SLIDESHOW: 28 October 2009
TIME: 19h45
ENTRANCE FEE: R30,00
VENUE: MCSA Clubhouse, Waverley
PRESENTED BY: Anne and John Arran

An account of the first ascent of "Rainbow Jambaia" which takes a direct line up the face behind Angel Falls in Venezuela. The face is 1000m high and overhangs approximately 60m in total. As such the climb is the biggest overhanging free-climb in the world. The team comprised John Arran, Anne Arran, Miles Gibson, Ben Heason, Alex Klenov (Russia), Ivan Calderón (Venezuela) and Alfredo Rangel (Venezuela).

The 31-pitch route took 19 days to climb, with each team member spending 14 or more nights on the wall. The nine hardest pitches went at E7. Of these, five were climbed entirely onsight, although one of these benefited from gear in place after the pitch was earlier aided. The other four E7 pitches were redpointed with the trad gear in place. All crux pitches were climbed by Miles, Ben or John in roughly equal measure.

Former British Climbing Champion Anne Arran is one of the most talented climbers in Britain today. She is currently President of the UIAA Youth Commission and will be visiting South Africa with her husband John, one of the most accomplished all-round climbers in the world.

MISS IT AND MISS OUT

Click here to read an account of climbing Angel Falls by John Aran