UKC

Moving to Cape Town for the next few years in January 2015 for a new job.

I'm wandering if Cape Town has any drytooling crags. Been looking at the winter routes over in Drakensberg and Lesotho, looks pretty good! If no tooling venues I'll build a training wall at home.

If you live in Cape Town I'll be looking for partners for trad and sport at the weekends.

Any info much appreciated. Cheers

In reply to Hatty:

I think you'll find that just about anything goes in SA. Your biggest worry will be the baboons who will be wanting the food in your daysack.

In reply to Hatty:

I was in SA for 6 weeks back in 2007 found lots of nice sport climbing in really good locations got most of info from local climbers.

The Drakensbergs are really nice just watch out for the drug smugglers coming out from Lesotho.....they tried to steel my boots from the porch of my tent!!

In reply to Hatty:
Cape Town (and the Western Cape, in general) has the world monopoly on bullet-hard sandstone. This isn't even comparable to the rock of the same name found in the South-East of England. Cape Sandstone makes for world-class trad. and sport routes - nearly all of the former being four pitches or longer.

The Drakensburg does form a few ice routes in good years but they're ephemeral at best. South Africa isn't really the ideal ice-climbing destination. Stick to the trad. - you won't be bored in the near future.

Dry-tooling does not even feature in the vocabulary of a South African climber and doing it on the natural rock will almost certainly earn you naught but angry words. Ask the MCSA about it - they're the authority on all access-related issues in the country and a thoroughly worth-while organisation to befriend: join them and, as an upstanding member, you'll get access to their properties and huts - I know of at least one such hut that makes an ideal base camp for some of the longer country trad. routes that warrant an "Alpine" start: the legendary and adventurous 'Exposure in F-major'.

See also: http://www.climbing.co.za/ and htt...

In reply to Xharlie:


Agreed. It's God's own rock. Absolutely fantastic.




Absolutely. In fact I understand there is a ban on pegs or bolting on the sandstone trad on Table Mountain .


Or at an easier grade and still well worth while "Fledermous" also at Du Toits Kloof

cheers guys,

Sounds good! Looking forward to getting over there even more now, minus the drug smugglers.... I'll get in touch with the MCSA when I get over. A woodie in the carport might be the way as far as winter training goes....

Thanks again for the info.

In reply to Hatty: A woodie in the carport might be the way as far as winter training goes....

How is this going to help your climbing? Suggest you look up other meanings

In reply to Michael Hood:

Haha, yes I am aware that a woodie is also often used to describe an erect penis....cheers mate!

I was however referring to a plywood and pine self built personal climbing/bouldering wall.... Personally I have always found the term woodie slighty odd! Guessing it's an American term?