By Kath Fourie
Day Nine of the PETZL Rock and Road EC 2009 was pretty much frikking radical. The finals were held in the chilly shades of Water Kloof, the exceptional crag that has now been opened up to the SA climbing world. Trust me, once you’ve read this you will be ear marking the
The night was a freezing one, with clear skies and stars bright enough to blind. The trade off of no rain meant frosted tents, and it was with much amusement that people picked ice off their belongings, while Andrew Pedley’s towel was frozen into a contorted animal that was not going to do him any favours in the bathroom!
Before I talk about the climbing, I would really like to describe the area we’re in, as today was the first day that I stepped into Water Kloof. Imagine walking through the
Bolted Primarily by Derek Marshall, Clinton Martinengo and Jo Mohle, Water Kloof doesn’t have a ton of routes as of yet, as the farmer who owns the land is a little apprehensive about the amount of people who may start wanting to visit the area…but we’re working on him. The routes that are there are classy broads though, with the easiest route being a damn hard 21 and the hardest being a 32.
Anyway, the three ladies and three men set to work on their routes, with each person being allowed two chances to work the route and possibly redpoint it, and a third to give it one last burn in attempt to redpoint or get as far as possible.
The girls set to work on the 28 that the men had been faced with in the semis, Smooth Vicious. This route is in a particularly narrow section of the kloof, and starts on small holds moving off fairly polished rock. The crux was about 4 bolts up, with powerful moves through a steep scoop. Throughout the working sessions it was young Faye Brouard (KZN) who had managed to reach the highest point, and seemed to have the crux section sussed out. It was no surprise then that Faye managed to get the route in the bag on her nailbiting second redpoint attempt.
Unfortunately, Gosia Lipinska came unstuck low on the route on her final burn, which left Rachelle De Charmoy with a need to send the route to equal Faye. Rachelle made an awesome effort, particularly as she had been focussing on sorting out the lower sequence and hadn’t worked the crux yet – but in the end it was Brouard who took the number one spot, with Rachelle in second, and Gosia in third.
Catching Faye after her win, this is what she had to say, “The trip has been fantastic, and winning it is really cool! My last climb went really well, as I had more time to work on the crux section than the others as I was climbing last. I saw how Rachelle and Gosia worked the bottom, so I could focus on the crux. Although I didn’t do the crux sequence quite as I planned, it still worked out well! The rest of the route was guess work for me, as none of us had gone that high before, and I was super nervous about slipping! Ja, I am just so pleased!”
The boys were faced with the mammoth unopened project that runs up a high face in the wide centre of the kloof. This route is hard guys, like HARD. Andrew Pedley, Flex and Ben De Charmoy worked that baby for hours. After each ‘burn and work’ attempt the boys came down exhausted, and it was going to be an interesting final for sure, especially since Adam Ondra was allowed an onsight attempt to open the project – which he fully succeeded in. Sent to a round of applause and whoop-whoops that had the kloof rumbling with echoes, Adam was lowered to the ground and answered the call for a grade with ‘Mmm, it’s 8b, but it’s a hard 8b’. Which means it’s solid as Flex’s biceps.
Ben and Flex gave the route a tremendous effort, but in the end it was Pedley who reached the highest point, about four bolts from the top. The geologist knows his rock it seems, and with Ben in second and Flex in third, the comp was wrapped up by 4 o’clock and it was time to P-A-R-T-Y!
After Andrew had been set to work cleaning routes at the end of the day, I nabbed him to hear how his winning send went, “Ja, it was cool hey. Actually, the reason why it was so great is that it’s possibly one of the best routes I have ever climbed in this country, it’s a seriously nice route. I would have liked to have opened it, but I think I would need another day or two to do that so it’s great Adam got to work on it”.
The PETZL Rock & Road EC 2009 was a complete success, despite weather and logistical odds! It was a solid competition with an awesome vibe that goes down in my books as one of the best climbing trips I have ever been on. That’s all for now, stay tuned for stories from the prize giving and the fire limbo, pile-on party to end all parties…trust me, it’s worth it…
Jurassic Park Beauty of Water Kloof
Walking out of Water Kloof
Gosia getting intense on Smooth Vicious (28)
Ben De Charmoy working the Open Project (that was opened shortly after this by Adam Ondra and graded at 32)
Andrew Pedley on his way to winning the PETZL Rock and Road EC 2009
Flex finding the sun in the Mens Final
Faye Brouard getting stuck into some serious warming up...
