There are three climbing related learning opportunities this week at MCK.
Introduction to Gear, Knots and Equalization Systems Used in Building Anchors and Climbing – Tuesday Night 8:30 PM at the Club House
This session will introduce the different types of protection gear, some basic knots and approaches to equalizing a two and three point anchor system. Everyone will get a chance to master the knots and to join three placements to form an anchor. This is in preparation for the beginners climb and anchor building course on the weekend at Lukenya. Attendance on Tuesday night is not required but should help those who come to get more out of the weekend. Contact person:j.mariner@cgiar.org
Beginner’s Climb (Sept 10) and Anchor Building Class at Lukenya (Sept 11) with Camping at the Summit Camp Site on the Saturday Night (10th).
The beginners climb is open to all and will start from 10AM. Meeting at the South Picnic Tree. Top ropes will be set for climbing. How to set top ropes from a tree or boulder will be demonstrated for those interested. Last beginners climb, we had 34 people with 7 ropes up. By the end of the day, people were talking Boiler Plate!
The anchor building course on Sunday from 10 AM and will be open to all who have at least attended a beginners climb as well as experienced climbers. The course will be led by Casper Merkle. The course will cover anchor building from gear placements (nuts, cams, etc) as well as other natural protection and equalization of placements in an anchor system. Actual anchors will be built and then used for climbing. We will not attempt to cover lead climbing or other subjects. Our intention is to make the course useful for both novices and experienced climbers who want to improve their anchor building. We are asking people to confirm their interest in the course and answer some questions about their experience. We will use this information to plan groups by experience level for the course.
Please send an E-mail to Casper (casper.merkle@gmail.com) and Jeff (j.mariner@cgiar.org) indicating :
Experience Questions for those coming to the anchor building course
If you come for the day, you’ll need 2 liters water, lunch, a hat, sun screen. Feel free to plan the full scale picnic.
If you plan to camp, its car camping and you’ll need to arrange all your own camping gear and food. Always a good plan to team up with others to form cooking groups.
The club will provide climbing gear as needed. Shoes, harnesses and helmets will be available a Lukenya. The fee for gear is 300 KSH. Non-members are very welcome, but there is a daily membership fee of 400 Ksh or you can fill out an application and pay to join the club. As half the year is over, its only half a year’s subscription fee!
For those climbers who would like to help out with the beginners climb or the anchors course, we look forward to hearing from you as well!
Regards,
Jeff and Casper
The climbing cave is nearly finished. We are ordering more mats and making a few improvements. Many have noted that the new climbing cave walls have a slippery finish and that the holds have a tendency to spin. We thought to refinish the plywood with a textured paint containing sand. We are having a work party on Saturday to remove the holds, prepare the surface and test some paint options. If you enjoy climbing on walls, come down and give a hand. When the cave is complete, it will be a nice activity for meeting nights and weekends.
Contact: j.mariner@cgiar.org