Highest Mutipich Bolted route???

[garvinj]

Does anyone have an idea what would be the highest Bolted multi-pitch route in SA or Africa? Before you say anything, I know I should just go climb trad if I want multi-pitch. But humour me anyway!

Garvin

[mokganjetsi]

south africa:
the place we do not speak of? some 8/9 pitches.
also some longish routes on cogmans in montagu.
newborn!

i guess the routes on the tsaranaro massiv in madagascar will take the africa prize. some 26+ pitches i think. jip, bolted.

[justin]

In Montagu:
- Another Day in Paradise - Grade 22 (7 pitches)
- The Rave - Grade 22 (6 pitches)
http://www.climbing.co.za/topo/south-af ... s-buttress

Harrismith / Eagle Mountain ??

Yellowwood:
- Newborn - Grade 29 (not sure how many pitches)

[garvinj]

Ah!! great stuff. Can anyone think of something else. I don't think I'll manage those grades.

Garvin

[justin]

You can do Another Day in Paradise at grade 18 (pull on a bolt to get past a move).
There are also other (lower grade) multi pitch routes on Cogmans (see link above).

Another Day in Paradise and Magical Mystery Tour can be combined (grade 18) and even better with a 70/80 meter rope

[Deon]

Paradigms shift on sentinal is 6 pitches, 200m.. Hard 22

Swinburne, Harrismith has a few of around 150m.
Wolfmothers Wallpaper at Swinburne should be on everyone's to do list, awesome climb

[Keith]

Highest = longest?? Babel (7c+), Atlas Mountains, Morocco is 800m long (and 2977m above sea level). Don't know of any longer sport routes in Africa.

[Warren G]

Certainly the largest concentration of multipitch sport routes is around Harrismith and Swinburne, if that helps answer your question.

Someone fit needs to try climb all of the Cogmans multipitch sport routes in a day, or at least over a weekend....

[garvinj]

Hey Keith

I'm super keen to do the Tradathon in March. It seems I may not have a climbing partner by then, so we should go represent. I wanna do the robot In one pitch, kinda trying to minimise the traverse.
Go for the Journey and stop at the Robot.

@ warren, if its less than 40 pitches, even I could do that in a day.
Garvin

[justin]

Hey Keith

Wrong Keith! (the one above is from the WC).

All the Cogmans routes in a day would be impressive (and achievable).

[garvinj]

I just checked my old guide and it looks like there are 6 routes and about 30 pitches. If I can be allowed to do easy variation on the 26 pitch. That sounds doable! I'll start training in Feb. Lets see if someone can beet me to it.
Garvin

[garvinj]

Thanks Justin
I have been struggling to get hold of Keith so I was kinda thinking its strange to find him on the forum.

So will you ropegun for such an attempt. We still need money for that kids surgery department. Who will be putting money on this Idea????

[Guardian]

Since no one has mentioned this one.
'Not So Auto' on Monks Cowl in the drakensberg is possibly the highest above sea level sport route in Africa.
Its a V5.12b, 460m topping out at 3234m a.s.l

[garvinj]

That's some other grading system. What would it be in SA grade? I'm not so smart with those conversion things.

When I hear conversion I think someone is going to drop the suspension on my fortuner and I won't be able to leave the city ever again! Or they'll put a load exhaust on and I'll be banded for visiting my Grand mother at the old age home.

Garvin

[Brussel]

in so far as I recall 'Not so Auto' was about 26

[Hector]

Not So Auto has bolts but is hardly a sport route - its scary 26 with a healthy dose of the usual 'berg weetbix. A rack of gear is strongly recommended!

Some of the routes at Wellington's Dome might fit the bill Garvin. Its just a bit of a trek from the EC.

I agree with Warren - Harrismith is a good bet. How about linking say all the multipitch 23's and below at Everest and Swinburne in a day or even a weekend? Should tow that possible/impossible line quite nicely - Dawn Wall style!

[garvinj]

There are some great ideas here.
Thank Hector for the heads up on "Not So Auto".
On new years day I put myself in a spot where I took the wrong end of the trad rack with me on a route. As in, only take smaller than x and I took only bigger. Meaning only x worked. Luckily I had 3 of the size and it was a short route with a 3 bolt slab start. So I'm back to climbing with all my gear all the time. I like the link-up idea. Under 23 also sounds good.

I'd have to be unmarried, hallucinating, desperate and well hung. With young girls in white cotton panties waiting on the summit before I could think of climbing 26 on Berg Weet-bix.

[Ghaznavid]

I would guess Paradigm Shift on Sentinel (Free State Face). I believe it is fully sport and would top out around 3000m.

Highest sport route in Africa - isn't there a boulted route somewhere on Mount Kenya? I think it has something to do with getting from the highest summit to the 2nd highest summit. Not 100% sure though.

[garvinj]

I am looking for most number of pitches or meters of climbing not altitude. Thanks for the help.

[Ghaznavid]

It is 6 pitches and 200m according to Alard's website, but I see what you mean by "highest".

Standing on top of Mafadi (SA's highest peak - 3451m) a few weeks ago, I was joking about how one could easily anchor an abseil off some of the large boulders on top and then abseil down the almost 2m of rock that forms part of the summit on the north side. It would sound impressive on paper "abseiling off SA's highest peak" - but it wouldn't be much of an actual abseil...

[garvinj]

Then the next question would be, does the stuff on Madagascar count as part of Africa? More importantly are there easy routes up those big slabs?

[Ghaznavid]

By official classification - yes, Madagascar is an African country as it falls on the African Tectonic Plate (to the best of my knowledge this is the reason). Anyway, politically speaking it is considered to be part of Africa.

Africa is recognised by CIA Factbook as having 6 island nations and 48 mainland nations. The 6 island nations are Carbo Verde, Sao Tome et Principe, Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles.

[Warren G]

Everyone is avoiding the question because clearly no one knows what is the longest multi-pitch sport route in the country. My guess is either Another Day in Paradise on Cogmans Buttress, or Long Bolt to Freedom. Can anyone else think of a competitor?

Once we are done with this I would love to know what is the longest Trad route in the country: my guess is something near Du Toits or in the berg

[XMod]

Newborn is the longest and hardest in South Africa 14 pitches 300+m, second would be the routes @ the M spot @ 10pitches 250m.

Not in this country but, to put things in perspective, I recall reading of a route in the Bavarian Alps the 'Grosse Turm' that is 3100m long and goes at the unbelievable grade of 13! (bucket list for speed ascents!), longest in the world is probably the line put up on Mt Robson in the states that is over 2000m long.

[Chris F]

Are they both fully bolted Greg?

Longest I've climbed is La Demande in the Verdon or the Direct on the Miroir d'Argentine ("guide bolted") and they both gave me my fill for a day!

[SNORT]

Newborn is not 300m. At most 250m. I know because you can rap the whole of YW in 4 raps with 60m ropes. Milner routes are almost certainly longer. There are berg routes that are bolted....

[Rastaman]

What about Spitzkoppe if you are looking at Africa.
INXS is bolted and rather long.
There are also routes on the smaller peaks that we did that were fully bolted and around 200 - 300m long (and fairly easy too around 16?)
Will need to check in the route guide to remember the names.

[XMod]

Chris F - Yup both full on sport routes although you will need axes and crampons to get off the Bavarian (?) one, as there is a pitch at the top that is just scree in summer (super dangerous) but snow covered in winter. There is a rather famous and expensive hotel at the top of the route and a train station to get down, so one could have someone bring the ice gear to you so that you don't have to carry it on the route.
Infinite Bliss is the USA one and is 23 pitches and 2600ft (NOT metres! = my bad) long, its in the cascade mountains of Washington State.
(I presume you were asking about the overseas routes? Both Newborn and all routes at M are fully bolted sport routes).

INXS is bolted but rather adventurously so (Run out slabs = meh / death, you can keep them thanks).

[brianweaver]

There are several other fully bolted lines on Spitzkoppe that are not dangerous and more around the 20-23 mark. They top out around 400m, I think.

I'm not sure how tall they are, but there are bigwalls in Madagascar that are fully bolted. I know that Ondra did an 8c/+ there.

[Chris F]

I presume you were asking about the overseas routes? Both Newborn and all routes at M are fully bolted sport routes

Yes I was. Surprised a route that length is fully bolted, that's a lot of ironwork! I know the SA ones are fully sport.

Thanks for the info