alrights, finally found some time to write about Rocklands!!!get ready....
i decided pictures indeed speak a thousand words, so i will be using pictures to talk about my trip. these selected pictures pretty much sums up my adventures in Rocklands.
this is where our laundry is hung up. as long as you can find 2 boulders, hang up a ratchet and there you go, a steady makeshift laundry line!
this is our bouldercave, where we cook,eat,watch movies on the laptop. it is a source of protection against the cold winds that blow early in the morning and late at nights, and keeps the rain out too=)only problem is, it is about 1M in height, so it can be rather break-breaking to walk in and out of this cave. jay and i developed backaches from moving ard in the cave.ha
Yes, this is Rocklands, where Bouldering and Sportclimbing is offered=) i was fooled by this sign, it was put at the entrance to many different crags. the bigger crag was known as "THE ROADSIDE". i happily thought the boulders were just nxt to the roadside, little did i know, that it was nearly an hour walk from the ROADSIDE, into the boulders.sigh. this signboard is a guage of an hour's walk into the bouldering area.
Natural streams of cold running water!perfect for COLD WATER TREATMENT!and as drinking water, and water to wash our hands. basically, for anything.haha. and i didnt get a stomach upset from drinking the water.
Visited Muizenberg, a small town just at the coast of South Africa, small in size, but big in beauty=)
Stayed at this campsite en-route to the Kgalagadi Transfontier park- Safari
we didnt bother bringing our tent from out camp at Rocklands, so we just put our boulderpads on the floor and slept on our sleeping bags. coolest night out ever!in the wild=)
Awfully cute ground squirrels that were extremely tame and spoilt by humans.tsk tsk.
our safari guide taking out a huge rifle." just in case".where we were on the prowl for lions, cheetahs, etc.
my favourite breakfast! bread with banana,jam and peanut butter!helps you send all of your projects for the day=)
fresh barracudas for sale at Muizenberg.
awesome line called "the Rhino", 7b+. tried it, cldnt finish it. will be back for it.
first time bouldering in the dark!with headlamps.pretty cool experience!
sending JOHN DENVER,7A. took me 2 sessions. finishing it was rewarding coz i got to see paul robinson too=)hahaha. ok. but seriously, finishing the project was my aim. Seeing Paul Robinson at the same boulder was just a bonus.
trying MINKI, 7B, definitely a different style from Dirty lies, also 7B, knee jams was a pretty new move to me in natural, going back to finish it too!
My "room" for 1 month.
new things i learnt in this trip
1. Spotters- the importance of having one when bouldering. Growing up in an indoor climbing environment, we are pretty much on our own whenever we climb, because we have mattresses to fall on. but once outside, on the natural boulder, all we have is probably a 72"x36"x4.75" safety pad to rely on? and as we progress higher or traverse across the boulder, we definitely need someone to spot and move the mattress for us. Spotting is not just ensuring the person lands safely onto the pad, but looking out for possible angles the person can fall at and being ready for the fall anytime. Learnt alot from jay about spotting.
2. Food- i found myself almost hungry 24/7. the Hike, the cold weather and climbing made me hungry quicker than usual. Even though i wasnt perspiring due to the cold weather, i found myself getting real hungy after a short hike. always be prepared to have food in your bag when you plan to stay at 1 climbing crag the whole day.
3. working on a project- it is my 2nd bouldering trip, but it can almost be considered a first because my first time bouldering in Hampi, well...i didnt exactly climb hard. i didnt push myself. but in Rocklands, i was introduced to the concept of working on a project ( line/ problem). i hardly worked on any projects while climbing in Singapore. but in Rocklands, there were certain problems that i cldnt send in 1 day, and had to keep going back to work on it. i was drawn to the beauty of the problem and the moves involved. Bouldering, unknown to our bodies, actually sucks alot of energy out without you feeling tired. and so, even when you feel ready, the minute you get back onto the boulder, you feel tired almost immediately. hence, i had to go back to work on it. sometimes, that particular session would be just working on parts of the problem, and other sessions would be attempting to link all of the different parts up. it felt alittle irritating and disappointing when i felt so ready to send the problem in that session, only to realise there was no way i cld finish it, coz i was dead tired at the end of the day. but it is definitely rewarding to finally finish it. and with all the encouragement from all the climbers working on the same problem. definitely cant do without them too=)
4. dont give up- this is one thing that was extremely applicable to me. there were a number of problems where i kept on falling at the same move, which was probably my crux for the problem. there were times when i felt like giving up and moving onto another problem because the moves seem impossible by my standards. but jay,weida and peter told me not to give up and that the move is very possible. for Dirty lies, a project which took me 3 sessions to finish, i was stuck at the same crux for 3 whole sessions. only managed to get past the crux without starting from the beginning once. and that was it. decided to go for the whole problem from the beginning. but i found myself another crux, which was getting to the first crux i encountered. and so my last session was spent working on linking the moves up. it was not easy, i really felt like giving up. but i was so glad i didnt, because at my final attempt, i managed to send it. and the minute i sent it, i looked back at my previous sessions and heaved a huge sigh of relief and wondered how i managed to get out of it. it was the same for the other problems.
noticed a pattern in my ability to send problems
- 7a: at least 2 sessions
- 7b: at least 3 sessions
-7c: at least 4 sessions.
with this experience, i now know how long it takes me to send a particular grade.haha. this would most probably serve as a guide for my future bouldering trips.
Totally enjoyed this trip because i got to climb and push myself way past my expected limit. thanks to Jay, Weida and peter. Made a lot of new friends from all over the world. Definitely going back again!so many unfinished business=)
