Rocklands, the movie

Below is a link to a movie I made from my trip to Rocklands in July/August 2015.


ROCKLANDS 2015, the movie

Beautiful end of a great trip

Today is my last day in Rocklands. My 15 year old body feels like it is 50 years old. The last week I have been working very hard in a number of projects.

High on my wish list is Hole in One. A super cool dyno graded 7C+ in which I have worked for 3 sessions. I have jumped and landed on the crashpad many many times. I feel I am close to sticking the grip but still no luck.

Poison Dwarf Direct, a very nice 7C+ is another problem I have been working in. I can do all the moves but I am not able to link them together which is very frustrating. Yesterday morning I woke up early to try it again but after so many days of climbing my body was too tired to produce enough tension to hold the big shoulder move. I gave up after a couple of tries and decided to call it a day.

My dad wanted to do a problem in Kleinfontein, the Fin, I went along to carry pads and spot him. We had not been to Kleinfontein before, so for me it was also a good opportunity to check out the problems in that area for our next trip. Kleinfontein has a super cool 8A called the Hatchling. It is a weird looking boulder that is positioned on top of another boulder and it moves if you push it hard. I definitely want to try this boulder when I am stronger, maybe next year.

The Fin looked like a nice problem, and although my body was tired and aching I gave it a try and to my surprise was able to flash it. Another 7A flash. I got siked and decided to check out Shadow of Ourselves, a 7C right around the corner of the Fin. I had seen video’s of the problem and was surprised how relatively good the holds looked. After working in the boulder for a little under an hour I figured out all the moves and sent it. Shadow of Ourselves feels like a gym problem, cool moves on great holds. I can really recommend this problem.

Given the state of my body I decided to stay away from the projects and have a relaxing day. We started out with drinks at the Hen House where we met up with Frank, Wieneke and Bart. They were heading for the Rhino Boulders at the pass. It was a hot day so the prospect of cooler temperatures at the pass sounded appealing and we joined them. We went to the cave where Stalker on the Horizon is located. I had already spotted this problem during an earlier visit to the Rhino boulders. It looked great and we all started working in it. I had some beta from watching a video and with a tip from Wieneke I managed to work out all the moves and sent the problem. Stalker on the Horizon is listed as 8A in the topo but that might be a little over the top. It is a great problem though with very cool moves. Since it is in a cave it is nice work in this boulder on a hot day.

A beautiful last day of a great trip. I am leaving Rocklands with pain in my heart. I really want to return next year to deal with some unfinished business and to try a lot of other cool boulder problems.

As soon as I am home I will post a video of my adventure so stay tuned.