In July, Billy Ridal, Orrin Coley, Nathan Phillips, Tara Hayes, and Frances Bensley made the trip to Rocklands, South Africa. 

Anyone keeping an eye on UKC's 'Recent Top Ascents' page during the month of July may have an idea of how well the trip went. Between 1st July and 31st July, four hundred and one ascents were logged on UKC at 7C and above. The team's Rocklands ticklist accounted for more than a fifth of them.

Read Billy, Orrin, and Nathan's accounts of the trip below, with Billy revisiting some unfinished projects from 2017, Orrin taking on Rocklands for the very first time, and Nathan seeking out some of the more obscure lines that Rocklands has to offer.

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Billy

This trip actually came about relatively last minute. Usually I would be training or competing over the summer, so a Rocklands trip hadn't been on my radar. Making the decision to retire from international competition earlier this year opened up my calendar, and with a group of close friends psyched, it seemed foolish not to seize the opportunity. 

I didn't head out with many objectives other than to revisit some unfinished business from 2017, a trifecta of iconic 8Bs - Sky (f8B), Mooiste Meisie (f8B), and The Power of One (V13). I found myself in a good run of form and made my way through them without much drama. I'm a very confidence based climber, so when I realised I was going well everything seemed to click into place, making for probably the most successful few weeks of bouldering I've ever had. 

It culminated for me with Get Railed (V14), a highball 8B+ climbed by Nalle in 2015. Its position above the Roadside sector makes it quite logistically involved. It bakes in the sun for most of the day so good conditions are hard to come by, and it climbs above a plinth meaning that a fall from the crux would risk toppling off the edge and down the hillside. I actually enjoy these factors beyond just the physical difficulty, it requires a more measured approach, and thorough prep, making it all the more rewarding when everything aligns.

I spent a couple of sessions on a rope refining the moves and figuring out how to mitigate the risks, getting it to a point where I felt prepared to commit from the ground. With the end of the trip approaching I no longer had the luxury of waiting for the ideal day, opting to chance it on an iffy forecast before a heatwave came in. We were up there as the weather turned, with frustrating fluctuations between beaming sun and drizzle, hardly the controlled environment I was after.

Rushed by the changeable weather, I set off up the boulder without having gone through my normal process. The sensations with the rock felt off from the get go with a poor placement on the first rail resulting in a flared elbow and bad positioning that made one of the easier moves feel limit. Mid crux I messed up my foot sequence and found myself set up wrong for the committing move to the lip. I improvised an adjustment but still felt much lower down than I should be. I nearly dropped off in that moment, but it still seemed possible. I let out a grunt to rev myself up and just barely kept tension as I caught the hold in full extension.

The intensity reduces a little from here giving you the headspace to consider the situation you are in, I could feel that my fingers had gone numb and the next series of holds are small glassy crimps. You could still bail at this point, but pouncing on to the boulder behind you feels nearly as risky as continuing upwards, so I carried on, unable to feel much of anything and hoping for the best. More grunting and some shaky foot placements took me to the top, rewarding me with a euphoric sense of relief that it had gone my way! 

It wasn't the clean execution I thought I needed for this boulder, so putting it together when doubts were creeping in made it easily the bit of climbing I'm most proud of from the trip.

Outside of my own climbing, I was proud of Frances on A Tea with Elmarie (f8A)/+. Her fingers have been causing her issues on and off for a long time, so to see her crimping with confidence on those tiny holds was brilliant. Orrin stringing together some huge days to finish his birthday challenge was mighty impressive, even if it did have us out in the dark going hungry ;) It was cool to see Tara on form with a fruitful 'projecting trip' of 20+ 7c-8as, and Nathan breathing life into some lesser trodden bangers because he's already done all the classics. Good work team!

Frances and I took the end of the trip to fly over to Kruger for a few days of Safari. After a month of intense rock climbing, appreciating the natural world at a more relaxed pace was really special. Climbers, myself included, get far too obsessed with their little rocks when traveling to these places, and often forget to appreciate everything else a place has to offer. Have a few days off and go see it! Forgetting about your proj for a few days will probably do your climbing some good anyway!

Trip highlights:

Get Railed (V14)

The Book Club (V14)

Trust Issues (V14)

Sky (f8B)

Mooiste Meisie (f8B)

The Power of One (V13)

Air star 8B

The Guest List (V13)

Master Key (V13)

El Corazon (V12)

Armed response (f8A+)

Industry of Cool (f8B)/8A+

Shosholoza (V12)

Caroline (f7C+) (my longest Rocklands proj at six sessions…)

A leopard, a lioness and her cub

Orrin

Having never visited Rocklands before, I had wild ideas of turning up and achieving everything I've dreamed of since first imagining going there as a kid. Unfortunately, reality often dictates a different path to that which your dreams try to steer you towards, and my preparation beforehand was pretty inefficient, consisting of a finger injury and almost no training.

So my wild hopes had to be altered to more realistic aims to match the reality I was working with. With my twenty-eighth birthday occurring during our trip, I decided on a challenge to climb twenty-eight 8A's and harder while away. It meant I'd get good mileage in a new area, climb at a level I enjoy trying and working out, while also still being hard enough for me to get a lot of enjoyment pushing myself. 

I've had the pleasure of being friends, teammates, rivals, and even colleagues with the whole gang on this trip. So it was pretty special to see so many amazing moments from the lot of them, and it's hard to single out individual highlight. 

Frances flashing The Hatchling (f7C+) was pretty incredible to see, as it demonstrated how much more she could have in the tank at something truly at her max level.

As this was clearly nowhere near her max flash level, throw in some better preparation and an actual intention to flash and I wouldn't be surprised to see her flash way harder. 

When Billy sent Get Railed (V14) it was a pretty emotional moment, as we had to really get behind him for it. That climb requires not just elite skill and strength, but a high level of commitment as the landing is no joke. I was roped up spotting him from the worst of it, but after that - when he hit the no fall zone - I couldn't move into a better position as the rope might have hit him if I had. So I just had to sit and hope for the best. Of course he didn't let us down (that was his theme of the trip!) and when he reached the top it was obvious what it meant to him, which made it a pretty beautiful moment to witness. 

It was cool when Tara sent Eye of Sauron (f7C+), as she totally cruised it, in very quick time as well. From an outside perspective, it always seems like Tara expects better of herself so often seems unsatisfied with her performance. But on this occasion she just rocked up, worked it super quick, and then just crushed it with so much confidence. It's the best version of her that we love to see, which made it pretty special. 

And last but not least, Nathan sending Reverse Cowgirl 8B+ was incredible. He had a session (maybe two?) previously in which he figured the moves out. Then on the day he sent realised he couldn't do a sequence the way he wanted on the link, which resulted in him doing a heinous cut to save time. From then on he just fought, I don't really know how he could even see straight because he was working so hard his head resembled a tomato on the verge of exploding. Eventually he reached a bit of a ledge at the end to awkwardly perch on and we enjoyed some good jokes before he quested on to top out. It made the inhuman performance seem strangely human. 

It's hard to say what I'm most pleased about myself. I did succeed in my birthday challenge which felt like a great achievement for me. In fact I completed the 28th climb - which was The Amphitheatre (f8A+) on my actual 28th birthday, which was a happy coincidence. The others sneaked a cake out and we had a little celebration afterwards which really made my day. A birthday to remember! 

Otherwise I was pleased to send both Master Key (V13) and The Guest List (V13) on the same day. I'd tried many 8B's and harder while away and everything felt like it was going to take more effort than I wanted to be giving for that level due to my lack of fitness and strength from the injury. Or it actually aggravated the various strains.

But with some good support and beta from Billy and Frances I found my way up Master Key which felt like it unlocked some sort of door in my mind. I'd struggled on it previously and had almost given up out of frustration as I thought it'd be an 'easy one' for me, so when the last ditch effort paid off I felt like a new man! I quickly got to work on The Guest List after with this fresh head, and got super close coming off way after the crux after a short while. Somehow I found the juice to keep going and completed it late into the evening! 

Another micro highlight for myself would also be topping my one session PB for number of 8's in a day! What seems like many years ago, I managed 4 8A-8A+'s in a session at Magic Wood, and have been chasing that high ever since. So when the opportunity came for a big mileage day at the 8 Days of Rain sector I jumped at it.

The day started slow and when we left the car I asked if we should take the lamps. Billy responded by mentioning how ridiculous it'd be for me to have a six hour long session out on my own. Well, in the end it would have been ideal if we had taken the lamps after all, as it was a bit awkward lighting up the last boulder at the end of the day when I completed the sixth 8A-8A+!

Trip Highlights:

07/07 - Pendragon (f8A), Oral Office (f8A)/8A+

10/07 - Shosholoza (V12), The Art Project (f8A+)

12/07 - Fat Eagle Can't Fly (V11), Fragile Steps (V13)/8A+

15/07 - The Power of Bar-One (V12), A Tea with Elmarie (f8A)/+

18/07 - Black Shadow (f8A+), Brown Shadow (V11)

19/07 -Witness The Sickness (f8A), Deep Turtle (V11), Black Velvet (f8A)

22/07 - Sassy Squash (f8A)

25/07 - Out of Balance (f8A), Nutsa (f8A+)

26/07 - Dove Tongue Degresser (f8A+)

27/07 - Baracuda 8A, Baracuda Sit 8A+, Golden Virginia (f7C+)/8A, Flying Guitar Thief (f8A), Shallow Cave (V11), First Blood (f7C+)/8A

30/07 - Molly Percocet (f8A)

31/07 - Master Key (V13), The Guest List (V13)

01/08 - Séance (f8A)

03/08 - The Amphitheatre (f8A+)/8A

05/08 - Pandemonium 8A

07/08 - Warfare 8A

Nathan

With it being my fourth time visiting Rocklands, I'd already done a big chunk of the fun boulders within my limits that wouldn't take more than a session or two. This meant I had the chance to explore some of the more obscure lines that can be forgotten about but are still really good. The hardest thing I climbed was Reverse Cowgirl (8B+), but the best things I climbed weren't as hard. 

The best climb I did in Rocklands this year was one called Simba (~8A+) which had only seen a couple of ascents. It's very high with a fairly sketchy landing and the difficulty is at the top. Your body is horizontal at the crux so a fall could be pretty interesting. After watching Billy try the moves on a rope and not make them look that easy, I got up there myself and practiced the sequence a few times. I decided I was confident enough to go for it and after one surprisingly ok drop off I managed to keep it together and stand on top. 

We also had five days in Cape Town to finish the trip where I could open a new one 'War And Peace' which is a sit-start to the boulder 'Warfare' in Topside opened by Chevaan Patience. The rock is awesome with some amazing pinches and slopers. Goes somewhere around 8A+/B.

I think the whole team climbed a lot of cool stuff this trip, with Orrin climbing thirty 8A's or higher, Tara climbing twenty 7C's and higher, Frances climbing some really hard crimpy boulders after recovering from a string of finger injuries, and of course Billy just doing everything in sight. It fuels the psyche when everyone around you is pushing themselves day in, day out. Mega trip team!