Western Cape Rock, by Tony Lourens

Western Cape Rock, by Tony Lourens. Blue Mountain Design & Publishing. 2nd updated edtion. Cape Town, South Africa 2015. ISBN 9780987040343 / ISBN 978-0-9870403-4-3

The climbing in this voluminous and unique guidebook 'Western Cape Rock: A guide to sport climbing in the Western Cape, South Africa.' is spread over a vast area.

Tony Lourens  

From the wild and newly discovered Old Forest Crags near Plettenberg Bay, right the way across the province to the world famous walls and boulders of Rocklands in the Cederberg. The journey between the two spanning about 500 km and taking about eight hours by road. Between these two areas lie a wealth of the most awesome climbing one would wish to find. On the Cape Peninsula we are spoilt by having five star cragging a mere stone's-throw away from the heart of the bustling Mother City. An hour's drive from Cape Town will take us to more scenic crags like the beautiful granite domes of Paarl, the lonely and atmospheric Hellfire Crags dwarfed by the huge Du Toit's peak massif, and the quartzitic crags perched on a ridge above the seaside village of Kleinmond. Two hours drive from Cape Town is the town of Montagu. Climbing was discovered here a few decades ago and since then this little Breede River Valley town has grown to become the undisputed epicentre of sport climbing in the Western Cape and one of the most popular destinations in the country. Montagu alone could keep most climbers busy for half a lifetime. There are 864 established routes and 58 bolted projects in the Western Cape with enough rock to keep our drills smoking for many generations to come. If this isn't enough, we have the Cederberg mountains which are also about a two hour drive up the west coast from Cape Town. To many the Cederberg needs no introduction, but for the few who have never experienced the magic of this unique mountain kingdom, suffice to say that the Cederberg is one of those special places that takes a hold of your soul and never lets go. Besides some of the best trad climbing on the planet on remote red sandstone walls situated high in the range, the Cederberg is also the home of two world-class sport climbing venues and is considered to be one of the top bouldering destinations in the world. There is no question that the Western Cape is a climbing mecca. To live here is an unparalleled privilege that should not be taken for granted, as there are precious few places on earth that can rival this paradise we call home. Please note that there are now many routes which are 30 metres long necessitating a 60 metre rope to safely lower off. It has become the norm now to climb with 60 metre ropes, so don't expect a warning for every 30 metre route.There are also some single pitch routes that are longer than 30 metres and although every effort was made to mark these routes in the guide. It is your responsibility to assess the height of the crag and to take precautions when and if necessary. The bolt counts given are as accurate as possible, but obviously some could be wrong, so please take a few extra quickdraws. A few routes don't have bolt counts as these routes slipped through the counting net and with pressing publishing deadlines. It wasn't possible to go out and count them. 99% of the routes have proper double-bolt lower-offs, however there are some with less than adequate top anchors and some with no lower-off anchors at all. Make sure you know the status of the anchors before you climb the route. [...]

This is an excerpt from the climbing guide: Western Cape Rock, by Tony Lourens.

Title: Western Cape Rock
Subtitle: A guide to sport climbing in the Western Cape, South Africa
Type: Mountaineering and Rock Climbing Guide
Author: Tony Lourens
Publisher: Blue Mountain Design & Publishing
2nd updated edtion. Cape Town, South Africa 2015
ISBN 9780987040343 / ISBN 978-0-9870403-4-3
Softcover, 15 x 21 cm, 445 pages, throughout colour photos and images