Siurana - 9 Days of Climbing with James and Evan

Reunited with Evan and James after a big of baggage drama. The carrier from Paris to Barcelona lost Evan's bag. So we spent a day enjoying some Gaudi architecture and the Rambla.
By the afternoon we had received a phone call from the airline and Evan's bag was found.

We picked it up the following morning and set out from Barcelona destined for Siurana. The trip was not too long only about 4 hours but we did have to make a few pit stops along the way to pick up a map as the direction we got from Google maps were a bit confusing.

We got into Siurana with enough time to climb so I bought the guide book and ask Antonio which was the best crag to hit up for the grades we were looking for. After a bit of discussion we settled on of the crags that was nearby. It was only a little over a 1km but we decided to drive.

It wasn't long before we discovered that the trail marking and the maps in the guidebook were woefully inadequate. The scale was off, trail are not marked. After an hour or so of wondering we ended up finding a new sector but no the place we wanted.

Instead of carrying on trying to find the place we headed back to town to resupply and get a fresh start on the next day.

The following day headed to the opposite side of Siurana. Again we stumbled around looking for trails looking for sectors. We were looking for specific sectors that were out of the sun and had the grade range we wanted to climb. Eventually we gave up on the idea of finding a shady sector and braved the sun at sector Espero Primavera (36).

After warming up on a couple 6bs we were joined by Sarah who had a bit of disagreement with her partner on areas to climb so they had gone separate ways for the day. We now had even numbers of people. We all packed up and headed over to sector Siuranella North (34) which was now in the shade. Evan and James continued to climb strong while I Sarah and I teamed up to tick a few more 6cs.

Well alas, its been a little over a year since I start this post and so the memories have faded.

Of our time in Siurana I can say the best party was going to an out door party in the bush with Sarah where they had a DJ setup and the DJ let me bring my hard disk and play till 6 AM. The experience was amazing, and I got to enjoy playing some music for the first time on the trip.

Other memorable moments was my second 12a right next to the tower.

All in all a great trip. After Siurana we headed south for the DWS festival in Benidorm.

Ceuse - Best Crag in the world

The train ride to Apt, the closest town to Ceuse was uneventful. I had a two hour stop over in Grenoble so I was able to have a look at the area where Scheinder electric. I found myself in the Apt train station at 5:00 PM.

I decided to look for a grocery store to buy food and an internet café to get direction for Les Guerins where he camping was. I wondered up and down the main street in Apt with my two packs on, one in the front and one on the back, as well as carrying a bit of food and my laptop bag. The total weight for all my gear would easily tip the scales at 40kg. So when I step into a break in the sidewalk because I couldn’t see it over my backpack I went down hard.

This was a rather humorous moment for me. I think this was the first time I had fallen on my face in my adult life. Quite an experience having feeling of wounded pride; I could only laugh as I felt the warm trickle of blood start to run down my leg. I gather myself up and move on walking past a French girl waiting at a bus stop laughing at me. It must have be a comical scene watching me tumble to the ground.

Alas I gave up on the idea of finding internet access and feeling hungry and a bit beat up I decided to get a taxi to the camp ground. After a brief negotiation I got the drive down from 50 euro to 35 and we headed to the campground. I was taken aback by how beautiful this place was. The campground was relaxed and the cliff face seems like a warm guarding presence looking down on us in the campground below.

Picture: Panorama of Ceuse from the campground. That cliff band is as high as 100m.

I setup my camp and had something to eat.

The next morning while I was cleaning up in the bathroom I ran into Audrey. Apparently both her and Adrian were staying there for the next couple of days. Audrey and I decided to climb together up at Cascade sector and Adrian went out to take pictures for the Guidebook.

The infamous hike to the top of Ceuse was at hand. Audrey set the pace and lead the way up since she had done it a few times. A gentle breeze kept the hike from being unbearably hot as we hiked through the heat of the day. By 1:30 we had arrived at Cascade the hike not being nearly as bad as advertised. The hike up was made easier by chatting with Audrey and being distracted by the gliders that would routinely buzz the cliff face overhead. The glider really are a surreal experience because they make the same sound that the Cyclone Raiders do in Battle Star Galactica.

Picture: Cascade Sector profile as seen from Medecine Douce.

We accidentally warmed up on a 6c that was a bit of the shock to the system since we both thought it was the 6b. The climbing was slow going and steep in the blistering heat. I think it was around 31 degrees. That night I stashed the rope at the top and left my draws in Medicine Douce a 6c+ that I was projecting while Audrey left her draws in Hyper Mickey 7c.

That night I spent hanging out with the Germans that I had met the night before when I had arrived. We just hung out around some candles they had brought and drank wine. Now here is something that left me longing for home: the lack of camp fires at the campground. That is definitely one of those treats we have in North America and specifically Canada – the luxury of having a camp fire; small things that mean a lot.

The next days Audrey and I headed back up while Adrian set out again to get photos for the guide. After a couple 6b and 6c warm ups to the wall left of Cascade I took a burn on Medicine Douce. It was a good burning making it all the way to the crux before pumping out and falling. Audrey had picked off Hyper Mickey and so we took a break in the shade to hide from the sun.

Picture: Me just before the crux of Medicine Douce, 6c+ at Cascade Sector.

I took one more burn on Medicine Douce later that day falling at the first crux and decided to take out my quick draws in favour of using my last couple days for climbing at other sectors. Adrian had rejoined us so we went over to some other sectors to climb the classics at other walls.

Audrey put up Zegreb, the classic 6c. I took a spin on it despite feeling tired to start. I fell off below the crux, catching my left foot on the fall on a hold re-sprained my ankle. The sprain wasn’t nearly as bad as last time, more of tweak this time but it hurt none the less so I called it day. I took a nice hike up the wall towards the Demi Lune sector passing under Biography wall where Realization is. I looked the route but to be honest it wasn’t as inspiring as I would have though it because of the way the cliff falls away below it you don’t get to appreciate the steepness or difficulty of the 5.15a climb.

Picture: Panorama of Biography sector, Ceuse.

Later on down the wall I stopped to sit under a beautiful overhang where hundreds of sparrows were swooping towards the cliff roof trying to find a place to rest for the night. They would fly right up to a pocket and then hover right at the edge, sometimes they would land, sometimes they would fall away if the pocket was already filled with sparrows. Sometimes they would spook and several would take off and the group would fly a few meters from the cliff only to turn and come back to find a place to sleep. It was a wonderful experience to just appreciate their dance for a moment and see the beauty in their existence.

When I returned to where we were climbing earlier that day I found Audrey and Adrian had already packed up and headed down the hill. I got my pack and walked down. Had dinner with Audrey and Adrian during the last night there then caught a ride into Apt with them the following day to catch up on emailing and coordinating plans with Evan and James.

I have to say hitch hiking in France is pretty nice, I had no trouble. Of the 20km trip to the campsite I only had to walk for 200m and wait no longer than 10 minutes. Definitely feel appreciative to the generosity of my French.

The following day I climbed with one of the Australian guys from New Leyland. He had been sick for the past couple of days and wasn’t looking to climb hard. My ankle was still sore and I was looking to test is gently to see how it was doing. We headed up to Demi Lune and the first 6b we got on was technical but I was able to hold on and get the onsight but I felt very uncertain of my ankle as rocking over on it was causing some pain. Still not warm I followed up with a 6b slab climb thinking it was a 6a. I made it all the way up to the top and found myself at a tenuous crux where I had to rock over my left food on a flow stone scoop. This move proved to be very painful for my ankle not to mention scary as I didn’t want to fall off and land on the slab below and possibly aggravating my already injured ankle. I pulled through after falling off once but resolved to avoid slabby climbs because I couldn’t compensate for my injured ankle with my arms and was more likely to further injure it if I fell of.

To round out the day I headed up Chant De Cristal at 6b+ which I onsighted easily – I hit the crux sequence properly which makes it feel easy and them moved on to the 6c extension that pulls the steep roof above on large holds. I feel off after the first bolt and then dog my way to the last bold on a huge 4 meter run out. I called it a day after this since I my nerves were fried for the day. Since my ankle was bothering me so much I decided to pack up my things and head out for Pierre Longue and visiting Christian and Gabriel my friends whom I had met there earlier in the trip.

Christian picked me up from the train station in Orange and we headed immediately to close family friends of his up in Beauvoisine for a BBQ with his brother’s family and family friends. It was a great night catching up with Gabriel and Christian and eating some fresh BBQ lamb from their farm as well as sausage, cheese and vegetables. It was really unique to experience another family meal in another country of the world.

The following day we spent lounging around at the river and in the kiddy pool with Gabriel, Christian and their children Salomi and Camie. Gabriel and I made inukshuk at from the rock in the river.


The next day Christian and I hiked up to the top of the mountain between Pierre Longue and Mount Ventoux to get some exercise as our last day together. We had tons of fun and I enjoyed the view from the top looking down at the places where I had climbed and lived for 3 months at the start of the year.

The following day Christian and Gabriel dropped me off at the train station in Orange and spent traveling to Barcelona on the train.

Switzerland - I love the mountains.

Picture: View from Chalet Martin where I stayed in Gryon

My first day in the Swiss alps necessitated some very important things. the first of which was the needed to get some Swiss Francs. It seems that I am a bit naive and figured that Switzerland had adopted the the Euro like many of the EU countries. The second was getting food as I was without.

Since I had now Swiss money as of yet I couldn't take the tram/train up the hill to the village of Villar. Instead, I hiked in the 5km with my laptop to add surfing the next to my list of things I wanted to do.

Picture: Swiss Village of Villar.

The hike was long and uneventful. I got on the net and bought food for the week. I took the tram ride back and spent the rest of the day gorging myself on the food. The next day it rained so I spent most of the day sleeping in and relaxing with the people at the hostel. It was a terrible shame since this was the only day that Matt had available to go climbing. Matt did tell me about some boulder fields up near Solalex, a 5 km hike up the hill.

The next day the sun had returned so I grabbed Matts crash pad and my shoes and head up to Solalex. The hike was mostly off the road. I arrived at Solalex after about 1.5 hours. The hike brought me in front of the Mirroir D’Argent – a 500m high sport climbing wall. The routes up this wall were many and varied from 16 pitch 5.10a to 5.11d. The boulder fields were made from the rock that was shed from mountain top.

Picture: Miroir D'Argent - 500m of limestone!

The bouldering was fun despite the stinging nettles that were growing around the base of the boulders. The problems were conveniently developed with little white arrows painted at their base to indicate the start. It took several goes to work out the problems. I ticked off most of the problem in the area with the exception of a dyno problem that pulled off a sit start and two pockets to in-cut flake nearly full arm span away. After 3 hours of bouldering I was spent and the light was slipping away so I headed back down the road.

Picture: Boulder Field at the base of the Miroir D'Argent near Solalex.

The night had fallen when I wander back into the Chalet Martin to find Matt and everyone at the hostel drinking Mojitos. Matt said we could catch a half day of climbing the following morning as he didn’t have any contracting. I put back a few Mojitos before returning for the night just a touch wobbly.



The next morning I was up and ready to go by 9 AM when Matt returned from his bike ride. We pilled into his Van and headed to a crag on the other side of the valley called Sex Du Corbeau. We warmed up on some easier routes before turning up the challenge on a slightly wet 6c and then a really nice 7a. I fell off both but had a good time. We started packing up to leave when four English climber showed up and offered to let me join them and give me a ride back to the train station in Bex so I could get back.

Their names were Jon, Jon, Bruce and Susan. Two of them were climbers from Geneve who worked for CERN so we instantly had the nerd connection. We talked a bit about the particle accelerator they have there and how there is legal action currently against the installation to prevent them from completing the high energy particle accelerator as there is fear it might open a black hole that could swallow the planet. I told them about my trip and how I was debating if I should go to Ceuse or Magic Wood for bouldering next. Bruce said he had just dropped off a single climber from the US who was climbing the same grades I was roughly. So I decided that I would go to Ceuse after visiting Kevin Baumer in Lausanne.

After pulling down several more fun 6b’s I got on a beautiful overhanging 6c+ that exhausted me for the day. With the light failing we packed up and headed down to car. Because I had forgotten my wallet back in my pack at home they gave me a ride all the way back to Chalet Martin even though it was far out of the way.

That night I packed up so that I could check out and head down to Lausanne to meet up with Kevin. I hadn’t had internet access for the last couple of days so I wasn’t able to warn Kevin of the exact time of my arrival. So when I rolled into Lausanne at noon on Friday morning he wasn’t aware that I would be there. I found a internet café and spent the day there. I got a message through to Kevin and he met me at the café after work.

We went out drinking and caught up on old times. It was really fun, we did a lot of people watching that night as we moves from pub to pub. The Swiss definitely tend to keep to themselves and after a certain age doesn’t seem at all interested in forming new social bonds. I gathered this from observing them and how Kevin relayed his experience with them.

Picture: Kevin on the streets of Lausanne.

The next day we were a bit hung over so we moved very very slowly. We went out to go shopping and then walking around Lausanne in the afternoon. Kevin showed me his work and I bought camp stove fuel for when I got to Ceuse.

Kevin and I talked about books we had read recently. Mostly Kevin who has been into interesting books and he passed on 1984 and Girls of Riyadh to me for my time in Ceuse. I had no book for him with the exception of sharing what I had read so far of Aldous Huxley’s Doors of Perception.

The following day I was to leave for Apt France and had to be up early. I said good bye to Kevin that night. He was a generous host and it was good to catch up with my old friend.

Next stop, arguably the best climbing crag in the world.

A few days in The Neatherlands

The time in the Netherlands was fun but intense. The train ride from Berlin to Amsterdam was relatively uneventful. I had a nice Dutch couple and a mother and pair of kids from Chicago sharing my car. During the trip I was able to finish the Book on Genghis Khan that Jon has passed on to me in Portland.

Tiemen and Jochem met me at the train station in Amsterdam and we set out for Jochem’s flat where I would be staying while I was there. The walk was short and made easier by the two of them taking a backpack each (thank guys). We wound our way through the narrow streets, crossing canals as we went. Thankfully Amsterdam is a very dense city and so the walk was only about 15 minutes.

We dropped off the packs and immediately set out for a place to have dinner. We stopped at the local pub around the corner from Jochem’s to have a few Heineken first to decide what we wanted to it. We decided on a Thai restaurant across town so we had a walk ahead of us. They saw to it that we passed through the red light district and down a narrow alley of which the name I didn’t recall. I have to comments about this: it was weird to see these women in the windows and though the sex trade is no less overt on Nelson it was really strange to see it indorsed by the institutions. Then we headed through the main square apparently where the prince proposed to the queen at one time.

Picture: Tiemen and his 4-month old son Diede

The next day I woke up at noon and had to quickly get under way to meet up with Tiemen at Leiseplein square where we agreed to meet for lunch at 1. The walk was fun and the place was easy to find. Tiemen was waiting there with his 4 month old sun Diede whom I had been looking forward to meeting. Tiemen was telling me he was the Zen baby and I could see why. In the crowded square of tourists he was just laying there sleeping.

We went to Vondel Park which was close by for lunch. Vondel Park is a big park in the center of Amsterdam where much like Stanley park or Central park but perhaps a bit smaller. There is lot of grass for people to picnic on and enjoy the sun. We had a quick brunch and then went back to Tiemen’s house as he had friends coming over to meet Diede.

I got a chance to spend some time with Diede, holding him and feeding him though Tiemen took over the honours of burping him. We spent the afternoon hanging out but I had to make my way back to Jochem’s because I had his keys. The way back to Jochem’s proved to be a little more tricky than I first anticipated. I manage to get myself lost on the way. It seems that, like Victoria, Amsterdam likes to make roads that are perfect straight change names at intersections so I walked by the turn off to get to Jochem’s house since it didn’t have the same name as the road I had turned on earlier that day.

Picture: Traffic Jam on the cannels of Amsterdam.

After realizing that I had over shot the turn off I double backed and decided to take a random turn off in hopes that I might intersect the road I was looking for farther down. The gamble paid off and I found Karthusier street at the exactly the spot where the name changed. I returned to Jochem’s place to find him waiting outside with slightly warm beer. I guess I should have started out from Tiemen’s a little earlier but c’est la vie.

That night Jochem and I spent the night in playing computer games, eating pizza and watching entourage. I know it never that good reliving the past but it was just like old times when they would come to Vancouver and visit during the summers. Good times. The following morning I was supposed to get picked up by friend from Vancouver who was visiting as we were going to go out to a party near Utrecht that night but the rides were synching up so we planned to meet at Utrecht at 9:00 PM. I coordinated meeting up with another friend from home who was living in The Hague for dinner in Utrecht at 7:30 so that we would be fed before meeting Jaap at 9:00.

Jochem and I decided we would go out people watching for the day, on our excursion we though it was rather amusing to get the some tourist sunglasses that were fully chauchie so that we would be a little less flagrant. The glasses were perfect, it was great because they were so bad it was amusing to see who noticed these horrible glasses, who pretended not to, and who was in their own space and didn’t notice at all. We made our way to Vonder Park again and sat on the grass there for some more people watching.

Picture: Jochem and I with our voyeur/people watching sunglasses.

The hours slipped by quickly and before I knew it I had to rush back to Jochem’s to pick up my packs to make the train to Utrecht. A hasty goodbye and then jumped on the train. It was a really good time reconnecting with my cousins in Amsterdam. Its been far too long and next time it won’t be 4 years before I spend time with them again.

Seeing Tomas was really great. We headed out for a quick bite after wondering around downtown Utrecht and then met up with Jaap. We went over to an industrial site where friends of his had an art studio. They were having a BBQ out front and we had a chance to meet all these friends who were going to the party that night. A friend of Jaap’s whom I had met in Vancouver name Roderick was there also. They were the most generous hosts, no sooner had we arrived than we had Heineken’s in our hand and were being introduced to everyone.

Once we had arrived at the party we got our first taste of the small underground parties that happen in Holland. The place was a small clearing near a boat lunch about 45 minutes out of Utrecht. We had arrived a bit early and setup for the second stage was still underway. We found a place to park and had a walk around to see what was around.

Picture: Roderick at the party outside of Utrecht.

The music was heavy and hard: welcome to Tekno – that’s Techno with a K. The sound was something of Gabber with more techno sounds and a slight melody to it. Not my cup of tea but it was interesting to listen to something new and see what I could make of it. Unforetunately, I had left my earplugs in my other bag which was being stored at Roderick’s house so I had to do without.

The overall sense of the party was aggressive and edgy energy about it. I would say it was a reflection of the music being played or perhaps the fact that there were far more men than women there (a pattern I had noticed in Greece when I saw Dave Seamen a few years back). I don’t know if correlation is causality but it was pretty apparent. There was also a darkness about the music and what people were wearing. It was almost a punk and also some Goth look about them, that having been said they were friendly enough. I was approached by a woman named Chantelle who introduced me to many of her friends and the party organizers. She invited me to come visit Rotterdam though refused the offer as I was pretty keen to get back to climbing. Not being a huge fan of the music and not being able to dance I spent the majority of my time in Roderick’s camper van hanging out and talking with his friends whom were really awesome.

Picture: Tomas and I at the party in Utrecht. Its colder than you think there in the summer.

I can also say they go really hard as the party continued till 10 AM at which point I had long since thrown in the towel. Jaap was generous enough to give me a ride up to The Hague and drop me off at Tomas’ place. I had a shower cleaned up and unloaded my gear.

Tomas, Jen and I spent the day wondering around The Hague picking up my train Ticket reservation to Switzerland for the next day and a few bike parts. The train ticket proved to be a bit more of a challenge then I wanted since I wanted to go to Lausanne and then on to Gryon where a friend Matt whom I had met climbing in Kalymnos had a hostel but the operator said all the trains were full. So instead I book a ticket to Basel where there was climbing as well but I had no connections.

After walking around looking for a while in the overcast day we settled on an Indian Restaurant right across from Tomas and Jen’s place. No sooner had we sat down then it started raining. We ate dinner then they went home while I walked up the street to do some research on place to stay in Basel so that I wouldn’t be completely lost when I arrived there. Then we went back to watch the Astronaut Farmer, said our goodbyes before heading to be early.

The train went shockingly early leaving at 7:06 AM so I would have to be up at 6:10 AM to make the walk over with all my bags. On the train to out of Utrecht I was joined in my cabin by a Dutch man who worked for the railroad service and he explained that reservations were not necessary on many trains and also explained that even if a section is full you can always stand if necessary on the train.

I decided to go to Gryon knowing it was only a few hours that I would be standing at works to make my way there. It was really an amazing journey, I didn’t have to wait more than 10 minutes at any station along the trip. As soon as I got off I would check the train board and was able to find a train heading to where I wanted to go on my route. The only mistake I made was getting on a train that indicate it stopped at Bex (my transfer point to Gryon) and then went past that stop and the following two before I was able to get off and double back on the next train. This is yet another advantage to of hanging a Eurorail pass since I would have had to pay for the train to double back to Bex if I didn’t have it.

I found my way up to Chalet Martin and met Matt at around 8:00 PM and got myself setup in the place. The sun had been shining and I had left the rains of the morning behind. The mountains were beautiful and I felt at home once more, I never realized how much I feel a part of the mountains. Now hopefully the weather will hold despite what the tram conductor told me on my journey up here.

Berlin

I'm starting my entry for these areas now while sitting in the Berlin train station about to go from here to Amsterdam.

My time in Berlin has been quick but good. I've spent some time visiting Paul Sikora and touring the city. Berlin was interesting the most notable of which was the architecture. I can definitely see the pragmatism in how the design things here. The industrial look of the older buildings and the shining glass of the newer ones makes for an interesting contrast. The city also doesn't have the panicked nervous energy that I often sense in North American and even cities in the UK.

Picture: Fernsehturm in Berlin.

The first day was not that interesting as Paul had to work and I recovered from my travels and worked out a Eurorail pass for getting around during the remainder of my trip. The afternoon was spent relaxing and back at Paul’s place which he was leaving the following morning. We packed up his bags and did the final inspection with the landlord which freed us up for spending the rest of the night visiting the sites of Berlin.

We started out by visiting the Fernsehturm (telecom tower), Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, the holocaust memorial, the remains of the Berlin wall and then had dinner. Mehrdad’s cousin (terrible with names and forgot it already) came and met us so we went out for a couple beers.

Picture: Riechstag in Berlin.

Picture: Part of the Berlin Wall. We had dinner behind the building in the background.

The next morning we were up at 7:30 and jumping into a taxi. Paul dropped me at the Bahnhof where I stored my bags for a few hours then got on the train and visited Tiergarten and the Seigessaule (the golden statue of Victory). I walked the length between the Seigessaule and the Brandenburg Gate then made my way back to the train station for my trip to see my cousins.

Picture: Seigessaule from the underground tunnel which takes you under the road.

Off to Amsterdam.

Keeping Portland Weird

The next morning we all had breakfast together and wishes eachother off as Mike had things to do and Amy wanted to visit friends. Since the weather had once again turned wet we debated what to do. Meilee and I decided to spend some time in Wareham before moving on to Portland in the hopes that the “Portland microclimate” might keep the place dry.

When we arrive in Weymouth we found that Gavin was already there and climbing at “The Shed” a small private bouldering gym on Fortunes Well the largest town on Portland Isle. So we broke out our climbing shoes and had a bouldering session for a few hours then retired to the Cove, the local pub, for some beers.

When we arrive Gavin already had a table where I met Jon (AKA Ouzo), Neil and Kay; all local climbers. I took an instant liking to Jon, he had a very Zen vibe about him. His eyes had a few lines about them from smiling often and there was a kind softness to his eyes. We all shared drinks and talk before retiring for the night. Meilee had to leave the following day to go North for her mother’s birthday but she had made arrangements on my behalf to climb with Jon the following day.

That night Meilee parked the Van on top of the lookout on the Isle of Portland, only slightly illegal but she seemed confident that we wouldn’t be disturbed. The next morning I saw why, the view was breath taking the only thing that could have made it better would have been to have the sun shining but even with it being overcast the view was spectacular.

Picture: Looking back at Weymouth and Chesil Beach from Jon's place in Fortunes Well on the Isle of Portland.

We met up with Jon at a coffee shop up the hill where we had breakfast and transferred all my bags and such to Jon car. To start our climbing expedition Jon and I went to an area called “The Cuttings” which apparently was a good place since it was dry and it was also the crag that Meilee hates the most on the Isle.

The climbing was fun but certainly different that some of the other stuff I had been doing of late. The walls were vertical to slightly overhanging and the holds small, or at strange angles. After completing a few warm up climbs were were joined by “Clever Trevor”, who was very keen. We did a few more climbs including “Live By the Sword” a stellar 7a+ which I completed but didn’t have the energy to try to red point. We retired to the Cove for some beer and food then back to Jon’s.

I have to say, Jon’s house was breathtaking. He had the most amazing view of Weymouth and Chesil beach. His couch was situated so that you could sit and have breakfast or sip tea or wine while you took in the view. The house was soft with beautiful rounded rocks and crystal situated about the house.

We talked some while sitting on the couch and I found out how he used to be involved in software and hightech but made a change away from that path. He decide to quite and live a less hectic lifestyle of being a climbing guide around Portland. He predominantly teachs kids. The lifestyle is much slower pace and allowed him to have more peace in his life. He also told me about traveling to Tibet and India. Amazing journeys. He gave me a key and set me up with access to the Wifi so I could work then we went to bed.

The next day morning was leisurely and easy. I spent the day catching up on email which I hadn’t done in a while and doing some blog updates to cover the Vipassina course. The Wifi was being difficult so I had only partial connectivity so I didn’t spend too much time. That night a friend of Jon’s came over with is son, Ewan. Ewan was such a ham and we had tons of fun with him. At one point he would sit on a cushion and we tied a rope to him and videoed him sliding across the floor. It was great fun. Jon’s friend was from Sante Fez California and work for an electronics firm. I have to get his email address from Jon nad make it a point of visiting him sometime. He and Ewan and his wife were going to Tuolomean meadows for a climbing trip. He also had a great vibe about him and was one of the people who went to Tibet with Jon. That night Meilee returned from her mom’s and joined us for some wine but it wasn’t too long before Ewan and Neil had to head home.

After slurping back a coffee and chatting with some of the locals Meilee took me up to Blacknor North to get on some of the best routes of the Island. We started out with some easy 6a+ and 6bs then progressed some truly amazing climbs. I did a 6b+ called “Lord Sublock Darkvoid that breaks the chain of causation” which is just amazing and then “Burning Skies” right next to it. Both routes were amazing though I pumped out and fell off Burning skies. Then we hiked over some more and I got on “Pregnant Pause” which is a three star arete climb. A perfect cool down at 6a+.

Picture: Blacknor, Battle Ship and a few other sectors on the West side of Portland.

Picture: Raptors hunting around the cliffs at Blacknor.

The next day, Saturday, the weather was pretty crappy and so we all went to The Shed for the day. It was great because Gavin decided we needed some new problems so he started setting them for us. He made a really cool tufa pinch problem that I completely wrecked myself on. Maddie joined us at the Shed and got in a late session with Jon. Gavin, Meilee, myself and a few others went into Weymouth for the evening. We ate out and then went and watching ‘Batman: The Dark Knight’. I can now say that the its just as good if not better seeing it a second time around.

The next day the sun had returned and brought with it some high winds. Meilee, Jon, Maddie and I met the other climbers at ‘The Blue Fish’ for breakfast. We all ate well. Mike Roberson was there and wanted to shoot Meilee taking DWS falls for a magazine article so they paired off. Maddie, Jon and I headed up to Blacknor South to see if we could find some dry rock.

Picture: Sun set and moon rising.

We started climbing in the high winds which wasn’t pleasant but then moved over to find a bit of shelter. I jumped on a three star 7A+ called ‘Englands Dreaming’ which I proceded to try to red point. I came really close after getting the beta from Meilee who was working Spanerize, the route next to me. I gave it 4 goes and pulled through the crux on my last two goes but fell on a long reach just after. I decided I was too tired and it was getting late so we all packed it in and headed to the Cove for some much deserved beer.

Picture: Circle of climbing friends - Blue is Jon, White is Maddie, Red is Meilee, and me.

I stole the ‘Keep Portland Weird’ poster for an event held that day; this was one of the characteristic things about the Portland for me. As Jon explained it, its how the locals keep the place from exploding and getting priced out. The economy of Portland is supported by the two maximum security jails on the island and formerly by the Navy’s torpedo factory which has since been decommissioned.

We had dinner and I bid farewell to Gavin and some of my other new found friends as it would be the last time I would see them on this trip.

The next day was a bit rushed as I packed everything up and we grabbed a quick breakfast. Meilee dropped me off in Weymouth and I jumped the train to London. Where I made my way to the Castle to meet up with Audrey whom I would be stay with for the night.

That night I took Audrey out to an Eritrean restaurant just down the street. The food was really good, they served vegetarian toppings that was on this bread that had rye and rice flour that fermented. It had an almost sour taste to it which suited me well as I like sour food. Audrey filled me in on her and Adrian’s weekend up in North Whales as well as the van construction they were doing for their trip to visit her parents in Southern France. We didn’t stay up too late as she had to work the next day. I have to say I have been really lucky to meet such amazing and generous friends in the UK, not unlike South Africa; I will miss the way they always seemed to put a smile put on my face.

The next day I flew to Berlin.

Deep Water Soloing (DWS) in Barry Head

So after destroying myself in the climbing gym the night before Meilee and I made our way down to Berry Head near Brixham. The drive was a bit slower than intended as we diverted for a few errands: picking up oil (much needed), food and hit some traffic on the way.

We eventually rolled up at to the parking lot of the Nature Trust and since this was the first day that the area was open after the bird ban the parking lot was full of eager Deep Water Soloists (DWS). Meilee into it immediately saying hello to many of the people milling about the parking lot and introduced me around to some of them. I met “Mad Max”, Gavin (Meilee’s ex-boyfriend), Jo, Steve, Sarah among others. We all headed down to the a steep grass hill top overlooking the cliffs we would be climbing on and set down our lunch and towels.

Picture: Berry Head - The grass in the middle is where we picnic and directly under it is Rainbow Bridge.

Meilee, Jo, Steve, Matt and I set out on a long 7a+ called Rainbow Bridge. To get to it we had to scramble down to the waters edge a 25 meter decent down easy terrain. The route itself is a 150 meters right hand traverse about 8 meters above the water. Unfortunately for us it had be raining as we progressed across the route we found patches of it that were seeping or wet. Not to be deterred we quested on until near the end when we reach the crux where Matt and Jo managed to cross through and Meilee, Steve and fell off at various points through the tricky moves.

Welcome to the English channel Chris. Lets say the water was cold and I had forgotten my rash in the was at Meilee’s place back in Bristol. We tread water for a bit watching Matt make some moves into the 7c which continues after Rainbow bridge heads up. Matt made many of the moves climbing with his arms only and his legs dangling uselessly below him until he grew tired and joined us in the cold water.

We swam back to the place where we had made the decent from out picnic location which is also the exit from the water and climbed back up to the spot shivering and teeth chattering. I wasn’t done on the day yet so I headed over to White Rhino Tea area and tried to play on the route by the same name. When I got down to the location I quickly found that the tide was so high it was nearly impossible to make the traverse into the route without getting your feet wet. I did the much easier Humanize at 6a+ which didn’t require the traverse that White Rhino Tea did. Then decide that tide or no tide I was going to climb White Rhino. With my feet dangling into the water and my arms failing after the hand traverse cross the overhang I fell in.

After taking a few dips into the sea I decided it was too cold to stay and headed back to the parking lot as we were going to have a party and BBQ down at the old quarry which was located on the other side of the head. Meilee was waiting in the van as it was later than I had though, nearly 8:30PM. We headed down to the quarry and parked up for the night.

The BBQ was already in full swing and lucky for us there was some hot BBQs already going with coals already glowing. I made some salmon steaks with garlic while Meilee made a bunch of ribs and chicken for sharing around the fire. The night wasn’t as pleasant as it start to sprinkle and drizzle. We did have a party wagon just up the hill though, complete with Disco ball and lights as well as a fire to keep warm. Everyone gathered around up there till the early morning. I didn’t stay up late mind you, the cold water and climbing had drained me and I was ready for bed by midnight.

The next day proved to be a bit better with broken sun and clouds. We returned to White Rhino Tea area hoping for some sun to come around. This day the tides were much better and it was actually possible to get into the upward overhanging portion of the climb. I made one run and fell off just before the crux because I got pumped out on the vicious overhang.

Picture: Me getting smacked by White Rhino Tea, 7a.

Gavin decide he would take a spin on it as well so I followed him through the climb as he stayed two moves above me. I have to say this is probably the most interesting and unique thing about DWS, you can climb as a group and be close together so long as if someone infront/above you takes a fall they won’t hit you on the way down. It really is cool because it makes climbing that much more social and fun. I would make a move and then Gavin would point with his toe where the next hold was and how to use it. I made it to the crux this time grabbing the giant brick hold that just from the wall before pumping out and falling on the next move.

Picture: Falling off White Rhino Tea, 7a.

That evening Meilee was heading down to Swanage for some work on Monday but Steve and Jo and Amy were staying as well as Matt and a few others so I camped with them in a field (apparently this qualifies as a campground in the UK) which as washroom facilities. We all went to bed early that night in hopes of a better day.

The next day we started off nice and early when the sun came up. The day was cool but the sun was shining making the dew on our tents glisten and sparkle in the gentle breeze. I packed up some food, a towel, stove, climbing shoes and chalk for the mornings fun. I was a little slower off the blocks then the rest of the camp so I skipped breakfast in favor of cooking it at the crag.

Once at White Rhino I setup my stove in a protected ledge to cook some brown rice and avocado for breakfast while Steve, Jo and Pete warmed up. After breakfast I packed up stove and the food bag (a plastic bag) and headed back up to a good vantage point for observing everyone climbing that day. To do so required a easy but high traverse where you step down a few feet then across an exposed gap.

The move is not harder than 5.3 but you wouldn’t want to fall and the hand holds in this area are of questionable quality. I placed the plastic food back with my dirty pots, water bottle and leatherman on the ground, stepped down and then stepped across. When I went to move the food back across it snagged on some of the sharp limestone and tore open sending my food and cooking utensils tumbling the 15 meters down to the water below. Surprisingly I wasn’t upset by the situation, I watched in mute fascination as heavier items sank and the food sealed in plastic packages bobbed on the surface of the water.

I shrugged to myself and resolved to DWS that day so that if I fell into the water I would go retrieve my floating water bottle and the remaining food. I collect what remained of the items that hadn’t fallen off the cliff and finished the traverse put them down on the observation rim, put on my shoes and chalk and rashie (surf shirt).

To warm up I decided to do what I though was a 7a called Pink Roadster thinking I would surely fall in and clean up my floating mess. One of the Bristol boys, Pete, descended to the start to give me some help on making the moves as he had done it earlier. I made the moves through the roof section and then pulled up onto the face before moving up and right avoid the actual crux move of the climb. This variation I would guess would come at 6b+/6c.

Surprised that I was still dry I moved on to White Rhino Tea. I looked good and hard at the crux sequence that Gavin had showed me the day before and spotted the holds I needed to go to to make it pasted the overhang. I went into the traverse and it felt easier than before but I would say in large part due to knowing the holds. I moved quickly not stopping to rest and shake out until I had cleared the overhanging traverse and started into the vertical section.

Picture: Moving through the crux of White Rhino Tea, 7a.

After a quick shake out I moved into the crux sequence. I grabbed the block with my left, got my feet up, crossed over the top to get a hold slightly above but not as good. Repositioned my feet out on the left then turn my left hand into a side pull and tension my feet. The stance was really secure and I had no trouble reach up and left to a amazing incut crimp. The climb was basically done. I matched hands and moved up on easier terrain. The feeling was great and once again I stood at the top. The only logical thing to do at this point was to take a victory jump since I need to retrieve the floating trash.

Picture: Trying to get to the jugs after the crux and fighting the pump on White Rhino Tea.

I collect up my gear and called it a day. Steve, Jo and Amy were up for taking a break as well as the wind had picked up a bit and we were hungry. We went up to the restaurant and enjoyed a nice lunch and some milkshakes. We relaxed and talked for hours. When the weather start to look like it might rain I walked back to the field to break camp. My tent was mostly dry and the wind completed the task once I had clear my things out.

I packed up everything so I would be ready to leave with Amy in the afternoon. I didn’t relish the idea of carrying the 40kg of gear I was lugging around with me so I decide to trek over to Pete’s camp where he was playing cards with his girlfriend. I figured I would spend the afternoon with them playing cards and getting to know them a little more. Amy knew where I was and I figured she would turn up at the field eventually.

I joked around and played cards with Pete and his girlfriend for quite some time. Finally our stomachs got the better of us and his girlfriend decided to get up and head into town for some dinner. I hadn’t realized how late it was, and I phoned Amy. She was on her way over but it was already 6:30PM and we had planned to leave to meet up with Mike Robertson (author of the Deep Water – the deep water soloing guide book) and Meilee in Wareham.

We hit the road but didn’t make quick time and by the time we arrive in Wareham it was already fairly late. Amy and I got some take out Indian and went to Mike’s house where we ate and caught up. Both Meilee and Mike were tired from working that day so we didn’t stay up too late. So off to be we went.

Vipassina Meditation Retreat

The experience of 10 days plus one of meditation for 11 hours a day is one that is hard to put to words. Having come from a life of very little formal meditation training and little practical practice I can say it was a crash course. I’m now sitting in a pub waiting for my train to Weymouth which is near the climbing area of Portland. I’m not finding time to reflect on my experience. I’m sure the train ride will provide even more time.

I feel at this moment, and have for the past 5 days, a sensation of being gently rocked as if bobbing in the rolling waves of the ocean. My back is a bit sore from the exertion, for the past five days we have done 3 of the 11 hours as hard determination where you do not move or change you posture. Needless to say this gives you ample time to work on the technique which essentially is to retrain the sensations good or bad to be view with the conscious mind in a state of equanimity.

The first three days of the course are set on sharpening the mind to the sensations (feelings) in the body through a meditation called Anne panna (sp?). The technique is focused on breathing and sensing the breath in the region around the nose. For these first days you are also free to rearrange your posture and stretch as needed.

On day 4 they teach you the primary meditation technique, Vipassina. This technique involves running your focus throughout the body to detect areas of pain or pleasure then viewing them as I said before equanimously (no reaction, no aversion, no craving). You see the body for how it is and how its feeling. This is also the point where they introduced the strong determination sittings and you try not to move or react to the sensations which in my case was pain.

By the 4th sittings on the fifth day I was questioning how I was going to make it through to the end of the course, the pain was so overwhelming. Then I had a sitting where I shifted my weight and all the pain and knots in my back melted away. I was good, and able to sit the entire remainder of the sitting without moving. I also noticed that in the following sitting I had the pain return but it was less and with each successive sitting it became more and more tolerable like the volume had been turned down. I had good sittings and bad ones after that but the progression was a steady decline in the amount I reacted to the pain, that is to say the pain was still there but didn’t cause me to real from the intensity.

One day 10 when we were finally allowed to speak again it sounded as though I was speaking through a megaphone. It felt almost uncomfortable to speak. Through after few hours it was returning to normal.

My whole experience didn’t seem like I had made to much of a shift in my outlook or perception till I got back into town and started walking around Hereford waiting for my train and I started to realize that I felt happy and open. I also could sense the tension created by all the distractions of walking down a main shopping street of a western town.

In a strange turn of events I ended up getting on the wrong train on my wait to Portland and ended up in Bristol. This wasn’t all that bad since I had met a friend Meilee up in Sheffield and she lives in Bristol. I was trying to get her to go to Portland so when I got on the wrong train and ended up in Bristol I just called her up. We went to the local climbing gym for the evening where she was meeting a friend that night. I bouldered and totally shattered myself.

I’m going to skip Portland now and head down to Dorset with Meilee for some deep water soloing (DWS).

London and Sheffield

I arrived on July 9th for a few short days in London at Audrey Seguey's place with Adrian Berry. Since I was still recovering from my ankle sprain the activity was kept to a minimum. We all went bouldering one day.

After four days of doing a lot of work on the net, Adrian Audrey and I drove up to Sheffield on Friday night. Adrian and Audrey were going into the cliffhanger bouldering competition.

We were up early the next day and out the door by 8 AM so Adrian and Audrey could get to the comp in good time. The competition was pretty amazing as there was a lot of people and tons of stalls there selling gear. They even had a snowboard ramp.

The day went by quickly and was helped by the sun shining. Unforetunately, Adrian had a bit of a power down and didn't make the finals but Audrey placed first and so we went out for Indian food to celebrate.

Audrey headed back to London quite early so that she could make work on Monday while Adrian took me out to Stanage for my introduction to Grit Stone climbing. I worked my way through a series of climbs going from Severe, Hard Severe, Very Hard Sever, then E1. After pumping out on the E1 called The Tippler I took a break. Adrian finished leading the route and we packed up as it started to drizzle.

Picture: Stanage Edge, popular section, Sheffield

Picture: Top of Stanage Edge looking back into the fern meadows.

My ankle was not great so I decided to cycle up to the hospital to get it checked out. They X-rayed it and found no breaks then gave me a referral to the hospital physio. The following morning on my way to the crag I called for an appointment and they said they could see me that day at 1PM. I jumped out of the car and walked back to Adrian's.

The physio commented that i was healing faster than he would have expected. The check my ligaments to see if any were torn and said I should do some exercises and stretching but not push it to the point of pain. Since i was going into the Vipassina 10-day course in two days it would be good to know what I should be doing to take care of it and if the sitting would cause further injury.

That night I went into the local bouldering gym called climbing works where I met a woman by the name of Meilee. She reminded me of someone from the gyms back home so I ask her if she had been in Van. It turned out that she was a good friend of Adrian's and they had lived together in Sheffield. We climbed for 4 hours in the gym doing the Font like circuits that they setup there and chatted.

We had a really good connection and since she was good friend with Adrian I invited her over for dinner. We ended up chatting most of the night away and talking climbing. We hung out a little the next day but she had to make her way back down to Bristol where she lives.

The following day I got packed up and readied myself for the Vipassina. I got up at 4:30 AM so that I could make the first bus and catch the train down to Hereford. I slept most of the train ride and caught a taxi to the Inn where the the bus to the course was picking people up.

I was rather early so I waited at the lodge and then two other guys who were going to the retreat turned up. Gaute from Norway and his friend (forgot name) from Liverpool. They offer me a ride and off we went. Next stop, Dhamma Dipa and 10-days of silence.

Johannesburg: Climbing and Driving Adventures

I flew into Joberg and was met at the Airport by Bertrand, a friend I met in Waterval Boven. I stayed at Bertrand's flat for my four day stay in Joberg.

Saturday, July 5th we went climbing with Michelle and I coached them a little. I didn't do anything really hard to give me ankle some more time to heal. That night we went to Michelle's Uncle and Aunt's place for dinner. We ate some "Fat Cakes" which were like pan cakes that you stuff with cheese and syrup or veggies stuff or minced meat (which I didn't have). Their family
was wonderful and we were all laughing and trading stories.

Picture: Bertrand leading.

Picture: Michelle leading the same route.

Sunday Michelle had to work; however, Tara was there and we went climbing at the Choss Pile a local Joberg crag just outside the city. We had TONS of FUN and Bertrand pushed himself a bit and learned a few new tricks to help his climbing. I was so happy for him because I can see how fast he's getting better. Tara pulled down a few 5.9 and 5.10a's to make a day of it.

That night we went out to dinner with Tara's family who are so wonderful and well travelled. They are all so warm, have the best stories, and are just super fun to be with.

The following day was Monday and Bertrand was super generous to lend me is Buckie (Truck) to drive to the Apartheid Museum. Frightening as this is I drove it downtown since that is where the museum is.

Unfortunately, the museum wasn't open on Monday so instead I went to Gold Reaf City where you can get a tour of a real gold mine. We descended 226m underground into the mine where they showed us how the storied the explosives, how they cart out the ore and how they keep the electricity going and the air breathable (now dust). Bertrand is a mechanical engineer and works on products for the mines and he said they haven't changed the mining technology too much since then. They look and feel pretty much the same today with the exception of the roof being a little higher.

Picture: Me next to the explosives lockout in the mine at Gold Reef City.

It was funny because before I took the tour I met up with this woman name Laurie from Seattle. She was very friendly and had been intending on going to the Apartheid Museum as well but found it closed. She had also joined our tour of the mine. We chatted a lot and she told me of her daughters who where my age and just a little younger.

Once the mine tour was done we headed off to the amusement park to enjoy the rides. For our first ride I picked the biggest roller coasters. It was hilarious, she held my hand as we went through the first few loops. Once we were done we took a picture of the coaster then headed onto something a little smaller as we both were a little dizzy from the last one. We did the bumper boat and the log ride before we both called it a day because her ride was there to take her back to the hotel and the sun was starting to get low.

Picture: Laurie from Seattle on the Log ride.

That night Michelle cooked a wonderful fish burger dinner and Bertrand and I watched King Lines on his laptop.

Tuesday was my flight date so I woke up and packed my bags. I headed to the Apartheid Museum and arrived in the early afternoon and spent the whole day there till 5 PM. That place is very moving, the courage that many had to resist oppression. So many lives lost and how ruthless it was living under that regime. I felt humbled. I really enjoyed the exhibite on Steven Biko which detailed his life and his moment for Black Consciousness and non-violence. This was a story I had long wanted to hear and see since hearing the Peter Gabriel song about him in my youth.

Picture: Apartheid Museum, "To Be Free is not merely to caste off ones chains, but to live in such a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." Nelson Mandela.

That night Bertrand and Michelle drove me to the airport we where we had one last dinner together and I jumped on my plane to London. I've now been here the past few days staying at Audrey's house with Adrian.

We got out for a day of bouldering on Thursday night and I'm still sore two days later. My ankle seem to be looking much better now that the swelling from the plane has gone down. Tonight the three of us are driving up to Sheffield for a climbing competition that Adrian and Audrey are competing in.

Now only a week away to the Vispassina in Hereford. I'm starting to get excited.

I hope you are all well at home and the sun is shining.

A week to heal and hang with D

My last post I had just dropped Karina of at the Capetown Airport and was no on my own so it was time for another adventure. Once of the things I hadn't yet seen and always wanted to was Penguins. I had my chance in Australia but never made the effort.

So off I went in search of penguins, which I could find at Boulder's Beach in Simon's Town. I had a brochure that showed some of the roads of Capetown and the surrounds. Having a slightly shoddy memory for the name of the town and figuring since this was a tourist destination that there would be a name on the map "Boulders Beach" and that perhaps it was just off the map since most people said it was 30 minute drive.

I started off by heading in the completely wrong direction up the coast and ended up at driving to table view beach where I took a picture. Eventually, I asked a man at a beach pullout how much farther it was and he set me straight. In total I spent 2.5 hours driving in the wrong direction and back.

Picture: Devil's Peak (left side), Table Mountain (center), Lion's Head (right side)

I finally arrived in Simon's Town at 3.5 hours later and made my way down to the beach. Penguins everywhere! Those guys are hilarious. I love how they walk! One trundled right past me on the beach, only 3 feet away. I soaked my ankle in the Ocean to help with the swelling then rested it up on a rock meditated for about an hour.

Picture: Penguin on Boulder Beach, Simon's Town.

I grabbed lunch, phoned Dion (friend from Wilderness), and started making my way to the highway. It was around 2:45 PM when I set out. After a series of bad calls on which route to take to get to the N2 I really started my journey at around 4:00 PM.

I picked up a hitch hiker on the way through Somerset West. The guy it turns out live about 1 km from Dion and was turning his life around. He had just resolved a dope possession case after 2 years and had broken his Meth addiction which is why he had moved away from Capetown. Really encouraging story and I was glad to give him a ride.

I made it to D's at 8:30 PM in time to have dinner and watch the Euro cup soccer match with him. My ankle was not happy with all the driving but we got the tensor off and it raised nice and high. I was totally exhausted so we both went to bed early.

The next few days was relatively uneventful since I was incapacitated with the ankle so I spent most of it focusing on writing update in the blog. Yes, it does take a fair amount of time to write down the experience of the trip. The entries from Boven to this point took a few days of solid writing to cover so that game my ankle time to heal.

That weekend was Dion's Birthday so we set about celebrating. Saturday, June 28th was the date so we got up and went to see Kung Fu Panda with his friends who had children. The movie was hilarious, it was both beautiful and irreverent, it pointed out how some people mistaken Zen for being seriousness and self discipline. Quite funny and a wonderful message.

That night there was a gathering where a potluck ensued with dancing and talking till just after midnight.

My ankle had been improving and after a week I was walking on it with only a minor limp and no tensor. Much of the swelling had gone out of it.

So on Wednesday July 2nd I went out to do some very easy climbing with a friend of Dion's named Brad. We went to the Tauw river to a park and climbing location called Ebb and Flow. Since this was my first time back after a little over 9 days since I injured it I was definitely going to be cautious as a fall on it at this point could put me out for quite a while.

Neither of us had any topos for the area so I stuck to some easy 5.7ish climb on trad then did a second one that was maybe 5.8. Both climbs were lots of fun and it

Picture: Brad at the top of the 5.7ish climb at Ebb and Flow.

We only did these few climb then retired to Brad's house to spend some time relaxing and catching up with him and his beautiful wife Elaine. Brad is an artist and I also got to see a lot of his work. I was amazing, if I wasn't on this trip and had the ability to carry it with my I would have looked at getting one.

Since my ankle was doing better I decided to do a hike on the beach and take a picture of myself there to send to Karina since she was home and I know misses this place dearly. After breakfast I headed down there to find that there were a pair of Humpback whales just off shore. They were swimming in circles and I could see their tails fins sticking up and there heads. I watch and photographed them and then went down to test the waters to see if I could swim out to them. They were really close to shore.

Picture: Humpback whales slightly left of center at the beach 100 meters from where I was staying.

By the time I had reach the water they had decided it was more fun to move on and had started swimming down the beach. I followed along the shore with my ankle in the water hoping the cold would help it. It didn't take long to lose the whales as they were finish their business and I just enjoyed walking down the beach in the cool water for several hours. In the afternoon I went up to see a 800 year hold Yellow Wood tree and do a hike in the forest that surrounded it.

That night I went out with Dion and friends for a goodbye dinner at Knysa Heads. We all enjoyed some very tasty pizza's and then had a few beer at the local pub before calling it a night.

The next day I took my time packing up and took one last walk on the beach before heading up to George. On the way I stopped to take one last picture of Wilderness to say goodbye.

Picture: Wilderness, on the road from George. Saying goodbye to this beautiful place.

In now time I was on the play flying out of George on my way to Johannesburg to meet up with Bertrand and Michelle friends I had made in Waterval Boven. To see the related photo album for this segment click any of the pictures or here.

Cedarberg

Just a quick comment. All the pictures are now liked to the album on crackbook so if you click on them you can see more pictures.

The next leg of the trip was to drive up to Cedarberg with Karina. Julie had flown home and Dion was not able to join us as work and the real world we impressing themselves on him.

To get the trip started I rented a nice new (yes they still make them new here) Volkswagon Golf 1 - AKA Rabbit. We then jumped in and started driving. Dion drew us a map to follow for our travels up to the Oasis Backpackers in Cedarberg. Now for the non-climbers out there Cedarberg is a wild region very close to the world famous bouldering location Rocklands. There are amazing hikes and mountains up there.

The drive was beautiful, we traveled through Oudtshoorn, Montague (both climbing areas), Ceres (the juice making place), Rocklands and through the wilderness of Cedarberg. The drive was a little over 600 KM and took us all day including 50 KM down a dirt road. This place was really remote.

We arrived tired and worn out to this tiny backpacker as the it got dark and clouds overhead. After warming up by the fire and a quick vegetarian dinner owner Gerrit drew us a map for going up the Wolfberg Cracks and to go to the Wolfberg Arch.

I have to say, one of the most fun things about the Oasis backpackers was having Gerrit draw the maps. He knew I was a climber and so draw the map with explicit instructions on where to go and which route to take. He told me that I could climb over some of the cave-ins going through the hard route in the Wolfberg cracks but I should rather follow the route everyone else does by crawling under the boulders. He was such a character.

We knocked off shortly after the map was done in hopes of getting an early start. Shortly after sleep took us I was awakened by the sound of rain rattling against the tin roof. The rain continued through the night and into the next day. No hiking and a day of rest indoors was the order of the day. It was Friday and by night fall the entire hostel was filled.

Saturday was looking much better but we still didn't have a mind to do the Wolfberg. Instead Karina and I opted for a trip to the Stadsaal caves which were a shorter hike and nearby. We figured, cave = cover so they would be nicer given all the rain. The International Medical Students from Capetown decided to do the same hike but were quick off the blocks and headed out.

Gerrit drew us a map as was his way. He told us that with all the rain we would not be able to pass any of the rivers around our valley and the the only chance we had to make the caves or anywhere for that matter was to pass over the high road to Kromrivier. So our map was draw to go to Kromrivier which was good for me because I got to pass by Truitjieskraal, the best sport climbing area in Cedarberg. Unforetunatley for me the area was closed because of a fire last year so I wasn't able to get too close but there was fine boulder on the road opposite to the location.

When we arrived at the Kromrivier bridge we found the cars belonging to the Internation Medical students and the river flowing a good 8 inches over the top of the bridge. Clearly this river was too high for our little Golf One. We instead turned back to Truitjieskraal for some bouldering and exploring.

Karina did most of the exploring while I jumped on some of the craziest boulder formations I have seen. The sandstone here really is amazing. Much of the climbing in this location was quite easy or just a little to exposed to try the harder stuff. I did pop on a few really cool problems. I even crawled under a boulder that was the size of a small bus that was supported by a finger of rock only 4ft by 2ft. Really cool.

After bouldering and treking around for a few hours we jumped back into the car to check on the flooded river. The sun was shining and the rain had stopped so we were able hopeful that the water level had dropped. Sure enough, the water was now a couple inches below the bridge surface and we were able to cross.

Picture: Karina showing the amazing Stadsaal Cave formations.

We headed to the caves, covering the 10km in short order. We skipped the Bushman paintings and went straight to the caves. The formations were really unique; pillars carved from winds creating domes and what looked like hallways. Truly amazing. We also saw Bushman paintings that were about 1000 years old.

We headed back to Oasis as the night came, had dinner and went to bed as we were keen to do the Wolfberg Cracks and Arch the following day.

We were up earlier for the cracks but the a little slow off the blocks. We arrived at the base of the cracks to start our hike at 10:30AM. The woman who sold us the permit was a little wary that we were starting so late and told us that we would just make it back before dark.

Off we set up the steap hike to the base of the cracks. There were switch backs so the hiking wasn't all that hard. For though at home you would make quick work of it if you can do the grouse grind.

After 45min of slogging up hill (would have been faster if I hadn't been drooling over the beautiful multipitch trad climbs that were 4-7 pitches long) we reach the branch point to where you can go to the hard crack or turn left to take the easy road. We moved out onto some easy 4th class climbing to get to the start of the hard crack.

The hard crack was great, you start up hopping over a few boulders then squeezing through a dark crack tunnel into a sandy openning. It feels like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. once through the crack you are in this sandy clearing where you find that you two giant arches, maybe 25m high, that join to a parallel crack. The rock towers over you going up a 150m hiding most of the sunlight.

Gerrit told me in particular I must climb through the second cave in as you have to slide on your back then get up through a gap in the rock pulling yourself the whole way. He said it is fun and rediculous like you are going through a birthing canal. He said I could climb over is I wanted to but it would better to experience the hike as other non-climbers do. After climbing over the first cave in we came upon a single boulder with a gap underneath. Karina and I figured it was the birthing canal but since it was only one boulder was a touch easy to climb over.

Since Gerrit was so adamant about us passing through this cave in instead of over we did it. I have video footage that isn't included here but I'll show you guys. it was hilarious, but was we were to find out not the birthing canal.

Another 30m up the crack we found the real birthing canal and had to crawl through. Since this place is so dark and deep water tends to build up here. I had my jacket but was still very much in a puddle when I passed through the canal. I left my jacket down so that Karina could go through without soaking her butt as I did. The whole this was quite fun and good for a laugh.

We negotiated the next cave in as the crack got more and more slim. As we neared the end of the crack we found that my feet almost wouldn't fit at the bottom. Word to the larger people out there, be careful about taking the hard crack, it might not allow you to pass.

Having finished the cracks and reaching the top we now had a good 1.5 hour hike through the most beautiful terrain to reach the arch. There was amazing featured boulder of all kinds and overhangs along the way. I stopped to play on one but we were eager to make the arch in good time to climb it.


Picture: Me bouldering on some of the amazing formation at the top of the Wolfberg Cracks.

Karina is quite the champ hiker and we made good time. Me lagging at times because I would day dream about climbing some of the boulder but we arrived in good time. I go my shoes on and scaled the right side of the arch while I was still warm from the hike. We then state down and ate a good lunch.

Picture: Me after climbing the right side of the Wolfberg Arch.

After a good hour of repose we started back. The Int Med Students could be heard approaching the arch in the distance. They had left at the same time as us but were a little slowering making their way through the climbing and cave in sections. When we met them on the hike out they were eager to get there and head back. The one from Trinidad in particular looked a bit finished with the hike.

We took the hard version of the easy Crack on the way down. Gerrit assured us there was a cave in that would require us to jump a couple meters to get down but we never found it. The return trip was quick and easy. We had completed the entire journey in just a little over 6 hours including a 1 hour break (so if you are in shape you don't have to adhere to the 8 hours they estimate for the hike).

For our last day in Cedarberg we decided to do the Maltese Cross hike. This one was quite a bit shorter than the Wolfberg Arch which was good because we were a little more run down. The 30 minutes of stretching we had done after completing that hike saved us from being sore but there wasn't much reserved left in the tank.

Gerrit wrote us up another map. This time he added some treats for us; a hike up Sneeuberg (Snow mountain) to see the snow protea; a rare and endangered species of the protea flower. We set out, got our permit and started hiking having a good laugh at the sign say we shouldn't even THINK of the hike without a permit (see picture album for this one).

The hike was mostly uphill following a stream bed which was partly filled given the rain of previous days. After a couple hours we had reach the Maltese Cross and stopped for lunch. The route up was pretty but not as exciting as our trek the previous day but there were more attractive boulders along the way. One next to the trail with a stream running next to it had been climbed as evidenced by the chalk on it but we pressed ahead hoping to see the rare fauna at the top of Sneeuberg.

After our lunch we hiked on to find the trail up Sneeuberg. Gerrit had been given clear instructions that we were to talk exactly 1090 meters past the Maltese Cross then turn left up and unmarked trail towards the summer. He also indicated there was a trail at 1000 meters that we "must not take". After crossing a high plains that was very marshy from the rains we made over shot the trail because it turned out that it was in fact marked quite well with cairns.

Guessing that we had the right path we headed almost straight up the step path and found our way to a beautiful high mountain river. ALong the hike up we saw a mountain deer of some kind which had been grazing on the path we were hiking. It ran up higher looked back and then continue to run away. We continued on to find what we believe are snow protea. It was getting late in the day and we didn't want to push onwards up the mountain as walking in the dark down the team terrain was not a good option.

Picture: Karina and I up at the snow protea's. You can see the Maltese Cross directly left of my should in the background.

We turned back and hiked down slightly off trail the ridge line and keeping the river on our right. We reach the plains below and stuck to the left side where a trail carried us around the marsh that we had walked through to get there.

About 500 meters past the Maltese Cross on the way down to the car we stopped for a bit near one of the boulders I was interested in. We hadn't brought our climbing shoes up since we didn't want to carry the weight on the hike. So I took my shoes off and began climbing in bare feet. The problem was beautiful, maybe a V2 up this nice overhanging sandstone boulder. The feet are not great but he hand holds are quite nice.

You pull up on a two hand juge before you cross left over to a small jug then bump the right up to a crimp. Then a big left hang move to a jug. Your feet track to the starting hold then the righ hand crosses over top again to a medocre open hand jug. I then made a big left hand move out left and up to bring my hands almost even. The is where my feet cut off and I'm hanging mid air about 12 feet in the air. I get my left foot onto the only hold which is far left, hooking my big to on a teardrop shapped hold. The next move was a left hand to a big jug about 2 ft higher on the boulder.

I looked at it and allow a split second of fear of whether the hold was strong enough to hold me. I was high up. That would prove to be the distraction that would make sure I didn't make it. I attemped the move and my hand hit the hold but didn't latch it. I have a nice blood blister where the side of the jug ran down my finger. I was off and free fallling. I remember seeing a flash of the ground before I landed with an explosion of water.


Pictures: Boulder near Maltese cross that I fell off the top and sprained my ankle. The stream is just in the shade on the left side.

I had landed with my right foot on the bank of the stream below had torqued my foot back so that I took the entire weight of the fall on my heal and ankle. My left foot had landed on a boulder which was in the river but I was able to soak up some of the fall by collapsing onto it. I knew I was 'ok' as in not seriously hurt but that both heals were bruised and my left ankle which had landed heal first was sprained.

Karina had done a good job to orient me as best she could for the fall but did the right thing in not getting underneath me which would have just injured us both. I soaked my ankle in the cold stream water for 10 minutes till it began to swell despite the cold. Karina bandaged up my ankle with a tensor she carries on her hikes and gave me her shirt to keep me warm since I was all wet.

The hike down was funny actually, since I was the hop along kid and the sprain wasn't so bad that I couldn't weight it. The hike in that had taken us only an hour now took two and the sun had set when we reach the car. Karina drove us back and along the way we saw a big bushy tailed Jackel on the road. It bounced its way down the road tail huge and fuzzy.

That night I spent with my ankle in the air and on vitamin I. The next day Karina and I were to go back to Capetown so she could make her flight to Joburg the following morning. She drove like a champion (sure glad I had her on the rental agreement) and we made our way back using a map Gerrit drew for us. We got to go through this crazy pass on the way to Capetown with shere cliffs on the one side and steep mountain face on the other.

We arrived in Capetown with time to spare but decided to take it easy and organize so that Karina's flight the next morning would be painless. I was a little concerned that my ankle would still be too swollen and painful to drive but the next morning I was doing much much better.

We had breakfast at the Airport and kissed and parted ways. Not too sad a parting giving the joy we had together and knowing that October isn't too far off. Distance isn't too much for connected hearts.