Does anybody know whether the base at Waterworld has improved since the flood?

Specifically, is Singularity climbable? That's the one that starts up Simply Irresistible (or whatever that twenty seven is called) and then goes straight up rather than branching left.

Hey Keith,

I haven't been there for ages (and the base is hidden by the tall reeds) but would say that it is too wet to bother. You will get your feet wet getting to the crag and your belayer would most likely need to stand in the water. You would want to take one or two mailons or leaver biners to leave in place whilst cleaning so that when you pull your rope it does not fall into the water.

The first base was built using a digger and getting another one into the kloof is a big deal (the Montagu Municipality have spoken about sorting out the Bad Kloof, but don't go holding your breath).
Very unfortunate as this (was) one of the top crags in Montagu

It's raining a fair bit here and further up country, so the base will probably be changed again - I'll try and go take some pics next week.


Steve Bradshaw (Jnr) onsighting 'Firestarter' (29/30) at Waterworld, Bad Kloof, Montagu

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Hey Keith, last person I heard of who climbed there was Matt at the Rock Rally, he did Firestarter and Route by the River. There is a small island below Firestarter at the moment and are (maybe were by now) some draws that have been hanging on Firestarter for the better part of a year now. They're Stephan's I think. I think you'll probably get wet getting to the island and get your rope wet pulling it down through anything but the draws on Firestarter. That being said, the rain is on the way so all this could be different by next week.

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...Chalk is cheap...

Good news, Waterworld is looking good. It needs some work but you can climb the three easier routes on the left no problem.

There is a channel of water that needs to be cut off above the crag - this will stop the small stream that is running along the base of the crag.

At least one of the (large) gabions we installed 2 years ago is still there. It is however covered in sand and you will notice that the base is +- half a meter higher.
Well done to the person that moved the 'steps' over to the base

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Looks like a day or two of, um, water negotiation. Think we can do it! Couple spades, some rocks...

One of the most empowering things we did in Boven before the Rally was taking ownership of the crags, manifested in constructing and maintaining paths. If we dedicate a day to Waterworld we can make the place climbable again- looking at the picture the stream needs some minor redirection, some large rocks and spade work. 4 people could do this easily. Is anyone up for the challenge?

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Warren...good idea I have a spade and am willing to wield it for a cause

We should organise a weekend before things heat up too much to tackle this. I know we're planning a tentative trip out there on the weekend of 18 October.

The weekend of 20 Oct sounds great! I'll bring a spade as well. Who else is keen to join- this is your chance to contribute, rather than just climb!

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I'll come along...

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Just getting to WW is a huge 'mare at the moment. How has the path-building been done in the past, Justin? I.o.w., whose responsibility is it? Should the base-building mission be converted into a base-and-path-building mission?

that path is a major job beyond the scale easily approached, however i think the WW base is a different matter.what about making a major rock wall next to the gabions? sure it will get overwelmed during a flood, but it could act like a pier, leaving a sandbank behind it. I bet if we were to look hard we could even see what causes the river to want to be under the crag, and try correct that.

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lol...this is sooooo funny...

Most of the time the conversation goes like this..
"DON'T hurt that tree, or put your pad on that bush"...

Now we're basically saying..."screw it, divert that river" ..No biggie

You don't have to look that hard, Water World is on the inside of a (slight) bend in the river. Rivers deposit sand on the outside of bends and remove it on the inside. Short of realigning the kloof or diverting the river into a tunnel/hard channel you are not going to be able to make a permanent solution. Everything you do will be removed by the next flood. So fix it as best as you can but don't embark on major engineering works, you'll just be wasting your time.

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Happy climbing
Nic

Well yes... every couple of years that kloof gets thrashed by a flood, with tons of crap being deposited in Bad Kloof (e.g. there are a couple of truck trailer chassis's buried in the kloof). After every flood the river and kloof are changed.

Ideal situation is to put a digger in, but that will not happen easily or soon (in fact lets not even dream about it for now or about putting another tar road through the kloof).

The stream flowing under Waterworld is an offshoot of the main river. I'll go in next week with some guys and block it off.
A work meet on the weekend of the 20th would be great - please bring your spade!

The main path into the kloof:
That is the responsibility of the Municipality. There has been a shake up and hopefully something will happen soon.
Read: Montagu Mountain Reserve neglected

Below is a picture of the gabions that we installed in 2010 (note that they are about 30cm dug in)


Below: Steve Bradshaw on Firestarter (30) at Waterworld – without a dry base this crag is not climbable

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Sweet Sounds like a plan. I'll see if I can rally up some other peeps as well. Maybe climb one day and work the other?

Other way round? Velocity is higher on the outside of the curve and slower on the inside (Matric Geography, I could be wrong)

The outside of the bend is the erosional side (cut-bank) and the inside is where sediment gets deposited yep. It has to do with centripetal acceleration as the sediments are transported around the bend and their velocity decreases.

What you said, just less big words

Long term I guess the only solution would be to put some steel pilings deep into the riverbed and build a walkway on top of those. A lot of work!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meander

Whoops, sorry. My mistake there, erosion on the outside, deposition on the inside.

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Happy climbing
Nic

I think I am also going to try organise a trip there for the weekend of the 19th. I may even be there by the 18th already and chances are I'll bring a peep or two along. It will be one of my last weekends in South Africa and I can't leave here without a last trip to Montagu! Besides, I am out of wine.

Keep me in the loop via e-mail.

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Hi,
I'm going into Bad Kloof tomorrow to cut off the tributary to Waterworld. I'll be there at 09:00 in case there is anyone (already in Montagu) that would like to come along.

Re: Workmeet for Saturday the 20th of October:
I'd like to get an idea of how many people will be there, so please mail if you can come justin@climbing.co.za
We'll start at 08:00 and finish at lunch.
Tx

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I have also created a Waterworld Rebuild Event on Facebook and invited the people that I know who should be there.

Be the "they" who sort stuff out, and not the person that just takes these actions for granted. laziness produces nothing but fat.

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This morning we went and diverted the river away from Waterworld in preparation for the work meet on the 20th of October.

Click here to see what we did...

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Nice work Justin

This weekends weather is not looking conducive to base building or climbing. For this reason we are going re-schedule the base build.
A new date will be announced soon.

Thanks to everyone that committed for this weekend, we appreciate it

Justin (& Warren)

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25mm on Friday, followed by 38mm on Saturday, with 15mm on Sunday and Monday? Are you going to have a town left Justin?

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Nic

Hmmm yes... Think I need to repair some Crocs (inflatable rafts) for some fun this weekend!

On the off chance... can anyone recommend the best type of patches and glue to use for fixing rafts (Croc's)?

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Nic have you bought that kayak yet? The one you said we should get for when the weather is shit? cos it may come in handy now...

I've always used PVC patches (the same stuff used to make the Crocs) and the glue used in Rubber Duck (the boats not the bath toy) manufacture. People like ARK also sell repair kits. Anyone who sells Rubber Ducks should be able to help you too.

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Happy climbing
Nic

The Waterworld work meet has been re-scheduled for the 3rd of November.
See also: Waterworld Rebuild Event on Facebook

I just came out of the kloof now (went to remove my plank of wood before the floods!). However it was doing such a good job I left it in. The main river has been 95% diverted away from Waterworld and the stream that was under the base of the crag is gone (just stagnant water that needs to be covered by sand).

The cutting and bundling of reeds is a winning way to re-direct the river!
For future I'll rent a blade cutter for cutting reeds and use sisal for tying them together... and then we can build it like beaver

Related: Waterworld water works October 2012

Thanks for the patching info Nic.

Also... the Swamp Monster entrails make for hole plugging

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Just a reminder about the Water World rebuild this weekend! Please post if you are coming, as it helps with planning to know Rough numbers

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