The Magaliesberg is the mother of climbing for the Gauteng Crew. Yes, there are a few other crags nestled here and there – but the Magaliesberg is where it’s at. A veritable smorgasbord of trad with a tasty sprinkle of sport and cheeky boulder here and there. What more could you want?
The first time you journey to Fernkloof – in all likelihood – you’ll still be wearing your gumby shoes. You’ve probably climbed at Bronkies a few times, you’re feeling pretty confident. So you join a crew to Fernkloof. Prepare to be humbled, my friend. Fernkloof is the proving ground for sport climbers in Gauteng. This is where you come to test your mettle and see if you’re ready to wear your big boy lycras.
This epic crag is located 125km out of Joburg and to gain access you stop at Bergheim. A lovely resort with some of the cheapest day and camping rates you’ll ever thank your dirtbagging stars to find. Bergheim is a wonderful stop on your way to being humbled. There’s great people watching over weekends and small tuckshop. You can buy yourself an ice-cream there to soothe your burned ego on the way out.
The kloof itself is a narrow beauty, in shade practically the entire day with pleasant temperatures in summer. It has lovely pools to splash in and no shortage of hikers who will stop to marvel at your incredible rock-climbing prowess. The upper section of the kloof is where most of the trad is located. It’s a mission to get there but the climbing is stellar and well worth the effort.
The main attraction is the sport climbing in the lower kloof. Be prepared, it can get wild. The routes are overhung, the rock polished at the bottom and the whips get your attention. Fernkloof’s sport routes have been bolted, FA’d and repeated by some of the legends of the South African climbing community. These are the rope guns you read books about. They put the time, money and chalk into bolting some of the mega-classic lines we test ourselves on to this day.
Why crank when you can fly?
The classic story which comes to mind is the siege on Stormwatch, the first 31 in the country – before we even had a 30! This route, affectionately termed “Stormbitch” towards the end was FA’d by Roger Nattrass. Assisted by Grant Murray on belay-duty and his wife Andrea providing endless encouragement (and tea), the siege took 23 days before it went. Stormwatch is the embodiment of the climbers spirit. When the psych is high enough, we’ll go to any lengths to send the project.
The story of Stormwatch can’t be done any justice when compared to the words of her progenitor and I highly recommend you read the original article published in Southern Rock. Suffice it to say it’s a tale of classic dirtbaggery and gees. Roger and co. were willing to lose sleep, calories, money and no small amount of sanity to get this line up. Indeed when all costs were tallied it worked out to around one third the average salary of the day. When was the last time you invested that in your project?
Fernkloof is a remarkable crag where you can have your hardest day of sending, or your most relaxing day of hammocking. All depending on your mood and the psych of the crew this kloof offers the full experience. So when you’re feeling strong and you want to take that next step in your sending, stroll on through to Fernkloof and see how strong you really are.
