By Tony Lourens
A Celebration of Trad Climbing
The sport of climbing takes one to some of the most beautiful places on earth. This is why it is inherent in a climber’s blood to travel; to travel to faraway places, to experience the awesomeness of the mountains. The peace and the energy. And to climb on new and different rock.
South Africa has so many of these beautiful places tucked away amongst its numerous mountain ranges, valleys and escarpments. A lifetime of climbing and exploring just waiting out there.
The Black Diamond Tradathon is an annual event that celebrates the wonderful world of trad climbing. It embraces the very essence of trad climbing. Not only the actual act of climbing, but also the joy of exploration, discovering new places, meeting new people, making lifelong friends, and for some, the start of a whole new way of life. It is also the ideal place to learn from the experts, as there is a selection of courses one can enroll for, such as ‘Trad Beginner’, ‘Trad Leader’, ‘Self Rescue’, and so on.
The first Tradathon took place in 2012, on the iconic Table Mountain (where else?) overlooking the incomparable metropolis of Cape Town, one of the most stunning cities in the world. Climbers from all over South Africa congregated on The Ledge to enjoy a feast of excellent climbing, followed by an evening spit braai and drinks, and the much-anticipated draw for the winner of the fat prize of a full Black Diamond trad rack!
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