Climbing in Namibia (part 2)

Firstly, be sure to read Mountain Climbing in Namibia Part One.

This is where our adventure began –  my father-in-law  was feeling discontented about getting 50m from the top and not summiting, and gathered all his courage and wanted to climb it two days later with my wife and I.  So after a rest day and much talk about the route, we set out at 5AM on the Sunday , and reached the start of the climbing at around 9AM, which was a great relief.  Then I led my first trad pitch ever – although it only had one trad placement besides the stance at the end!

The crux of the route is right at the start, and is thankfully bolted, although Pops had to spot me on the traverse to ensure I didn’t get cheese-grated to the second bolt.   After that it was fairly led out but easy,  and towards the end I placed my first Hex, and could understand how climbers get so much satisfaction from a bomber gear placement – it really builds your confidence!

The next five pitches were fearlessly led by my dad-in-law.   The 4th Pitch was probably the next crux of the route, with a scary friction traverse which really challenged us.   My wife had to pluck up a lot of courage to cross that slab, but did really well despite all of her dad’s advice of “It’s much easier if you smile”.

I followed later and had to leave a stubborn nut in the corner – I wonder how long it will manage to stay up there before someone gets it out?

…You can now go read the final installment of our Spitzkoppe adventure in Namibia.

(If you’d like your own hiking story published, feel free to send it to me).

**  Learn these Survival Skills ‘Secrets’ and discover How to Survive any Situation or Disaster. To have a look Click Here.

2 Comments on “Climbing in Namibia (part 2)”

Leave a Reply to Mountain Climbing in Namibia Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.