Beal Combi Rope Bag
review by Tony Lourens I see more and more rope bags are becoming hybrids these days. Top brands are now bringing out rope bags that are actually rucksacks with an attached ground mat for your rope. Which, if you think about it for half a second, makes a whole lot of sense. Beal’s new Combi …
Black Diamond Z4 Camalots
review by Andy Court I recently had the privilege of testing out one of Black Diamond’s new Z4 cams. I took the green #0 up to The Ledge on Table Mountain and handed it over to Teo Iliev as he set off up the intimidating No Longer at Ease (25), a classic Tinie Versfeld test piece for the aspiring hard man. The …
Black Diamond Skin Repair Kit
review by Tony Lourens Not too long ago you may have been ridiculed at the crag for hauling out your fancy ‘Skin Repair Kit’, if there was such a thing. Not anymore. This sort of thing has become somewhat the norm in many climbers’ packs these days, and particularly boulderers. Spend one full day bouldering …
Black Diamond Forged Denim Jeans
review by Tony Lourens For quite some time I have seen climbers at crags climbing in jeans. My thoughts were always, looks cool, but must be quite uncomfortable and restrictive, surely. I mean, from the super slinky and highly functional lycras of the ’80s and ’90s, which allowed absolute fluid movement with no impingement of …
Back Country Cuisine
review by Tony Lourens There are two major factors that can hugely enrich your experience when out in the mountains, whether on a traverse across the Cederberg or Drakensberg, a trip into the wild Hex, or even an overnight jaunt to your favourite climbing area. One is, you want to carry as light as possible. …
December 2019 – February 2020
Read the editorial and check out the contents of the latest issue. With up-to-date news coverage, training articles, gear reviews, celebrity profiles, technical tips covering a wide variety of subjects, event reports, big glossy pics and enthralling articles. [su_heading]SA Mountain Editorial – Issue 71[/su_heading] SA Climing’s Darkest Hour I’m sitting at my desk, just barely …
Apollo – Castle Rocks Central Turret
The first ascent in 1969 a typical epic on a South African big wall words by Mike Scottpic by Nicholas van Doesberg At last the record can be set straight. The Barley brothers (Tony and Robin) generously let me get the credit for this amazing route, but really it was Robin’s brainchild. The two brothers, …
My 9 Peaks Challenge
An ascent of the 9 highest peaks across the 9 provinces of South Africa . . . or so we thought! by Alda Waddell In memory of a kindred spirit, Kelly Gielink, who passed away on Gray’s Pass in the central Drakensberg on Sunday 22 September, 2019. Kelly summited Mount Kilimanjaro in September 2018, as hiking …
Into the Sun
An Accident, the Healing and a Miracle words by Bernd Zangerl pic by Ray Demski An Accident – Dec 2015, Cresciano, Switzerland A moment like many others when you are dedicated to bouldering – while pulling hard on a difficult project in Cresciano, Switzerland, I slipped off the holds, and split seconds later I landed …
Women on High Mountains
by Remy Kloos My passion for high altitude mountaineering began about three years ago, in a search to gain some perspective in my life, I made the bold decision to climb the highest mountain in Africa, Kilimanjaro – a solo adventure. Standing on the Roof of Africa, teeming with ‘electric’ energy, was the moment I …