Kloofing

"Kloof” is the Afrikaans word for gorge, and“kloofing" is the combination of rappeling, rock-hopping, wading and swimming involved in exploring such a gorge. From a distance the Magaliesberg mountains look pretty plain: gentle slopes rising to unimpressive heights, a few aloes and other scrubby vegetation growing in the dry soil, and a scattering of rocks and bolders. Up close, however, they are a whole lot more interesting. A couple weekends ago Camilla and I hiked and scrambled around some very cool rock formations in the area (see previous entry), and this past weekend I went with a new friend Pieter to discover one of the Magaliesberg's many hidden kloofs. Pieter is a member of the local section of the mountain club, as well as the search & rescue group, and when he's not working on his PhD in Biochemistry he's been running off into the hills recently to prepare for an exam to get his comercial abseilling (read: rappelling) license.

On Saturday morning we drove to the Magaliesberg [pronounced MA-HAL(apply a good deal of flem to this syllable)-EEZ-BERG] and walked with big packs to a little campsite in the dust among some small trees. From there we gathered up a 60m static rope and harnesses and walked up to a nearby kloof. We were able to scramble a few hundred feet down into it and walk through the water for about 100m before reaching the top of a 40m waterfall, at which point the real fun began! I rapelled down beside the waterfall and then took one end of the rope in my teeth and swam through a very chilly stretch of water, only about 20 feet wide with sheer cliffs on both sides, down the kloof to a dry spot where I tied the rope to a boulder. Pieter then sent the pack down the line - a clever way (I thought!) of keeping our cameras and food out of the water - before coming down to join me. We jumped and splashed our way barefoot for about 40 minutes down the kloof until we got to a point where we could climb back out and return to our campsite. It was a tonne of fun, and brought me back to similar adventures at home in Cypress Creek.

After a short break we reloaded our packs with a dynamic rope and climbing equipment and went back down into the kloof. This time we headed in the opposite direction to the base of a large pillar that had become seperated from the main kloof wall. I don't have any photos of this bit, unfortunately, as I was pre-occupied with addressing my first South African climb, but it was just as much fun as the kloofing with the bonus of some fantastic views as we climbed up into the sunshine. Pieter hasn't done any lead climbing, but was able to borrow a small rack of hexes, nuts and a single cam, almost all of which, as it turned out, were useless for this particular climb. I only placed a couple pieces at the bottom before climbing the final 50 feet or so to the top. Chest-beating aside, it was a very easy climb (which reminds me: if anyone can tell me what N11 translates to in YDS I would be interested)! And the route was beautiful: up a clean wide crack on the backside of the pillar, just 10 feet or so from the main wall. From the top we had a view down the kloof and above to the surrounding hills. To my delight I also spotted a large Black Eagle (that's what colour it was, and that's what they're called) perched in its nest about 100 feet above me. From the pillar we had to jump (yes jump!) across to a ledge on the main wall (it was only about 6 feet wide, but perhaps 100 feet down) and then rappel from there back into the kloof. I had the misfortune of rappeling directly into a “blister bush”, which left my hands and legs stinging from thousands of miniscule thorns. We did a second, slightly more difficult climb just beside the pillar, and I got off route (if there was in fact a route!) into roots and bushes before coming clear onto a nice big ledge in the sun. By this time the heat was getting to us both, so we took a break in the shade and I fell asleep listening to the birds and the breeze.

We slept that night under the stars (and planets - Venus and Jupiter I think).

In the morning I was awoken by fierce growling and screaming, and shortly after I got up I spotted a troope of 50 or so baboons (big Pappa baboons - the growlers, and little baby baboons - the screamers) making their way to the creek below our campsite (again, no photos - sorry - I decided that this was one of those times to just sit and appreciate, rather than rushing for the camera!).

We didn't have much time on Sunday, as Pieter had received a call from the search & rescue group and had to get back early. We just did one abseil off a very precipitous drop into the same kloof we had been in the day before. This was a practice session for Pieter, and included a new experience for me: the abseil was about 100 metres long, which meant that we had to tie two ropes together and pass the knot on the way down. After diligently watching me tie the prussik knots he had taught me the evening before, Pieter let me go down first. It was definitely one of the most dramatic rappels I've done (second only to coming off the Split Pillar on the Chief) - see photo "Pieter on edge" - and passing the knot was a pain in the butt (for those who care, see foot note below for the step-by-step) but a fun and usefull skill to learn.

On the way home we stopped at a little road-side shop for gingerbeer, strawberry jam and fudge.

It was a super fun weekend. A joy to get out of the city and into the mountains, and great to make a new friend and learn about kloofing. I hope I wil get to do it again while I'm here!


Footnote: Passing the knot involved staying secure to the ropes with a prussik above the knot and a clove hitch below, then detaching the belay device, reattaching it below the knot, tying another prussik below the knot, weighting that one, wrestling to loosen and untie the top prussik, getting the clove hitch caught in the belay device (Pieter didn't instruct me to do this, but I was keen on the extra challenge), retying the upper prussik and weighting that one so I could free the clove hitch from the belay device, and starting the process all over again before rapping wearily down the final 40m on the second rope.

More photos here: http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/philipkakins/album?.dir=a26b