UKC

So.. Anyone been out here? I've landed a job about an hour away from this beast in October (Louis Trichardt) and really keen to hear people's experience!
-Is is climbable in the (South African) summer?
-best routes?
-what kind of gear suits?
-local scene?

Any beta/stories Appreciated!
Cheers,
Luke

In reply to Lh88:

Yes - I've been once; I had to check it was the correct place as it was a long time ago with some of the local heavyweights of the day

My advice won't be of much use....

I can't remember the routes I did, but I do remember a long uphill walk from the campsite.
It was hot (I had to get a friend home in a rush after a few days with suspected sunstroke, although it could have been alcohol or dirty water related).
All trad, normal wires/nuts/friends etc, when I went
Local scene - I don't remember one; we were camping in the bush and spent the evenings playing rugby Frisbee and 'knuckles' (which is not advisable with the hard men mentioned above).
I remember the routes being quite long and hard (for me; but I think that was mostly because I'd been away from climbing for a while whereas the guys I was with pointed me at stuff they expected me to be able to lead because they could).

You're probably none the wiser, but I'm sure the climbing will be fantastic.

In reply to Lh88:

PS - look here - http://www.climbing.co.za/topo/south-africa/limpopo/ and try posting on the site for better advice

In reply to Lh88:

Ignore everything I've said above; I was thinking of somewhere else

I checked the topo; the events above describe Kransberg. I've been to Blouberg but don't think I've climbed there. It's even bigger and more desolate than I describe above, but the topo brought back some memories as the ot shows a lot of FAs by the people I mention in the first post.

In reply to Lh88:
I climbed a number of routes there many years ago. It is a great place, you must visit. You can climb all year round but clearly you'll need to be okay with heat in summer - and carry water! There is no local scene, climbers come from Joburg/Pretoria/elsewhere for the weekend. You will need a local climber to go with you the first time to find the walk-in, the cave where people generally camp, the ramp down to the routes, which route is which at the bottom, and the walk-off from the top. None of that is all that obvious. Route-finding can be a little tricky too, at least to start with. The routes are trad with the occasional bolt here and there. To get onto the best routes, you need to be at minimum an E35c leader. There are no really easy routes. The rock is good, although routes can be a bit dusty if not done recently. The view and setting is spectacular.
Climbing.co.za is your best source of local info and partners.

In reply to Cathy:
Thanks Cathy/ Kipper. Some good info there (time to hit the gym for me..) I'll be sure to check out climb.za. L