by Paul Fatti
Area: Blouberg North Wall, Limpopo Province
First Ascent: Paul Fatti and Art McGarr, July 1978
Route grade: 19
Length of route: Approx. 350 metres
Number of pitches: 11
Approach: Car to campsite 3 to 4 hours, campsite to climb 1.5 hours
Climbing time: 6 to 8 hours for a party of two
Descent time: 1.5 hours
Best time of year: Any time of year
Aspect: NNE facing, loses sun in early afternoon
Gear: Standard country rack and 2 ropes
Blouberg’s North Wall is arguably the biggest and best rock wall in South Africa. The Blouberg massif is located west of the Soutpansberg, towards the north of the Limpopo Province. Its north wall broods over the bushveld plains and on towards the Botswana border. The first climbs at Blouberg date back to the 1950s, with Bob Davies’ Maleboch being the finest of those early routes. However, the first route to be established on the one kilometre long, 350 metre high main wall was in 1966, when Tony Chinery and I opened Moonlight over a 2-day period, with a chilly bivouac in between. When I returned to Blouberg in 1971, after a three-year stay in London, this was still the only route on the main wall. Over the next few years I opened Moonlight Direct and Halfmoon with Art McGarr, as well as Big Corner with Eckhardt and Romey Druschke.
Read the full article
