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Peglerae Award: Rob Thomas |
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Otter Trail report [29 November - 3 December 2005] |
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South
Africans off to Everest |
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Weeds in the Magaliesberg |
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Lost climbing shoes |
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Rescued by the cable car |
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Tyrollians in Magaliesberg |
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Peglerae Award
Rob Thomas was awarded the Peglerae Award at the recent Annual General Meeting in recognition of his contributions to the Mountain Club over a period of more than a decade. Rob has been an active member of the Magaliesberg Section and has served on its management committee in various portfolios, including representing the Magaliesberg Section at Cencom. His most active and involved contribution has, however, been with the Gauteng Search and Rescue Team where he has been a prominent leader and responsible for numerous pioneering efforts, such as development of minimum standards and a curriculum for search and rescue training, development and implementation of electronic search planning systems, transfer of skills and theory of search and rescue. Rob is a dedicated ambassador of the Mountain Club and has established close cooperation with numerous institutions, such as the SAPS, Provincial Emergency Services, Off-Road Rescue Unit and the SAAF. He unselfishly makes his own time, personal equipment and vehicles available for rescue activities and training. He is a MDTaccredited and DEATregistered mountain guide, one of only a few in the Gauteng area. Rob also remains one of the most creative users and most verbal promoters of his favourite mountain tool: duct tape. He still makes time for hiking and climbing too. Lastly and most importantly, he is a mountaineer at heart.
Congratulations and thank you Rob for making the Club such a large part of your life.
Page 2 & 3
Otter Trail Report (29 Nov - 3 Dec 2005)
When this meet was first advertised in January, the Otter trail was fully booked, but as usual there were many cancellations during the year, so we were twelve people off hiking in the end. It was no easy task to get everybody together, because two were from Norway (Hein and Helle), two were from Witrivier (Pierre and Rita) and two were from North West Province (Harry and Stefan). The rest were from Pretoria: Christa, Victor, Michael, Rene, Riaan and Willemien. Nine of us slept over at Hikers Haven in Nature's Valley and started off with a nice breakfast before getting onto the shuttle to Storms River mouth. The shuttle driver was in no mood to wait so we never saw the compulsory video of the Otter. Nor was there time to greet Hein, Helle and Harry (who waited at Storms River Mouth) properly, even though they were the ones who travelled the furthest. Everybody knows that the first day is not a long day, but the stop at the first waterfall was fully enjoyed. We reached our first day's hut, Ngubu hut, at about three, in time for walking around and enjoying the low tide pools. What was most interesting at the huts were the 'kleinhuisies' which had a large window, from where the most beautiful view over the sea could be enjoyed.
The second day we started off early so that we could make the most of it. We stopped at Skilpadkoppie and had our first view point over the ocean. After a short tea stop at a beautiful little pond, filled with waterblommetjies, we left in high anticipation of having lunch at Blue Bay. A rain shower caught us, just as we were to cross the first big river, which made the crossing a bit slippery and dangerous. We all crossed and then waited for the rain to stop, but the clouds were merciless, and we had to continue to Blue Bay in the rain. As the tail end reached the turn off to Blue Bay, the leading party were already too discouraged and wet and decided to go on. For the the tailenders it was a matter of "what the hell, we are already soaking wet, we won't be any wetter if we go down to at least see the beautiful bay'. Although not a sunny day, Blue Bay was just as inviting as ever, and the invitation was accepted with glee. Meanwhile the leading party stood right at the top of the hill and watched the skinny dippers from the distance, munching their lunch - in the rain of course!
The way up the hill after Blue Bay is said to be the worst climb of the Otter. In fact the Weg magazine was quoted to have counted at least 11 up-hills on the second day. If they were that many, we do not remember them anyway. And so, wet as ever, we reached Scott hut. Although the fire wood was a bit wet, our chief fire maker, Pierre, managed to get a fire going. Our huts were just below a beautiful forest and early morning we were woken by the song of the birds. There was a Knysna Loerie seen just outside one of the huts. All the way we could hear the Olive Bush Shrike calling, but nowhere to be seen. Joining us just there for breakfast was none other than a Chorister Robin, even daring it onto Rita's plate. I know many birders who would give their front teeth for that tick on their bird list!
So we set off on the third day. The clouds had cleared and there was promise of a beautiful sunny day. Harry thought we better start the day in the right mood and waited for us at a pool, that opened on the sea. With a "What are you all waiting for?" he took a jump from a big rock. That was enough to convince others to do likewise.
The third day passes through a number of meadows. There were still a few up-hills of course and after the longest one we stopped at the view point. Those with cell phones could pick up a signal and phone their loved ones, while others could even give a few work related orders. Michael was looking for his Gondolaland bug and he had a couple of interesting bugs to show us. Nothing more exciting happened on the third day, except that we had to cross the Lottering just before we reached our huts. It required a wade through. The Oakhurst huts at the Lottering River, were beautifully situated with a lovely view on the sea. The waves were quite spectacular as they broke onto the rocks. There was no late night visiting around the fire that night as we all had to get into bed early so that we could wake up at four o'clock the next morning. Low tide at the Bloukrans river was at 10:00, so we worked out for us to be in time we should start at 05:00.
The fourth day is the longest day and the longest distance we had to cover was the first part to the Bloukrans. Harry who reached the Bloukrans first was lucky to meet an otter on his way. We all reached in time and crossed safely. Everybody was willing to give a helping hand to others and Stefan and Michael went an extra mile to help Riaan and Willemien. This couple really needs to be applauded for their determination to finish, although the going was not that easy. But just after the Blaauwkrantz, there is an uphill which had even the toughest sweating and out of breath. On the way to our last hut we passed through beautiful fynbos, in full colour. We reached our last over night stop at Andre's hut. Again it was Harry who met an otter next to the river. The otter dragged an octopus onto the rock, but disappeared as he realised that he's being watched. Some others only saw the octopus. As we watched the sunset, we knew that this was our last night in unspoilt nature.
The next morning we headed back to Nature's Valley. On a hill we had a beautiful view over the Valley. Could this be the most beautiful view in the world? Well, one of them definitely. We were not going to miss a stop for a Forrester's beer at the restaurant in Nature's Valley. It was evident that this restaurant catered for many hikers before as there were boots hanging all around the tree. And so it also became time to say good bye to good friends. Some had to take the aeroplane back home, but others were in for more adventure and stayed behind to take a well deserved rest! Nou ja, some of us have done this trail before and maybe the readers of this report know the Otter by heart, but it remains an experience for each one passing through the ups, downs, rivers, forests and views of the Otter Trail.
Christa van Schalkwyk
South Africans off to Everest
Sean Disney is once again tackling Mt. Everest (8848m) this year with a team of two (Vaughan de la Harpe and René Hochreiter). Both Sean and Renè are Mountain Club Members. They will climb on the south ridge from Nepal. Their daily reports will be posted on the website http://www.everestsa2006.co.za if you want to follow their progress from March 27th onwards. They will start their 10 day trek to Base Camp on April 8th and have planned 3 provisional dates for their summit attempts for 8 May, 20 May and 31 May 2006. What is of particular interest on the website is the strict safety rules that will apply to their expedition, despite the huge sponsorship deals and very public profile of the expedition that puts pressure on the climbers to summit. Sean confirmed that they are excited and ready for the trip. We wish them good luck and a safe return.
Bergklub in die movies
Die Gauteng Soek en Redding span het onlangs gehelp met die verfilming van 'n episode van “Die Binnelanders” op 'n krans naby Krugersdorp. In die episode word die Soek en Redding span uitgeroep vir 'n tegniese reddingspoging. Episode 29 behoort op 20 April uitgesaai te word, en Episode 30 op 26 April.
New Committee for 2006/7
| Chairman | Dean van der Merwe | 083 274 1116 chair@mag.mcsa.org.za |
| Vice-Chairman |
Robert Cromarty | 082
445 6559 vice-chair@mag.mcsa.org.za |
| Treasurer | Victor Wilson | 082 925 8101 treasurer@mag.mcsa.org.za |
| Secretary | Hanlie Schmidt | (011)
742 1538 secretary@mag.mcsa.org.za |
| Hiking | André Schmidt | 082 893 5292 hiking@mag.mcsa.org.za |
| Climbing | Danie van Zyl | 082 823 2056 climbing@mag.mcsa.org.za |
| Rescue | Rob Thomas | 082
652 1490 rescue@mag.mcsa.org.za |
| Training | Petrus Nel | 082 578 9115 training@mag.mcsa.org.za |
| Publications | Elmarie Engelbrecht | 082 439 6435 news@mag.mcsa.org.za |
| Conservation | Peter Moore | 072 227 4693 conservation@mag.mcsa.org.za |
| Club evenings | Christa van Schalkwyk | 072 378 1669 meets@mag.mcsa.org.za |
| Vice President | To be announced | vice-president@mag.mcsa.org.za |
| Administrator | Lenise de Kock | (012) 345 4586(Tel/Fax) admin@mag.mcsa.org.za info@mag.mcsa.org.za |
| TUKS Exploratio | Arno Middelberg | 084 657 4287 arno@middelberg.co.za |
Weeds in the Magaliesberg
Where do we stand after 5 years of effort?
Crofton Weed [Ageratina adenophora]:
| 2000 | Unofficial assessment of our kloofs after finding it in some kloofs |
| 2001 | First 3 meets to Dome, Mhlabatini & Castle Gorge [w. JHB Section] |
| 2002-2005 | Follow-up & checking in the same kloofs, keeping an eye on other kloofs |
State of kloofs: scale 0 to 10 [0=clean; 10=very bad infestation all over]
| Kloof | Before | After 5 years | Problems remaining |
| Dome | 7 | 3 | downstream, upper Waterweed kloof |
| Mhlabatini | 7 | 3 | cliffs & at water-dividing weir |
| Castle Gorge | 8 | 3 | gully[now sprayed, JHC],neighbours, JHC active |
| Grootkloof | 0 | 0 | keep it that way! |
| Tonquani | 1 | 0 | far downstream; neighbours |
| Other kloofs: Efforts by: | Efforts by: | ||
| Maretlwane | 8 | 4 | Boys High & WfW, MCSA unofficially |
| Easter Kloof | 9 | 5 | WfW 2 yrs, owners, MCSA [spraying 2x] |
Pompom Weed [Campuloclinium macrocephalum]:
| Castle Gorge | |
| 3/2003 |
reported Pirhanna Pool vlei & vlei downstream |
| 12/2003 | 1 off. meet with JHB Pirhanna Pool vlei & vlei downstream, bit early, not flowering yet, not visible |
| 1/2005 | MAG & JHB finished at Pir Pool; huge patch upstream |
| 1/2005 | next w/e, MAG upstream patch; rain, not finished |
| 1/2005 | next w/e, MAG w. RWB transport upstream patch; more or less finished |
| 1/2006 | MAG & JHB upstream [1/3 of 2005 infestation] not finished nor checked vleilands downstream |
| Maretlwane | |
| 2002 | found near 1 big pool, small infestation, removed plants, alerted owners |
This is an effort [may be queried by experts!] to try to tell members how important their efforts had been. We have made a huge difference. Not only did we bring the infestations down to managable levels, we prevented our kloofs from being totally overwhelmed and reaching scores of 10, which would have happened if we had done nothing these 5/6 years. There are many landowners who are still not aware of the threat of these weeds, to which the weeds will become a huge problem. Please spread the word whenever you can! Thanks to every single person who made the effort to help, and a plea to all the rest of the members: please come and help, it will make a difference and will give you much satisfaction! We were asked by the JHB Section to treat all weed work meets as joint meets. I think it is an excellent idea and it will be on the programme as such.
| Weeds programme for the rest of 2006 [Crofton Weed]: Please diarise!! | |
| 22/23 July | Dome |
| 20 August | Castle Gorge |
| 9/10 September | Mhabatini |
| 17 September | Tonquani |
Thanks to everyone!
Otti Neser, Conservation: Weeds Subcommittee
MCSA Annual Dinner
The MCSA's Annual Dinner and the Johannesburg Section's 75th Anniversary will be held on Saturday 6 May 2006 at the Johannesburg Country Club, Lincoln St, Woodmead, Sandton at 19:00 for 19:30. Guest speaker: Joburg Section's own 7 Summits summiteer - Alex Harris. Music, welcoming drink, etc. Tickets: R200pp. Dress: Smart. Bookings: Cheryl Devine 011-974 3695h; Uschi Magg: 011-807 1310 (weekdays am).
Lost Climbing Shoes
Robert Cromarty (082 445 6559) is looking for his pair of Boreal Aces (yellow climbing shoes for those that do not know what they are) size 8.5 or 9 that went missing at either Bronkies or Grootkloof. If the person who made off with them returns his shoes he will tell them how to treat the stuff now growing between their toes.
Roland Magg also lost his pair of La Sportiva Mythos shoes in Tonquani last year around November. If you found it please call him at 072 253 9712.
Donation to Agricultural Research Council
The MCSA Magaliesberg Section donated an estimated 10 000 insects and numerous books to the Agricultural Research Council’s Plant Protection Research Institute. These insects and books were all part of the late Richard Watmough’s estate. According to a letter received from the ARC the samples and books are now available to their staff and the wider research community. Richard’s work thus remains in circulation and his contribution to the science community remains alive.
Bolting Fund
The Magaliesberg and Johannesburg Sections contribute to a bolting fund each year. This fund was established to assist MCSA climbers who want to bolt routes in the old Transvaal area by providing funding to purchase the hangers, bolts, glue, chains, etc. The MCSA can then as a result monitor that the prospective bolters whom apply to this fund for money are competent by evaluating the equipment and methodology. The Club can also provide expert inputs based on years of experience gained by members in the Club who regularly bolt and have done research on bolting. This means that the MCSA keeps an eye out to ensure that the routes bolted in this way are safe for use. It also creates opportunities for climbers who want to bolt routes, but cannot afford it or have little knowledge, to get the necessary training and funding and so have unlocked many quality routes in the past. The Magaliesberg Section allocates on average R4 000 per year to the bolting fund. This translates roughly to ten new routes funded by our Section each year. Donations to the bolting fund are always welcome, as it will create more climbing opportunities close to home.
Camp Fires on Meets
It has been a long standing policy in the Mountain Club that no camp fires are allowed to be made on MCSA properties. During official meets to other venues the Section will conform to the owners' requirements. Where no such policy exists, no fires will be allowed unless provision is made for a camp fire in a designated fire pit.
Blouberg Meet from 27 April to 1 May
If you've never been to Blouberg in Limpopo, make sure that you go at least once in your life! It is a really special place…The plants are unique; they are related to the Soutpansberg flora, but different because Blouberg is an 'Inselberg.' Like Brandberg it is a huge mountain island. Grass veld, forest, fynbos, it's all there. There is gradual destruction of the forest in areas on the lower slopes. The local people have very difficult times and cutting down trees is probably a way of surviving. They also utilise grass from the upper areas and in some remote places grow dagga surrounded by fierce kraals of thorny bushes. We want to do two really magic, long, day trips, take some GPS readings at crucial points and note down the details so that it can be used by members later. At the moment the hikes are only in the memories of a few members! Climbers know the climbs, and many routes have become classics, but few of them have hiked on Blouberg. The climbs are also magic and long, so perhaps it is to be expected. Anyway, do yourself a favour and come along. You will have to take leave on the Friday. We will probably leave early Thursday morning and still go up the same day. It is quite a long hike up to the camping spot, about 4 hrs walk uphill. That will leave us with 3 full days to explore the place and drive back on the Monday. Contact Otti at [h] 361 6573 [w] 304 9565 or 082 451 9582.
Rescued
by the Cable
Car
At
a recent Sekororo meet, some hikers got stuck on the wrong side of the
Olifants river when it came down after heavy rains. With some help from
one of the locals and a rickety cable car they got across the river
safely. But not before Robert Cromarty first made a heroic attempt
elsewhere to rescue the hikers by swimming the raging torrents with a
rope tied around him. This is the epitomy of “local knowledge.” To round
up an eventful weekend away, some people came down with tick bite fever
after the trip. More photo’s are on the Magalies website at
http://mag.mcsa.org.za/photos.html
D. Georgeades
Rescued from the Cable Car
Yet another dramatic cable car epic played out in the dark above the sleepy town of Hartbeespoort. Two teachers were rescued from a stuck cable car gondola by the MCSA Gauteng Search and Rescue Team. Rumour has it that the team members raced to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like kids to candy. Mike Grant from the Jhb Section was sent from the nearest mast above the gondola along the cable and took some time to reach them, slowly making his way by tugging and pulling. He then set up a belay inside the gondola and lowered off the two stranded women from an anchor on the roof of the gondola, over the main cable. The passengers were guided by a tagline from the ground to a clearing close-by. A successful rescue and one that has not been done in SA before. This is one of a few incidents at this cable car station. A few years ago one car fell and the operation was shut down while investigations were conducted.
J. Tredoux
Kransberg Climbers Face Unexpected Threat
Those of you who have climbed at Kransberg (Thabazimbi area) are probably aware that the property borders on the Marakele National Park, which hosts Big 5 game. On Monday January 23rd Rob Thomas (Magaliesberg member) received a phone call from one of the neighbouring farmers warning that he'd been out tracking a pack of African Wild Dogs which seemed to have wandered onto his farm from the reserve when he encountered a lion spoor overlaying the wild-dog spoor. It seems that climbing these country routes could become a blood sport... Rob will keep the Club updated on any developments, but for the meantime it is strongly recommend contacting the Magaliesberg Section committee before heading out there to climb.
Rob Thomas
Journals
Collect your new journal from Lenise de Kock at Club evenings or arrange with her for collection.
Personalia
A warm welcome to Werner Steyn, Toni Eliasz and Elizabeth Malleson, new members of the Magalies Section. We hope that you will enjoy our mountains and be life long friends. Danie Hoffman & Cato Visser were married at the end of October. Congratulations to Brian and Claudine Garlick, who were married on 12th February. Francois and Sheila Junod were involved in a serious car accident. Sheila was in hospital after sustaining neck injuries.
Tyrollians in Magaliesberg
Our fearless chairman, Dean van der Merwe (top left), had an idea of spanning the cliff above the waterfall at lower Castle Gorge with a rope and ironing one of his office shirts while enjoying the view. Why iron in your kitchen where the only view is the flower print wall paper and the kitch novilon? So off we went one rainy Friday morning. Tony Abbott, a member of Magalies Section, was dragged along to help rig the tyrollian, since he has extensive experience with search and rescue rigging. I was the designated photographer and gear mule. Tyrollians are notoriously dangerous when rigged incorrectly due to the extensive forces on the anchors and angles of the ropes. Ideally the 2-3 anchors on each side carrying a downward force would share the load equally when rigged correctly and the weight hangs straight down. This means a 100 kg climber hanging on a rope rigged to 2 anchors would exert 50 kg on each anchor if the angle that the ropes leave his body upwards are less than 60 degrees. With a tyrollian the angle of the anchors are closer to 180 degrees. This means the anchors are carrying more than 80 kg each and that the climber suddenly weighs more than his actual bodyweight! The tyrollian is made safe by rigging more than one anchor at each side for the rope with angles less than 60 degrees and rigging a second backup rope with separate anchors that will only carry weight if the main rope comes down. The rope will inevitably sag a bit, but this actually makes the tyrollian safer. It can sometimes make getting up on the other side a bit of a mission and prusik knots to ascend the last bit of the rope may be required. Tyrollians have a number of functions, including transport of gear and people across rivers or cliffs, moving a rescue stretcher, slack rope walking and of course pure fun!
In the case of Tony and Dean’s tyrollian the angles were perfect. The slide across on some high spec pulleys were gradual and smooth (bottom left). It was neither a foofy slide, nor a climb out of the second half. You could stop halfway for photo’s and when you let go the slide across would continue smoothly.
A year or so ago some other Magaliesberg Members went to Boulder Kloof with the same idea. David Mitchell, Karen Trieloff, Andreas Harms and others spent hours trying to shoot a pull rope across with a bow and arrow. After being successful the tyrollian was rigged and the result was the breathtaking ride across Boulder Kloof seen below.
D. Georgeades