In this News Bulletin:
1) First SA Deep Water Soloing Event: Wilgepoort 9 March 2014 2) The Rory – 21-23 March 2014 3) Montague Mayhem – 2-13 April 2014 4) Annual Dinner – 31 May 2014 5) Annual Camp – 5-19 July 2014 6) National Meet – 3-12 October 2014 7) Peru expedition - June/July 2014 8) Morocco 1994 reunion – December 2014 9) UIAA News 9.1) ex-President Ian McNaught-Davis dies 9.2) New UIAA standard developed for water repellent ropes 9.3) Ice climbing in Sochi 9.4) Global Youth Summit Event 9.5) 2014 Final Ice Climbing World Cup – Russia 10) Everest Fees reduced by Nepal Government 11) The great Himalaya trail 12) Himalayan database stats 13) Everest spring climbing season 14) Section News 15) Snippets 16) Newsworthy items
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1) THE FIRST SA DEEP WATER SOLOING EVENT-WILGEPOORT - 9 MARCH
Welcome to Deep Water Soloing! No ropes, no bolts, no cams: just shoes, chalk and savvy when you fall into the water. The likes of Alex Bester (current highest red point grade 30), Brian Weaver (33), Ebert Nel (33), Falco Filotto (31), Ivan Van Der Tang (31) and Jahne Theron (30) will be confronted with lines most have never seen before. The girls won't be standing back either: Eran Waldeck , Gillian Bester, Illona Pelser (29), Tiffany Wells, Wiebke Toussaint and others will see who gets the first ladies DWS crown. http://www.mcsajohannesburg.org/index.php/component/content/article/132-news-sp 393/326-watch-top-sa-climbers-in-gauteng-comp-on-Sunday-9-march Wilgepoort is the wilderness 45 km north east from Bronkhorstspruit in Gauteng, purchased last year by the Magaliesberg and Johannesburg Sections. Of the purchase price of R3.3 million, R1.8 came from the estates of members Richard Watmough, Peter Finson, Harry Barker and Ted Scholes. Some MCSA Sections also made donations as did many members. Johannesburg Section is still paying off a loan from Magaliesberg Section. If you perhaps have money ‘looking to be spent on a worthwhile cause’, please remember the MCSA and the Sections’ Land Funds?
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2) THE RORY - 2014: 21-23 March
The Rory Lowther Memorial Challenge is a one-day sport climbing, bouldering and hiking challenge at Swinburne near Harrismith and it will be its 10th celebration. See http://therory2o13.wordpress.com/ for details. Contact: Roland Magg (roland.magg@kwela.biz)
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3) MONTAGU MAYHEM 2-13 APRIL 2014
The planning of this year’s Montagu Rock Rally is well underway! http://www.facebook.com/montagumayhem
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4) ANNUAL DINNER - 2014:
The Annual Dinner will be hosted by Free State Section. It will take place in Bloemfontein on 31 May. More details will be forthcoming. Contact person: Charlotte Augustyncharlottea100@gmail.com
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5) JULY CAMP 5-19 JULY 2014
This year’s July Camp will also fall within the school holidays for all provinces. The venue is not finalised but will be a new site at Vergelegen in the Southern Berg. More details from Rikki Abbott later on.
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6) NATIONAL MEET - October 2014: Bookings are open!
The Paarl-Wellington Section will host the 2014 National Meet during the October school holidays from 3-12 October. Hikes will take place in the Paarl/Wellington area and at PW’s wonderful Krom River Hut. There will be a braai on 10 October. There will ONLY be 100 places available at the base camp on Olive Glen Mountain Farm at the foot of the old DuToits Kloof tunnel, Klein Drakenstein, Paarl (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Olive-Glen-Mountain-Farm/276871869076974), so jump for the opportunity to get one of them! It will cost R70 per adult per day to stay there. Bookings have to be made through Avril Powrie (brucepowrie@gmail.com; 021 873 0960/ 082 921 4325
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7) PERU EXPEDITION
Michael Schaff is leading an expedition to Peru in June/July 2014. They are first going to hike the Huayhuash Circuit, and then spend five weeks climbing in the Cordillera Blanca. They intend to start with Pisco, Yanapaccha, and Chopicalqui, before moving to other areas in the Blanca. Alpamayo & Quitaraju are also part of the plan. For the Huayhuash, they are now full, but can still accommodate more climbers in the Blanca. If interested, please contact Michael: mschaff@telkomsa.net
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8) MOROCCO EXPEDITION 1994 REUNION
A reunion is being planned for December in the Cape. Please send contact details and those of other expedition members that you have kept In contact with to: Jill Blignaut.blignaut@icon.co.za
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9) UIAA NEWS
9.1) ex-PRESIDENT IAN McNAUGHT-DAVIS DIES
The UIAA - International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation is saddened to pass on news about the death of Ian McNaught-Davis, at age 84, to its member federations. McNaught-Davis, as many of you knew, was patron of the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) and was elected interim president of the UIAA in May 1995 after the sudden death of Pietro Segantini and then again re-elected twice as president until 2004. UIAA President Frits Vrijlandt, said "Ian McNaught-Davis (Mac) was not only an accomplished mountaineer; he was also a great leader. He was an inspiring president to the UIAA - International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation. All who knew him said Mac brought the skills required for excellent teamwork in the mountains to the organizations he headed. Compiled by Andre Schoon . See also: https://www.thebmc.co.uk/bmc-patron-uiaa-president-ian-mcnaught-davis-dies
9.2) NEW UIAA STANDARD DEVELOPED FOR WATER REPELLENT ROPES
A new standard for water repellent ropes has been approved by the UIAA Safety Commission, after almost 10 years of research and testing. This is an opportunity to provide information to users about rope protection. http://theuiaa.org/news-88-New-UIAA-standard-developed-for-water-repellant-ropes.html
9.3) ICE CLIMBING HAD UNIQUE AND PROMINENT PRESENCE IN SOCHI
UIAA president Frits Vrijlandt says the demonstration of ice climbing in Sochi by climbers from around the world was good for all who want to see the sport grow. http://theuiaa.org/news-89-Ice-climbing-draws-attention-in-Sochi.html
9.4) GLOBAL YOUTH SUMMIT EVENT IN SICILY AND FRANCE ADDED TO 2014 CALENDAR
Italian Alpine Club hosts an exploration of volcanoes in the Mediterranean Sea while popular FFCAM camp I beautiful Ariège region is back. http://theuiaa.org/global-youth-summit.html
9.5) 2014 UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD CUP ENTERS THE FINAL STAGE IN UFA,RUSSIA
New overall world champions will be crowned in Ufa, Russia on Sunday. Check out our Facebook photo album of the 2014 so far. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.629786597091218.1073741846.254450884624793&type=1
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10) EVEREST FEES REDUCED BY NEPAL GOVERNMENT
The Nepalese government has announced that fees to climb its mountains will be reduced in an effort to stimulate climbing tourism with the objective of promoting mountain climbing in remote locations and to encourage mountaineering all year. At present the "climbing permit" is fixed at $25,000 per climber for the spring season, but in an effort to save money, many climbers choose to form groups of seven and purchase the $70,000 group permit. This group permit will now be eliminated. Under the new guidelines, as of 1 January 2015 an individual permit can now be secured at $11,000. http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=4158 Attached is the press release sent from Jinesh at NMA. You can also find an article on our website http://www.theuiaa.org/news-82-Nepal-government-reduces-fees-to-climb-Mount-Everest
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11) THE GREAT HIMALAYA TRAIL
The Great Himalaya Trail, a 1,700-kilometre network featuring some of the world’s highest walking trails, opens to trekkers next month. A full traverse of the range, known as the “holy grail” of treks, it includes some of the planet’s most majestic mountain tops, and takes around five months to complete. The trail was established in 2011 and closes each winter. Most people choose to tackle only sections of it, but the more adventurous can walk from one end to the other. It is described as the world’s longest and most expensive trek. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/10647420/The-Great-Himalaya-Trail-and-other-epic-treks.html
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12) HIMALAYAN DATABASE STATS
Stats from the Himalayan Database (Ms. Hawley's research), lists 658 official summits of Everest in 2013. Of those, 539 were made from the South Side of the mountain in Nepal, with 119 coming from the North Side in Tibet. 9 of those summits were completed without the use of supplemental oxygen, a rare and impressive feat. 8 deaths were recorded on the mountain during that time.
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13) EVEREST SPRING CLIMBING SEASON It is never too early to start thinking about the spring Everest climbing season. For the best source of information contact Alan Arnette.http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2014/01/06/everest-2014-the-cost-to-climb-everest/
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14) SECTION NEWS
NAMIBIA SECTION
Spitzkoppe has the greatest rock climbing routes in Namibia. If you are a climber, a geologist, a rock hound or a star gazer, Spitzkoppe is Eden. http://nam.mcsa.org.za/ http://www.spitzkoppe.com
CAPE TOWN SECTION - RESCUE In a demanding rescue on Table Mountain, The MCSA Cape Town Section’s technical team (SAR) rescued a Swiss climber, one of a party of three, who had fallen off and swung out and under the large overhang that overlooks Kasteelspoort. http://mcsa.briefyourmarket.com/Newsletters/Whats-On-24-Feb---9-Mar-2014/Demanding-rescue-on-Table-Mountain.aspx
CAPE TOWN SECTION - AWARDS EVENING
On Friday 7 March Cape Town Section will hold the 50/60/70 year Membership Award Ceremony which will commence at 19:30. RSVP to the office if you wish to attend – for catering purposes. Tel: 021 4653412 http://mcsacapetown.co.za/
KWAZULU NATAL SECTION
KZN newsletter 1st quarter http://kzn.mcsa.org.za/
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15) SNIPPETS
15.1) THE BMC WINTER INTERNATIONAL MEET – GLENMORE LODGE SCOTLAND
Two MCSA members Douard Le Roux (JHB) and Dean van der Merwe (MAG) attended the 2014 BMC International Winter Meet. The meet was held from 26 Jan to 2 Feb and was attended by 44 representatives from 26 countries. The Scottish weather lived up to its (bad) reputation and in true Scottish tradition teams still went out even when the weather report warned about 90 mph (!!) gusts with the high quality whiteouts that are quite typical of this part of the world. Gullies, faces, ridges, snow covered rock, mixed and ice climbing was on the menu which also included a generous helping of new routes, second ascents and repeats of regular routes in very snowed up conditions. https://www.thebmc.co.uk/bmc-winter-ice-mixed-climbing-international-meet-2014-report
15.2) FIRST TRAVERSE OF THE MAJOR RIDGE LINE OF FITZ ROY - PATAGONIA
Americans Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold carried out the first traverse of the major ridge line of Fitz Roy in Patagonia from 12 – 16 February. http://www.climbing.co.za/2014/02/tommy-caldwell-alex-honnold-fitz-roy-traverse-interview/
15.3) 21st HUECO ROCK RODEO HRR
The 21st Hueco Rock Rodeo, HRR, once again has lived up to its iconic status and has proven that the Rodeo has grown into a fantastic three day climbing festival in the desert southwest! http://www.prana.com/li
15.4) SCHURTER AND BUYS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS YEAR’S ABSA CAPE EPIC
Newly formed Swiss / South African duo Nino Schurter (27) and Philip Buys (24) will participate in this year’s Absa Cape Epic, 23 to 30 March, for the first time as team Scott-Odlo Racing. The new route of the event, now in its eleventh year, will be as challenging as previous years. The race, the biggest of its kind in the world, will offer both local and international mountain biking enthusiasts the opportunity to participate in an eight day mountain bike race of 718km up approximately 14 850m of climbing, with the final stage again finishing at Lourensford Wine Estate. http://www.crank.co.za
15.5) SAVING OUR BIODIVERSITY OUR RESPONSIBILITY
The Animal Demography Unit is a conservation organization promoting an appreciation of nature and biodiversity in South Africa as well as the rest of Africa. Our purpose is to provide a platform for South Africans, and people from other African countries, to contribute to conservation projects by taking photographs of animals and plants in the wild and submitting them to our Virtual Museum. (http://vmus.adu.org.za/). These records help us to understand the distributions of species, how they are impacted by humans, and what actions are needed to protect them. Please register and start uploading photos to our Virtual Museum. http://www.slideshare.net/meganloftieeaton/how-to-submit-records-to-the-animal-demography-units-virtual-museums-28710898 You can also visit the ADU website, http://www.adu.org.za/, or Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/animal.demography. and have a look at the Virtual Museum website at: http://vmus.adu.org.za/ 15.6) TABLE MOUNTAIN CLEAN-UP - 29 March
Chris Laidler (chris.laidler+tmc@gmail.com; Cell: 076 687 3178) is looking for volunteers – abseil teams and walkers - to help clean up the hard to reach areas around the top cable station on the Annual TM clean-up day (Includes a free lift up and down by cable car).
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16) Any newsworthy items for inclusion in MCSA National News can be sent to the Editor, Bridget Carrick (bridget.carrick7@gmail.com).
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Quote:
Frightful language
I made two little slips. One took me down a crevasse—I've an extraordinary knack of going down crevasses—and a party of three that was starting for the Kinderspitz spent an hour and a half fishing me out; and the other led to my dropping my ice-axe on a little string of people going for the Humpi Glacier. It didn't go within thirty inches of anyone, but you might have thought from the row they made that I had knocked out the collective brains of the party. Quite frightful language they used, and two ladies with them, too!
From: ‘Little Mother up the Mӧrderberg’, by H G Wells.
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