Anyone interested in climbing?

[+Louise_Gerhard]

I am working with a plan and I hope there are some takers. We are planning to do a trip to the cache called “Just climb it.” and I would like to know if there is someone brave enough to join and/or comments and/or advice.

 

To do this one safely you need to make use of protection equipment. If you should fall at this one then the consequences will be severe. The risk is too high. Some guys will be able to climb with no protection but I am too conservative in my approaches. Rather safe than sorry. I have some photos and reports on this peak and it is clear that I will not to do this one with no protection.

 

I am busy organizing a good climber with a lot of experience which will lead the climb. His initial response was good. If this fails then there is another option open as plan B. This group is experienced and did climb nearly all peaks with and without equipment but this will be at a price and at a time convenient to them. At present I am waiting for a quotation for option B.

 

Basic requirement:

To do this cache you need to be able to understand roping, equipment, belaying, abseiling, cams, commands, knots, anchor points, climbing techniques, etc. You can not attempt this one if you do not understand the basics. Or that you can not handle the fear of falling or heights. Such a person adds unnecessary risk to all other persons involved in this attempt.

 

I climbed before and I did receive training in my military days in the use of this equipment and I should be ok. The problem is that you need to know and not “I think I know". So we will do some retraining. I would like to do some more geocaching when this is found and I am planning to live a little bit longer.

 

Action that need to commence:

To test abilities and to do the preparation we will handle it in phases. First phase was the Ka-Langalabilele cache. We used this one to test for fitness and stamina and it is completed. The second phase is at the end of January 2009. A very short easy practice climb is planned. This is a real walk in the park. It is not technical – just get up to the top and down. This is basics. There are no overhangs. The focus is to get use to the equipment and the techniques involved and to build some confidence. You will climb to a height of about 30 meters and you will abseil as soon as the instructor is satisfied that you have mastered the techniques. This is done under the supervision of an instructor and which will give you the proper instructions. No I am not the instructor I am the one receiving the training. This will be done on the last weekend near Pretoria. This will quickly prove if you can do it or if fear is your master. We will attempt about three to four climbs during the weekend to see if the body can handle this and to test abilities and basic requirements. If there are enough people then I will try to organize a caching event where the requirement for logging will be to climb to the top once and to ring the bell. It should be interesting for some cachers.

 

For February and March we will do further training under the supervision of a mountaineering club and attempt some easy climbs in real situations. We will have to join this club.

 

In April 2009 we will attempt this cache. I personally think that this training is not a requirement but I always make surer than less. It is very tough to explain a man the basics near the top of a peak while you holding on and battling. You will do more climbing and techniques then really needed for this cache and it will give you enough confidence to tackle the cache with ease.

 

I am sure that there are cachers that always wanted to climb with rope and equipment but never had the opportunity. This is your chance to learn something new. It is safe and you will not die. The only requirements are that a fear for height must not overwhelm you. I am also scared of heights but to the point of respect and not a choking type of fear where I freeze. I read so many times that cachers are tying ropes around their abdomen area to get to certain caches that it scares the daylight out of me. You can do it but there is a way to do this or else you can break your back and in some cases it could prove very difficult to recover the person. At least you will have the chance to see how it is done safely.

 

My questions:

1. Is there any cacher that is interesting in doing this one with me? If the answer is no then plan B kicks in.

2. If yes, then I will send more details as required – please forward me your e-mail addresses and we will do the necessary arrangements privately.

3. Is there any person that wants to try the 30 meter climb at end of January but is not interested in going up the mountains? If I can get one more person then I will arrange an event for this one. Please let me know if you are interested. The 30 meter climb is not serious – it is easy. Do not worry – if you should fall we will halt the fall before you even realized that you were going down. This should be safe fun.

 

Please let me know. This cache is going down. (OOPS - might be the wrong word)

Gerhard

Edited January 5, 2009 by gerhardoosMPsa

[cache-fan]

Cache Fan will be in for at least the 30m climb. Sorry do not have too much experience in climbing the professional way, but will take it from there if accepted, always was fascinated by this but of course this does not count.

 

Greetings from Cache Fan

[+Louise_Gerhard]

Thanks Cache Fan I have now one person so I can organise an event. Give me about one week to have all the details and I will forward it to you. As there are only two of us the date is quite flexible. If it is ok with you then I will publish the event during next week. If conditions should change then I will have a one man event but that is also ok. If there is only two then I will sponsor the braai.

 

The beauty of this climb is that the family can watch and they can give or shout motivation. They can photograph the action all the way. I was present when 12 year olds were climbing this one as their first experience. One little girl was as nervous as hell and close to tears but due to peer pressure she gave it a try. The moment when she started to climb the belayer was giving her a lot of tension to help her. When she got down her face was gleaming and she was so proud of herself. They enjoyed it and they never realised that they were 30 meters above the ground. You are focussed to get to the next hold and before long you are at the top. The first part of the climb is very easy and it is at an angle inward so you are actually resting against the structure and not leaning away. But it does give you a lot of confidence. Only 20% of the distance is straight up but the holds are easy and you can go up. The climb is not meant to be for the technical experts or the gurus and matter of facts this wall offers no challenge for them.

 

The climb is controlled and under supervision and we are not pushing limits. If you get tired but you want to go up but need time you can shout “tension”. The belayer will take up all slackness and will tension the rope and lock and this will allow you a breather and the rope will actually support you by removing some strain from the feet and hands. If you get nervous and think you are going to fall you can scream “Watch me”. The belayer will then remove all slack and he will be ready to apply the brake at any sign of falling. If the person climbing feels at any time that he reached his limit he must shout “Down”. On the command “down” the belayer will immediately remove all slack and will tighten up and wait for the climber to release the wall and he will then lower the person.

 

This will be fun but at the end of the day you will feel confident and the fear of heights will be less as you know that all is in place to stop a fall and it does build confidence in a controlled environment. This will be the first event which will be slightly different than the rest and I hope more will give it a try.

 

Gerhard

[+Wazat]

Hello.... I'm keen.

[+BruceTP]

Hi Gerhard

 

This has been on my watch list for a long time now. I have climbed the sentinel twice and enjoyed it immensely. The first time it was a detour en route to the chain ladder. It was the middle of winter in sub-zero temperatures. We left out backpacks just off the path climbed up, signed the MCSA log and headed down as quickly as possible as the wind was howling gales on top and we were freezing. I think in all were not gone two hours as a deviation from our route.

 

I enjoyed it so much I got together with a few friends and returned in the spring with the express purpose of actually camping on top. It was an amazing experience, especially as that night we had the mother of all storms which tore some of the tents to shreds. I have the Sunseeker dome tent which withstood the storm comfortably. This resulted in the occupancy doubling during the night!

 

We went up the western face, the bridal path, which is the easiest route up. As you say, there is an initial steepish climb Of about 10 - 15m. One of our team scampered up and affixed the rope in the loops provided in the rock. They were old but firmly embedded in the rock. It was safer to get every body up using ropes especially when we were carrying heavy packs which tends to throw you off balance. (We each carried 10 litres of water as there is no water on top). Once over that rim, it is a steady zig-zag walk to just before the top. Once there, our leader free climbed to the top, secured the rope and got us all up including all our goods and chattels. (It also included a large format video camera - a shoulder mount one. The footage was spectacular.) I was pleased of the rope because at such a height and right on the edge of a vertical precipice you feel very exposed. The rest is history. We had a great time and the views were breathtaking.

 

The decent is much easier as it was just a case of abseiling down each of those sections. As you say, anyone with a modicum of fitness, a sense of adventure and a head for heights will thoroughly enjoy this hike. I would highly recommend it especially if you have an experienced and confident leader. The only caveat I would offer is the weather. It is very changeable and it may seem calm on the walk up and it may well be because it is sheltered. Once you near the top and are on top, the winds can be exceedingly strong and you realise just how much you cling to the ropes. Speaking of which, I don't know how much of my climbing gear and equipment has survived my many break-ins of a year ago. but I am sure whoever is leading this will be amply kitted out.

 

Although I would love to do this hike again, I don't know whether my current fitness levels will suffice, though. It does not help having a sedentary job and not getting out into the open that much exacerbates it further. I shall keenly watch this post for further information.

 

BruceTP

[+BruceTP]

Writing my previous post prompted me to dig out my photograph album and the DVD we made of the second trip. Out of interest, my first ascent was part of a group of five and our camping adventure was a party of ten. The youngest was 20 and the oldest 55. We all made it with ease. If you are interested, I can get some of my photographs scanned and posted as it will give a clearer idea of what is required, the terrain and the route taken by us on both occasions.

 

BruceTP

[+Louise_Gerhard]

Bruce it was nice to read about the trip. I itch to go again. If you can I will really enjoy the photos. I am going to try to do one extreme cache in a 3 month cycle. Sometimes I do get bored doing roadside caches and there is so much more to see in the mountains. We share the same view about safety. Some of the guys can do a quick climb across the rocks but nothing and nobody is perfect. Without a rope you could run out of luck some time in the future. You can only push the limits so much.

 

It reminds me of Dan Osman – he was probably one of the most extreme climbers of all times. He is no longer with us – he died at the age of 35. You will find two movies that describes him the best. To me this is very tragic.

 

Little bit more than 4 minutes for 400 ft !!!

Dan Osman last huge jump of his life- 1000 ft

 

We can probably do this cache in the Drakensberg without a rope but if you get high winds, a slip or you are startled because of an insect or snake then your time could be up. Many people in the Drakensberg climbed into places and then suddenly realised that they can’t get down. I myself got stuck at a cache in Barberton – up was easy but down was not good. For a short while I was panicking. Not nice to sit on top of a rock with the sun setting and you are smoking your last cigarette working out the next move.

 

Ok some guys will say that I am a sissy. But rather be safe than sorry. I tried to do the Weirda Bridge one at night. That was a real scary experience. I will attempt it again but with protection. I was smiling when a certain cacher was complaining about this cache as “It is unfair to females”. The truth is that that a female planted this cache and yes she beaten many a good men with this one. But you can get injured at this cache; it is quick to break a leg. You can make it safe and you can enjoy it.

 

The cache called “Walker Texas Trading” is a good example. We climbed to the top with no protection. The next cacher made a risk assessment and brought a proper ladder with and he made the climb to the cache safe and easy.

 

There are so many caches that need some sort of protection and I believe that one should know something about roping.

 

Just recently I was reading an article of another tragic accident. The two guys went up in the snow covered mountain. They had all the equipment needed and they could not use it. One chap had a fall but they were roped. The chap at the top tried to get his buddy out but he could not manage it. He pulled him up for about 1 metre at a time just to loose it again. If I remember correctly he eventually dropped his buddy and he died. They never learned to make use of a simple ratchet.

 

You do not place your life in jeopardy because of one cache. If I have a cacher with me for this cache hunt than I would rather make sure that we are both safe. This is the only way I can ensure that we sign the log together and we get off the mountain safely. We need to enjoy it; not sweating with fear. We will probably need a very short distance at the top which calls for the use of a rope for safety reasons only. It is not going to be real rock climbing. But again rather train more than less. This cache is a good one to practise the techniques. Things can go wrong and then you are going to need experience and equipment.

 

To make it more fair and equal to the guys that has never climbed before I organized two non cachers to do the climb of 30 meters at the event. They never climbed before. One is 48 and one is a young Chinese guy of about 20. They guy of 20 is very keen and is asking questions. I have this gut feel that he has the ability to go much further. But we will see what he do at a height. This afternoon he wanted to know how high is 30 meters so we took him to a HT pylon and we showed him. I was watching him carefully for any signs of doubt. He then stated “Maybe I will scream of fear but I will still try”. To me it is a good sign and I only smiled.

 

The climb at end of January is a good start. Climbing a wall is not the ultimate for climbing a rock face but it does teach you some little things such as the correct hold, climb with the knees, arms straight as possible and locked, balance and you do conquer the fear of height and falling. I hope to have the event published by next week. Maybe more cachers will then come along and give it a try. With this controlled climb it is easy for the guys to give advice from the bottom and they will help the climber with the next hold. At least once in your life time you need to do this. Maybe it will give some confidence to cachers. Sometimes you must face your own fears to conquer them.

 

I am not the person that will give advice easily in a group. People do not appreciate it and they think you are a smart-a**. I was doing a hike in a Gorge near Nelspruit and I was watching at one place how cachers got across a rock where they had to use the hands. Every single person used an open hand with fingers clinging to the hold and the thumb loose. The technique is not correct. If you hang from a beam using your fingers you will get very tired quickly and your hand will slip. The fingers are weak. But if you place your thumb across your first finger you will have a lock and you will be able to hang longer onto the beam as the hold is stronger.

 

You can use this technique for many caches such as Cache Techtonics where you have a lot of loose rock and you need to make sure that your hold is tight. A proper hold will ensure that you are safe and you can do it easily. Hanging on with your fingers only is not safe – lock the finger with the thumb and you are safe. There are many more examples of caches that will require some hand technique to secure the fingers.

 

I actually look forward to this climb and we now have two guys for sure. Thanks Wazat.

Gerhard

[+Rhino and Hedgehog]

Count us in!

It is a grade 13 Climb at worse - we have done that level in th Kloof Gorge but it will take a little more time before we are happy to lead a climb will look into this .....

[+Skyjuggler]

I hope this post isn't too late... I'm going to be gutted if I've missed it.

My only problem is that I have a bit of a tight work schedule so I'd have to do some shuffling around but if I can make it, I'll be there.

[+Skyjuggler]

Oh, sorry. I forgot to add, I've got a good nuymber of years climbing experience in both sport, traditional climbing and some aiding (climbing using only equipment, not hands and feet). I also have a reasonable amount of climbing gear I can add to the pile... Hope to hear more soon.

[+DamhuisClan]

I feel the need to go camping agian, and maybe this one is the excuse to go. Once you guys have set a date, let this forum know. Maybe we will join you there.

We wont be climbing, but while you guys do, we will do a few other caches in the area.

Maybe an event could be made of it?

[+Louise_Gerhard]

Guys, we will have this event soon. If you were watching my stats you will notice that nothing happened during January. It does appear as if there are cachers interested in this type of event. I do appreciate the feedback but at the moment I have a battle on my hands.

 

We had an oil fire at work; our hot gas generator caught fire due to a collapsed heater coil running trough it. At present we are busy correcting this and the economic situation is not making it easy. No overtime for the repair time is allowed and we are down at present. We will accept commercial downtime while the orders are low with controlled cost. Not funny to fight an oil fire when the viscosity is so low. I lost some time on my life span and I did get more grey hairs.

 

Some preparation work for this event was done. But to arrange this type of event is not easy. We completed an inspection of the facility that we intended to use and again we done what we are famous for. We did manage to upset the owner and we were requested to leave. We found several faults at the top carabineer and with the redundancy in the way the anchors are done. The bad news for the owner is that I will return in the next two weeks and if it is not corrected we will then phone a friend to do an official visit. Someone will get hurt somewhere in the future and it is not in my nature to ignore this.

 

The good news is that we found a professional facility and they are accredited to do this type of training. However, I will have to carry the cost but I would love to give cachers the chance to do this type of rush. Maybe I am wrong but I believe that every cacher should know the basics of roping. If you have never done this please do not be too scared to try. I do accept responsibility for the safety of the cacher that wants to try this and I will check your equipment with every climb to make sure that you are safe. If you should fall it will be a very very short distance. We will keep the rope tight and I will watch the belayer at all times. This is great fun and it does give you a lot of confidence. Please wait for the details to follow on the listings.

 

My family feels it is unfair to force a cacher to do a successful climb in order to log the event. So there will no restriction. If you want to go up then you do it. If you like to watch then it is ok and you can still log the event. There is one exception – if someone should fall and the person watching should laugh; guess who is next at the wall.

[+Team Ginger]

Hey hey hey

 

Now, this sounds like a party!!!!

 

Best (or worst, if you want hehe) we've done was the Drakensberg Aphitheatre Hike last year. No gear needed for that one, though the climb and the experience was amazing!!!

 

I'd love to get involved here - please keep us in loop of what's happening!!!

[+Rhino and Hedgehog]

OK we will put something together - so watch this space details by the end of Feb with a climb in May ish - enough time to get on the that wall....

[besem]

I am planning to place a cache that requires climbing in the Cape Town area when I get back to South Africa. It'll probably happen late this year or early next year. When I was putting the idea together I figured it would be the first climbing cache in SA, but looks like I'm going to be upstaged by Gerhard! (; I'll be watching the developments with interest to see how it works out.