After more than 3weeks of not climbing the muscles had turned to slush and the power had disappeared. So when Wesley said lets go to Umgeni valley for three days I obviously said yes. The rock there is very distinctive and actually looks beautiful. It was a god place to start climbing again because of its high friction, which for me meant easy climbing. And wow was the climbing awesome. The moves are very fluid and make you feel like you're climbing is beautiful even if you are dragging yourself up the wall rather than climbing smoothly. If you do climb smoothly the moves are elegant with allot of face climbing on small holds making for technical climbing. Leaving motivated again a good trip it was.

A day at Chosspile

Alex on T-pex

Alex on the crux dead point of T-pex. There still is no bicep.

Starting up the crux

Chilling out and visualizing the moves

Trying to look hardcore

Alex on the starting moves of T-pex

Me on the crux of the doom on a stick project

on the crimps just before the crux

Getting pumped high off the ground

On the first stage of the proj

The doom on a stick proj

Ebert on the giant flake of T-pex

Looking awesome well trying to.

Ebert, AKA Captain Blankie

One of the awesome and huge Black Eagles we saw that day

Alex trying to prussic up the static to take photos

On a huge jug of T-pex

Smiling for the camera

The clip

On the huge flake

Alex trying to be spiderman but it wont help overcome the sending drought

Why chalk up when you on a huge jug?

Nailing the crux dead point

Oh check out the retro hair band. Oh don't tell Alex its pink.

Multi-tasking on the way to Chosspile



Today Ebert, Alex and I drove out to Chosspile to do some hardcore, intense climbing. We got there a little later then expected but hiked in quickly to make up for lost time.

Alex wanted to get onto T-pex as he had tried it the week before with Pw. I wanted to try flash it as Alex said that the route was amazing. But I was more focused on my Doom on a stick project. Ebert wanted to send Gollum, even though he didn't really enjoy the route.

So the day began with Alex putting up the draws on T-pex. He looked smooth and confident and I thought to myself he will get it next burn for sure.

After that i went up and put the draws on my Doom on a stick project. its actually not even my project its open but nobody else has sent it so I basically just call it "my" project.

Then when I got down i belayed Ebert on Gollum. Ebert hadn't climbed in a while and looked a little shaky but I thought he would hang in there for the send. But things didnt go quite so well for Ebert and he popped off in the beginning. He worked the route and put up all the draws, but he said he wasn't enjoying the route at all, so I told him to try T-pex and work it with Alex. He liked that idea and said he would rather do that.

Ebert then placed a static up on Gollum's chains so we could hang off and take photos. Ebert then got into his shooting position and we passed him up the camera to take photos of alex on T-pex.

Alex then went for his first real burn of the day. He jumped on and looked solid but then seemed fooled by the route about 5m up, I dunno if he messed up his sequence or he was just shy because Ebert was taking photos but he bailed early on the route. Ebert was tuning him non-stop after he bailed.

I was up next and I was nervous after watching Alex bail early on the so called easy stuff. Anyway I tried to put that behind me and went for the send. I climbed smooth but I was a little pumped, anyway i got to the crux dead point but didn't stick it.

Ebert then had a go at T-pex but he was hopeless, I think it was just one of those days when your not on form at all. He worked the route while Alex was taking photos and videos of him and mocking both of us at the same time.

Then it was time for my first proper burn on my project since cleaning it and figuring out if it was actually possible. I climbed all the way up till the final two moves of the route where the stopper crux is and went for the dyno but couldn't stick it.

Alex then went for his final burn on T-pex since the day was coming to an end. I was taking photos of him in a nearby tree and he looked super solid and smooth. he got all the way up to the crux dead point but bailed. He then cleaned the route and watched me on my last burn on the proj. I got to exactly the same spot as the turn before but before cleaning I found some beta on the crux that will make it easier for me to send.

One of the sights that made my day was seeing a beautiful pair of Black Eagles, which are nesting right above Fossil fuel, come in to land and take off. They are huge! It was truly amazing.

Thanks Alex and Ebert for an awesome day of laughs, smiles and Adventure.

Hope we can do it again

Cheers

Wes b

Hard projects in Swinburn

The Dyno on the right most route to the crimpy looking sloper

Warrick on the matches and bounces on the incut crimps of the right most route

The cut loose on the left most route

the hard start to the tiny crimp on the right most route

The Warrick going for the tiny crimp just before cutting loose on the left most route.


Last weekend I was down in Durban for my uncle's 50th birthday. My bro and I were staying in Hilton which is 15 minutes away from Umgeni valley, so naturaly we planned to climb there on the Saturday but things didn't quite work out that way. We woke up to mist and rain, which is typical midlands weather. Being the most psyched climber there I naturaly tried to convince my dad and bro to come at least check out if the rock would be dry (I mean you might aswell try). They were having none of it and refused to check it out. I wasn't impressed so I played cards with my girlfriend instead.

Anyway on the Sunday while driving home I asked my parents if they could stop in Swinburn for a while so I could at least get an hours worth of climbing. They said yes and with the mattress in the back of the bucky my bro and I went bouldering for an hour. We decided to hit the reservoir boulder, seeing it was one of the closer boulders with some harder lines on it. I had done all of the lines on this boulder except for the two projects next to the reservoir.

So we started on the left most one (there was cow crap underneath the right project so we didnt wanna dirty the mat) . This project is super hard right from the start, I dunno about the grade but i would say hard! It starts with a sweet left sidepull and a shallow mono for your right hand. (the feet are terrible!) You go up with your right hand to a tiny edge, your feet cut loose and you have to smear your right foot on nothing, then half campus off this tiny edge to a bar looking grip which isn't bad then loong pulls of tiny edges to the top. Its also high about 6+ metres.

Not making it past the bar grip we moved on to the right project(with cow crap underneath it). This one is a little easier off the ground. (Oh we covered the cow crap with rocks) So it starts with you matched on a heavily incut crimper, you then go up a series of crimpers bouncing and matching your way up the wall. Then all of a sudden the crux hits you and the next crimp is super far away, and all you thinking is crap! And it gets even worse what looks like a crimp turns out to be a sloper. So you dyno up to this crimpy looking sloper thinking you might get it but in actuall fact i need to get so much stronger.

Both these projects once done will be ultra classics with no loose rocks or dodgy holds. Which is a rarety for Swinburn. Ill be back again to try them, hopefully alot sronger.

Go crank hard!
Wes b

First trip to Ezemvelo

(7b or 7b+)
(7b or 7b+)
(6a)
(hard ass 7c+)
(Dyno 6c+)
(not to sure think 6c)
(6c)
(7b)
(8a)
(8a)




(7b)


(Sorry the photos are taken with my phone so they not the best)

Ya Im in abit of a bouldering phase at the moment but that's ok. its good to get super strong first at individual moves and then take your strength and add some endurance to it later.

So being in this phase a good friend Alex and myself decided to head off to Ezemvelo for a 3 day bouldering trip. We were psyched and ready to tear down the place and we didnt really care that the campsite basicaly had nothing their yet. We ready to crank hard no matter what obstacles were in our way.

So seeing as we had never been to Ezemvelo before we met up with some of the guys who had started building the campsite and who basicaly stared up Ezemvelo bouldering. They kindly showed us around and we got to lend the new route guide.(talk to schalk if anyone wants to buy one they are awesome!).

That late afternoon Alex, my bro Warrick(came out for the one day only) and I went bouldering at Ezemvelo for the first time ever. It was amazing! We tried this boulder called animal planet (7c) i think. It was such an amazing climb under this roof.

After Warrick had graced us with his awesome presence and then departed we had supper and then we had our first night bouldering session with bad gas lamps. Its very different I have to say. I think it takes some getting used to. we climbed some easy stuff first up, juggles (6b+) and wild shrooms (6c) then I tried the albatross and I couldn't figure out the beta so I got spanked on that route (7a+) . We moved on to Dragons and shrooms (7a+) which I nearly flashed but i didnt take a torch with me so i couldn't see any holds on the top out. Anyway I learnt and got it second time.

I must say that the campsite is actually really awesome and big ups to Schalk and all the others who have put in alot of effort. Its really great.

That week Alex and I opened and repeated some amazing lines. some of which pictures are below. Alex took the most amazing bail from about 5m high he dynoed couldn't stick it and landed on his head, it was epic! He shook off the bail and stuck 7 biatchs (7a+) next go, amazing. That morning i was super happy as I had climbed well what I believe is my first 8a (legends of tuesday) seeing it was tuesday and we were legends for camping their when all our friends ditched us. I hope that line sees some repeats cause its awesome and i want some consensus on the grade seeing I really suck at grading things!

So I really encourage everybody even if bouldering isn't your forte to go to Ezemvelo. It's simply amazing!

Cheers
Wes b

First post ever!

Well hello to the world. Its wierd starting a blog cause I have never done anything like this before but its cool because anybody can comment on the news that i give. Pretty awesome!

Well I also started because i took a gap year this year to climb and i want to show whoever what I have been up to. So now Im also taking a camera everywhere to capture the moments.

This could turn out to be a major flop but who knows. Im going with my gut on this one.

Anyway i hope some people enjoy what i have to say.

cheers
Wes