The walk from Wasserfal Flache was easy on the flat granite. A small climb over the next towards Longipools and we could see it. By this time there was consensus that every one's legs were taking strain and most of us planned to take a nap on the rocks at Longipools. Merwe and Aisie had different plans. They still have not started a fire only using sticks and a bow. Tip to all mountaineers: Always bring your own lighter as the sticks method does not work regardless of what Bear on Ultimate Survivor has to say.
Herman and myself decided to do the optional ascend of Orabeskopf which you could reach by walking further up Longipools and then try to reach it from the western side.
After about 2.5km up the ravine we headed south for the ascent but our efforts proofed fruitless. We could not find a safe passage across to the peak and we also set a time limit for being back with the rest of the group. We settled for a peek over the very windy ridge which I suppose would have given you a similar view than from Orabeskopf itself. The southern side of Orabeskopf is a 300m wall of pure granite and yes it has been climbed already in 1974.
The next day we met some rock climbers who climbed the most prominent crack, a 13 pitch grade 18 climb. They were then looking for some more variations to get up the cliff. I believe it was none other than Majka Burhardt and her crew on their Namibian expedition.
We reached the rest of the group a couple of hours later lazing in the sun, no fire yet. We then made our way across to the top of Ga-Aseb ravine where we had our last camp.
That evening the whiskey ran out and we all made mental notes to bring more on the next trip and to not let Erik get into your supply on Day 3 with the promise of reimbursing you the next evening.
Again everyone were lights out before we had a chance to make pudding.
No comments:
Post a Comment