If there are any members that would like to join but are unable to drive at night please let the administrator know so the club can arrange for carpooling.
Join the MCSA for this celebratory presentation delivered by Paul Fatti, who will recount the events of this iconic ascent, half a century later.
The wicked 1,200m-long, 30-pitch direct line to the summit of Paine’s Central Tower was first climbed in 1973-74 by South Africans who summited in 32 days.
To quote Tyler Karow as he stepped off “one of the most impressive faces in the world” in 2023:
“The first is a 5.11+ Offwidth that almost didn’t go down and the second is a 5.12+ enduro finger crack that I sincerely think is the best pitch of rock I’ve ever climbed in my life.”
It took 30 years for the “South African Route” to be repeated the first repeat of the route (also by a South African party, led by Alard Hufner in 2004) and then another 5 years before it gained its third ascent, which took the genius of Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll, Nico Fabresse, and Ben Ditto to free-climb it, the Belgian trio spoke of some of the “most amazing passages of their whole climbing career.
Join us in a celebration of this incredible achievement, the ascent of probably one of the highest vertical rock faces in the world that had been climbed at the time.
It was with great excitement that everyone attended the first official trad meet for 2024. The weather was perfect, the grass emerald green and the rock dry and solid. Ian, Ernie and Matthew aced the Moke (17... a Magalies classic Ian could likely do in his sleep, but thankfully availed himself to do compus mentis rather) while Andreas took Josh on his first proper lead on Hawk's Eye (13... another classic... and yes, Josh went through and not round the eye..).
Bennie, Mel, Paul and (the living legend) Ulrike cruised up Tonqauni crack (another classic!! jeez... there's so many).
Dobek and his hiking group made a sparkling cameo before lunchtime to add to the carnival atmosphere.
We look forward to doing this again as soon as possible and as often as possible. Everyone that loves the outdoors and adventure is welcome to join the next meet, we aim to have a lot of them!
A MCSA Johannesburg section hiking meet took place on 14 January 2024 in the Tonquani Complex, Magaliesberg. The meet was led by Dobek Pater. A total of 17 participants, including the meet leader, took part in the hike.
The hike route began at Calabash at approximately 08h20, proceeding to the upper Boulder Kloof, crossed the kloof and proceeded to the Upper Tonquani Kloof. It descended into Upper Tonquani via the Kitchen Corner Gulley and went to Junction Pool, towards the top of the kloof.
After a brunch break and some dipping in refreshingly cool water, the hiking party returned to the Kitchen Corner area, crossed the kloof to the west side (the true left) and topped out via a scramble up Red Gulley. Along the way, in the kloof, the hikers came across members of the climbing meet party in Upper Tonquani.
Once out of Tonquani Kloof, the hike crossed the open area through quartzite rock formations, almost as old as mother Earth itself, to the upper section of the Cederberg Kloof and walked down the kloof to the junction with Lower Tonquani Kloof. Some of the hikers took the opportunity to jump into rock pools in the lower reaches of Cederberg Kloof.
After a lunch break at the confluence of Cederberg and Tonquani Kloofs, the party proceeded a short distance up Tonquani Kloof and into Boulder Kloof, traversing most of Boulder Kloof and topping out on the north side of the kloof (the true right) about two hundred metres short of the road leading back to Calabash.
The hike finished at Calabash at about 16h10 where some of the hikers lingered to enjoy a cold one out of the meet leader’s coolbox.
Two of the younger hike group participants, not MCSA members, decided early on that the hike may be physically too “challenging” for them. They opted to turn back on the road towards Boulder Kloof, on the uphill section before the last gate, and returned to the parking lot, where they waited for the hiking party to return. Their performance at a presumed soirée the night before was indubitably significantly more laudable. There were no further incidents of this nature for the remainder of the hike.
Good, warm weather prevailed throughout the hike. It became overcast for a short spell in the early afternoon but no precipitation materialised.
No wildlife was sighted on the hike bar three vultures circling high above during the Junction Pool break, possibly from the Upper Tonquani area vulture colony and other birdlife, including the ever-present “piet-my-vrou”.
Nothing of a suspicious nature was noted during the hike.
– Dobek Pater
Meet Leader
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