were eager to try something new.
Around 6pm or so, Paul gathered some wood and started up the stove. Luckily, the temps are still dropping quite cold in the evenings, so our wood stove served a duel purpose, both dinner and warmth. I pulled our little hen out of the fridge and got to work.
After much waiting and simmering and waiting, around 8pm the chicken stew was just about ready for adding the dumplings. Having actually never made chicken and dumplings by myself (only helped, or usually just watched, my mother prepare the dish), I was a bit nervous of how the meal would turn out. All this waiting and simmering and waiting! Please get fluffy you little dumplings, PLEASE.
Twenty minutes later, I lifted the cast iron lid and peered inside, giving one dumpling a firm little poke with a fork, prying it open just a tad to check it’s fluffiness. Holy cow. I can’t believe it. I did it! Absolute chicken and dumpling PERFECTION cooked over a cast iron cookstove just like my momma used to make. I might as well have sent a v10 that night, beaming from ear to ear, proud of my accomplishment. 🙂
So, this is what it’s like to live the simple life; my day’s only crux being the task of preparing a delicious meal with my loved one. I think I could get used to this.
Weaver’s Cottage, Alpha Farms
Preparing our rest day feast
Chicken and Dumplings
Perfection!
posted by arr
Addo Elephant National Park, Eastern Cape South Africa
When we told friends and family about our plan to travel to South Africa many asked if we would have a chance to see any of “the big 5” animals. Our response was always no. Rocklands was in the Western Cape. The large animals (elephant, lion, buffalo, rhino, leopard, etc.) were in the Eastern and Northern Capes. It seemed such a shame to come all this way and not see any of the animals. But, thanks to my busted up knee our trip took a turn for the better (not the worse).
After driving nearly 1000km to J-Bay in the Eastern Cape I wondered how far we actually were from the nearest opportunity to see some BIG animals. Turns out, J-Bay is only 2 hours from Addo Elephant National Park. Perfect, we’re going.
We had no idea what to expect. I thought we’d arrive in the park and have to board some kind of open-top range rover which would give us a guided tour. Instead when we arrived at the gate the guard asked us if we would like a “hop-on-ranger” to ride along with us. I asked, “Does he drive the car for us?” The guard laughed and said, “No, you drive.” I laughed too and said, “We’ll take our chances, by ourselves.”
It turned out to be a good decision. Once you enter the “main camp” area you can drive yourself on any of the dirt roads throughout the national park wilderness. There is a map of the park that you can view near the gift shop which indicates where certain animals have been seen throughout the day. I quickly glanced at it and saw one vista in which lions, elephants and buffalo had been sighted. April and I got out our map and gunned it for “Carol’s Rest.”
At Carol’s Rest we were astonished to see elephants, warthogs and buffalo drinking out of a watering hole meters from a parked car! We pulled up next to the car and sat for several minutes watching the scene. The engine of our Volkswagon Chico was motoring a bit loud and the fan would turn on and off. So I decided to shut it off. Silence.
After about 30 seconds in silence we heard and saw the two largest elephants, with huge tusks bang their heads together. Apparently one wanted all the water for her clan and wanted the male to leave. April and I were both amazed. We were witnessing ‘Planet Earth’ at it’s finest. Then…the big boy, defeated by the big girl, turned our direction. He was obviously not happy. After he took the first step in our direction I heard the car next to us start up. Time to ditch this place and be out.
Big boy coming our way
Elephants are not the only animals at Addo. Here is our complete tick list of sightings:
* Elephant
* Buffalo
* Kudu
* Red Hartebeest
* Warthog
* Common Duiker
* Leopard Tortoise
* Caracal / Rooikat
* Vervet Monkey
* Black-backed Jackal
* Meerkat / Suricate
* Ostrich
Kudu
Leopard Tortoise
Red Hartebeest
Warthog
posted by pjv
We need a vacation. Ha! This hilarious ‘necessity’ was realized on Friday, sitting in our leaky and cold Blokhuys cottage, waiting for the rain to stop and Paul’s knee to heal. More rain was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday and Rocklands was getting lonely. Most of the climbers were escaping their soggy tents and heading to (or were already in) Cape Town for the weekend. Our spirits were anything but psyched. And to make matters worse (for him, anyway), I had developed the habit of calling Paul “Peg Leg” because of his straight-legged limp. Peg Leg and I needed a vacation from our vacation.
So we decided to do what we always decide to do when faced with a non-psyched situation. Bail! We got some travel tips from a Cape Town climbing buddy, packed up the chico and hit the road early Saturday morning for a 10 hour trip to the east coast of South Africa. Our destination: the surfer’s paradise of Jeffreys Bay or “J-Bay.”
And here we are! Lounging, resting, healing, eating good food, drinking good wine, and staring off into the Indian Ocean, occasionally dreaming we were surfers, not climbers, haha.
J-Bay
Me in my other life
Perfect coffee-drinking conditions
The famous “Supertubes” waves
posted by arr
A handful of scenes that have now become very familiar to us during our stay here in Rocklands:
Our Blokhuys cottage on the de Pakhuys farm.
The inside of our Blokhuys when it’s cold and rainy.
The front porch of the de Pakhuys Farm, where we connect to the wireless internet on rest days.
The drive to Clanwilliam.
Clanwilliam, the closest (only) place to grocery shop.
Bustling (haha) downtown Clanwilliam.
Our Chico rockin’ a modest version of the infamous “red stripe”.
Cederburg weather: cloudy, rainy and sunny….all at the same time.
Rocks, sunsets, and a full moon.
A lunar eclipse! (not so familiar of a scene for Paul and I, but for the South Africans, “eh, we get those all the time down here”).
Braais at our Blokhuys.
Drinks at our Blokhuys.
The de Pakhuys campground.
Nalle, the de Pakhuys lab.
The Fortress.
The view from The Fortress.
Flappers.
Wildflowers.
…and more wildflowers.
Sunset at the boulders.
posted by arr
Good News, Part 1:
Now that our celebrations are slowing down I’ve got a chance to announce that April broke through to a new level in her climbing! The other day April burled her way through a kneebar-free send of Minki V8. As April would say, “Yey!”
Good News, Part 2:
I figured out a totally do-able sequence on The Vice yesterday and started giving sending go’s.
Bad News:
During one of my sending go’s on The Vice, I heard a familiar CRACK sound in a heavily weighted drop-knee. I think I tore/tweaked my MCL on my right leg.
The trip is not over yet though. We’ve still got three and a half weeks here. And surprisingly, we are both still wicked motivated. Stay tuned for hopefully more V8 sends from April and dropknee-free/campus sends from me. ha ha.
posted by pjv
