Latest at the Scree

Brendan Hurner and Marijus Šmigelskis have opened several new problems at The Scree. Highlist from Marijus were "Book of Lies" 7B, a classic roof and slab problem, then a steep undercut face produced "Summer Rain" 7C and on roof on the same boulder resulted in "Hot Pie Boy" 7A, which may be easier when the holds dry a bit more. Brendan established a problem nearby which involves a long reach off an impossibly small crimp, which should check in somewhere around the 7A to 7B mark.

Casus Belli

Yet another link up has been opened on the "Four Singers" boulder at Redhill. This time it was Greg Streatfield who linked the moves from the starting holds of  "Four Singers" into the start and joining of "Shark Lord Darren" to produce "Casus Belli" at 7C.

Rocklands Summer

The summer temps have not managed to keep everyone away from Rocklands and some good sends have happened. Visiting Pretoria local Illona Pelser sent "Under My Thumb" 7A after dislocating her pinky finger on the same problem the day before. Later that afternoon, Illona make short work of "Roof on Fire" 6C and a 2nd try ascent of "Manuereheim Roof" 6C+ after getting some good beta from Kate Fairfield, who also sent the problem moments after. Marijus Šmigelskis came frustratingly close to flashing "Arch Baby" 7C and climbed it easily on his next attempt. He also sent "Cabe Town" 7C, which is the sandy roof opposite "The Vice" at the Fortress.

Kaapsehoop Additions

Donovan Willis has continued the development at Kaapsehoop with several new problems, "A Circle of Twists" 7A+ and "A Foreign Attraction" 7B+, amongst others.

CBD Action

At the CBD boulders Shuan Harris opened two new problems "Silent Ann" 7A and "Cross Purpose" 7A+ and Stewart Noy established "Battle of the Golden Spurs" 7A+. Marijus Šmigelskis and Shaun Harris also made rare repeats of "The Nooner" 7C.

Roof, Arete, Face

Marijus Šmigelskis sent "The Ghost and The Darkness" 7C+/8A at The Sassies at Rocklands, as well as opening several problems at Echo Valley in Topside, the best of which were "Turbulence Arete" and "Weak Sauce", both 7A.

Off the Grid

Leon Du Toit has been hard at work opening loads of new problems in Bain's Kloof and the Groot Winterhoek. The highlight of which has been two 7Cs, "Eendrag Maak Mag" and "Lithium Haze".

7B for JC

Julia Chen made a very fast repeat of "Believe it or Not". The problem has been tried by quite a few of the Cape boulders, with success only coming for a handful. The bizzare problem was originally opened at 7C+, but the grade is being debated as taller climbers have a much easier sequence than someone as short as Julia. Despite all this Julia reckons the problem isn't much harder than 7B, even if you do use the harder method.

Lots from Echo

At Topside, in Echo Valley, Marijus Šmigelskis opened two new problems at the Cape Fear boulders "Test Tube" 7A and "Scirocco" 7A+. At Bonnydoon, Julia Chen sent "Two Stroke" 7A and Marijus opened the project on the back of the "Serenity" boulder which climbs out the roof through bulges and slopers. The problem is named "The Buoyancy of Citrus" and is hard for 7C+. Edvinas Smigelskis also managed to get the 3rd ascent of "Captain Graffiti" 8A and just 30 minutes later, he made the 2nd ascent of the super reachy "Pudgy Bitch" 7C+. Then even more surprisingly, Marijus Smigelskis made the 3rd ascent immediately after, with only 20 minutes of work on the problem.

Caveman for Mat

Mathew Rowe sent his first 7C, "Caveman" which is a linkup of two TDA classics, "Invisible Monsters" 7B and "THC" 7A+.

The Thirst

Marijus Šmigelskis managed to open The Scree's current hardest problem "The Thirst" 7C. The problem climbs a short steep wall and requires long pulls to small edges.

Rocklands Repeats

In Rocklands, Dom Riordan sent "The Outback" and "Last Day in Paradise", both 7C and Edvinas Šmigelskis sent "Pendragon" 8A. Then Shaun Harris and Dom both sent "No Late Tenders" 7C+. Scott Noy sent "Sproing", upgrading the problem from 7B to 7C+ (the problem involves dynoing out of a strenuous sidepull/undercling and has had very few ascents) as well as "Last Day in Paradise" 7C and Marijus Šmigelskis flashed "Black Spider" 7C.

Redhill Sends

At Redhill, at the Vajra area, Emile Esterhuizen got the second ascent of "The Sound of Violence" 8A. Then, at the Mushroom area, Julia Chen sent "Einstein's Nightlife" 7A and Edvinas Šmigelskis opened "Vena Sera" 7B+, which is a low start to "Eyeball".

WP in the EC

A carload of Cape Town boulderers visited the Eastern Cape for the inter-varsity bouldering comp. On the way, they stopped of in Cape St Francis, where Marijus and Edvinas Šmigelskis both flashed the testpeice of the area, "Black Pearl Extension" 7B+ and Edvinas managed to open one of the projects which climbs a short overhanging wall, calling it "Queen of the West" 7C. The UCT crowd then moved on to Hogsback, where a bunch of new problems were established, the highlights where "Limited Edition" 7A by Joe Möhle, "Raptor" 7C by Edvinas and the highball classic "Joe Lives" 7C by Marijus.

Champs in Rocklands

At Rocklands, Kate Fairfield showing her victory at the 2007 Bouldering Nationals was well deserved, sent the high 7B arete "G1" on the "Cripple" boulder at Roadside. She also made a bold ascent of scary highball "Creaking Heights" 6C using a very dynamic sequence high off the deck. Marijus Šmigelskis aslo sent "Les Gloire De Papu" 8A after 2 days on the problem.

Two 8A's at Redhill

Marijus Šmigelskis managed to opened two new 8A's in one day at Redhill. First to fall was "The Sound of Violence" which took Marijus 3 days of effort to link. The problem starts as for "Dark Lord Sharon" and then traverses right to finish as for "Schwann Ping". Then, while showing some first-time visitors around the Mushroom area, he decided to have a go on the much tried "Chaos" project, and after a few tries, the line was completed at last. Emile Eszterhuizen had done an alternative version of "Chaos" using holds further right on the boulder, but Marijus managed to open the original version (which goes up and left from a sloper rail via long pulls to poor edges) after 3 years of attempts by some strong climbers.

Scott at Roadcrew

Scott Noy sent "Planeta Tierra" 7C at the Roadcrew area in Rocklands. The seldom-repeated problem climbs the arete behind "Rooi Klavier", starting with a shallow hueco low down for the left hand and then finishes up the easy angle slab.

The Devil Wears Prana

Marijus Šmigelskis has established a new problem at the Graffitti Boulders in Echo Valley at Topside after trying the line on previous visits (while working "Captain Graffitti"). "The Devil Wears Prana" 7B is and eliminate jump that is bound not to become a classic and may be easier if you use the razor sharp holds in a crack which runs alongside the problem (as this may eliminate the crux dyno). A few days later Marijus made the 4th ascent of "The Untitled Symphony of Self-Destruction" 7C+ at Redhill.

Willis in Swinburne

Donovan Willis repeated "What Wanda Wanted" 7C at Swinburne in the Free State. The problem traverses the Long Tonk boulder via long moves between fairly good holds which then lead to a blank section on poor crimps and small huecos.

Russ sends Pendragon

Over the long weekend at the end of the month, a group of Gauteng climbers travelled to Rocklands for a bit of bouldering. Among them was Russ Hattingh who immediately set to work on the Roadside testpiece "Pendragon" 8A. He did all the moves on his first session and easily sent the line on his next day on the problem.

National Bouldering League 2007

The National Bouldering League Finals where held near Harrismith in the Free State at a brand new bouldering area featuring over 120 problems and potential for many more. WP league leader Marijus Šmigelskis won the mens open category with the first ascent of the brilliant "Iceman 4000" 7C, Frenchman Theo Vischel finished 2nd with KZN winner Mathieu Schnewly in at 3rd. Julia Davies (JHB) won the ladies open category with Illona Pelse (PTA) and Dominique Dix-Peek (JHB) in second and third place respectively. KZN dominated the U18 Boys category where Benjamin Decharmay took top honors with an impressive overall score and Kate Fairfield of WP won the U18 Girls.

Desperado for Marijus

Marijus Šmigelskis spent a weekend at Rocklands and managed to repeat Klem Loskot's "Desperado" in just four attempts. The eliminate problem was opened at 8B, but Marijus reckons it's much easier and time will tell where the grade will settle. Back at the campsite, an hour later, Marijus sent "Ron Ron et Caramel" 7C+ just before sunset.

A Frenchman in Swinburne

French climber Theo Vischel, who is in South Africa doing hydrological research, took time off his busy schedule and made a fast repeat of Swinburne's hardest problem "Dunce on Fire" 7C in just a couple of tries.

From the Woods

Newlands Forest has seen some more bouldering action over the month, with Edvinas Šmigelskis making a near flash of "Chuck Norris" 7C, and getting the one-move problem on his second try. Marijus Šmigelskis opened one of the long-standing projects at The Classroom, "Standard Grade" 7C climbs the short steep wall just to the right of "Corporal Punishment" and involves a long pull to a small gaston and then up to better holds directly above. Then at The Scree, Marijus opened several new problems with the highlight being "Tokolosh" 7B, which is bound to be a classic.

The Season Starts Early

Rocklands has had some great climbing weather although it's still considered to be summer by most. Dom Riordan took advantaged of the cool temperatures and managed to send "A Pinch of Herbs" 7C at the Roadside boulders and the next day he easily dispatched "Impala" 8A, a dyno problem, in 30 minutes of effort. Meanwhile, at The Riverside, the Šmigelskis brothers managed to send "Eddy Will Go" 7C in a few tries, after both coming frustratingly close on "Au Bord de L'eau" 8A.

Lucky Larry's Larder of Lascivious Lesbians

Russ Hattingh managed to open a hard new problem at The Glade in Gauteng. The long-standing roof project, dubbed "Lucky Larry's Larder of Lascivious Lesbians" by Shaun Harris, went down (excuse the pun) at around 7C, but apparently a rather solid one at that...

The Misaligned Laws of Attraction

Marijus Šmigelskis opened a new sloper problem at the Bonnydoon area in Topside. "The Misaligned Laws of Attraction" 7A is a few metres downhill towards the ocean from "Two Stroke", and rounds a large bulge on slopers and small crimps. Matt Rowe sent the problem moments later and confirmed the grade.

More at Gold Rush

The Goldrush just seems to keep growing, making it perhaps the premier bouldering destination of the north? Shaun Harris opened "The Little Sodomite Who Could" 7A and Guy Hubbard added "The Cape Seamstress" 7A+ and "King of The Vagabonds" 7B+. Russ Hattingh also repeated "Leap of Faith" 7C.

Captain Graffiti 2nd Ascent!

Marijus Smigelskis has made the second ascent of "Captain Graffiti" 8A at Echo Valley in Topside after 12 days of efforts (the longest he has ever spent on a problem). Although he could do all but one of the moves after a few sessions, the problem's crux, a long move to a small 2-finger slot (pictured below). It took him countless tries to stick the deadpoint when coming from the start and finally send the problem.

Roadside Attractions

Clinton Martinengo has made a rare repeat of "Tai Chi" 8A at Rocklands a week after working the line for two days the previous weekend. Marijus Šmigelskis sent "Nutsa" 8A+ on the same trip, and then both Clinton and Marijus climbed the super-classic "Caroline" 7C.

In The Making

Joe Möhle has opened a new problem at Llandudno on the high face left of "Baby Shark". "In The Making" 7B+ is a stand start and climbs poor slopers diagonally up rightwards to join the arete of "Baby Shark". Joe is currently working on a sit start to the problem which is bound to raise the difficulty.

Osiris Extended

Edvinas Šmigelskis added an extended start to "Osiris" on his first attempt, uping the grade to 7B. The problem now starts in the rail below the starting hueco of "Pudgy Bitch" and traverses left to join the original start.

Gold Rush Action

The boulders of Gold Rush in Mpumalanga saw more action this month. The highlights were Guy Hubbard's first ascent of the dynamic "Leap of Faith" 7C, and Russ Hattingh repeat of "Blunt Force Trauma" 7C. Hubbard also opened a range of moderate problems including "Absinthe" 7A, "Loco" 7A, "Lime & Soda" 6C and "Mail Order Bride" 6C. Check out the gallery here.

Guy mid-flight on "Leap of Faith"

Ard Ay for Emile

Emile Esterhuizen has made the 7th ascent of "Ard Ay" 8A+ at The Seaside area in Topside. This is the first ascent after the prblem was downgraded from 8B and it seems that consensus is being reached regarding the grade of this classic problem.

Jungle Gym

Marijus Šmigelskis has made the second ascent of "Chuck Norris" 7C at the Jungle Gym deep in Newlands forest. The one move problem was opened by Scott Noy last year and involves a large move off poor holds to gain the lip of a small face.

Blunt Force Trauma

The Gold Rush in Mpumalanga has seen further development over the past few months. Most notable was Guy Hubbard ascent of the instant classic "Blunt Force Trauma" 7C. The 5m high problem, which is the hardest in the area, climbs a 35 degree overhanging face on slopers and crimps and features a huge dyno before the top out.