More Bouldering in Malawi

Having lived in Malawi for a short while, one thing is for sure…there are a huge number of boulders! On almost every journey out of Blantyre, I found myself gazing out of the window at boulder fields, I just wish I had more time to explore.  

Soche  

Our main bouldering destination was Soche. This is located within Blantyre and easily accessible from the city. Matt Fitton has produced a great guide to this area (Malawi’s first ever bouldering guide), which is available via this link on the Mountain Club of Malawi’s website. To say we have only scratched the surface is an understatement, there is just so much potential for development.

The approach from Chambe

Chambe

During a holiday at the end of my trip, I was able to explore some of the other bouldering areas. With a bit of guess-work, Ryan and I found ourselves in Chambe, at the base of Mount Mulanje. From the dirt-road through Chambe, we picked out some boulders that looked decent and headed towards them with the help of a guide.

Picking boulders to try...

This was definitely adventure bouldering and we stumbled across all sorts, from great-looking untouched lines to snake skins. We were never quite sure what would be around the corner. We were somewhat limited by our 1 crash pad, not to mention the distance to healthcare, so had to leave behind many tempting highballs.

Warming up at Chambe

Ryan climbing at Chambe

However, we did manage to find some good problems and had a few hours exploring before the sun was too hot and our skin was finished. One potential limitation of the bouldering in Malawi is how rough the rock is, but for people with tougher fingertips, this might not be a problem and I still enjoyed the climbing!

There is a lot to explore around Chambe. The amazing scenery at the base of Mount Mulanje was also a bonus, as were the pools at Likhubula to cool off in at the end of the day.

Fresh water pools at Likhubula

Domwe Island

Domwe island in lake Malawi is definitely a gem worth seeking out on the Malawi tourist trail. We fitted in 2 very relaxing days here. Although we didn’t go with climbing in mind, we found some boulders anyway and I wouldn’t go anywhere new without my climbing shoes.

Beach bouldering on Domwe Island, Lake Malawi

With a sarong instead of a bouldering mat, we enjoyed finding some problems on a big beach boulder with a sandy landing, including super crimpy slabs and gentle laybacks. It looks like there are some boulders worth checking out around Cape Maclear as well.

Searching for the next crimp, Domwe bouldering

Malawi climbing tips:

Mats - Bring your own and expect highballs (Some airlines allow 2 pieces of hold luggage).

Getting around – a 4x4 is a must, exploring the climbing would be very difficult on public transport.

Schistosomiasis - Don’t go to lake Malawi without knowing about Bilharzia.

Guides - Around Mulanje you will generally be approached by guides offering to take you up the mountain. We found that the concept of bouldering was understandably confusing to locals, and people often came up to us to point out the easy way (the descent) to get to the top of a boulder. A guide could be useful to get you to boulders, provided that you can get across the idea that you want to go to the small rocks and not up the mountain. A guide could also arrange someone to watch over your car.

And finally, here are some non-climbing related reasons to visit Malawi:

The Mountains

The safari

The People - Malawi definitely deserves its name as 'The warm heart of Africa'

The lake

Malawi - The Beginning

 I can now say that I have been bouldering outside in Malawi…and it was amazing!

Welcome to Malawi 6a+. The first boulder that I climbed in Malawi.
Matt actually did the first ascent but I got to pick the name.
Photo: Matt Fitton

I really didn’t know what to expect when I arrived here but was over the moon when I heard that Malawi’s first bouldering wall had just been built in Blantyre. Of course it became my mission to find this wall and more importantly, to find the climbers who had built it.

With the help of some friends I found myself on my way to the bouldering wall during my first week in Blantyre. Needless to say, I was blown away when I saw it. It is so much more than I was expecting to find and had a great variety of problems and angles. It felt so good to move and feel my forearms working again.

Malawi's first ever bouldering wall

The creators of this beauty are Jes and Matt, and The Mountain Club of Malawi have also given some support. The wall is located at a secondary school and once it’s fully finished, it will be used by the kids and other climbing enthusiasts. Matt and Jes have also been exploring some of the local climbing and that’s where the real adventure begins…

Soche is a large hill just South of Blantyre that is covered in boulders.

Soche, Blantyre

This picture isn't great I know, but if you look a bit closer
 you will see a hillside covered in boulders just waiting to be climbed

The rock is great - granite and grippy but not too rough on the skin. It was generally very solid other than the occasional dodgy looking flake. There is so much rock there! Only a tiny proportion has been explored as far as we know and the guys are in the process of putting together a guide.

Great views over Blantyre city

It was a great day out and I’ve never had the experience of climbing on fresh ground before. We tried some that have already been developed and also explored some new boulders. Looking around, deciding which boulders looked good and trying to find a path to them was a lot of fun. As rainy season has just ended, the smaller paths are totally overgrown but equipped with a panga (machete) we made our way to a new area.

Step 1: Pick some boulders and select a path

Step 2: Come prepared

Step 3...

To add to the atmosphere, the hill is actually where a large number of people go to pray, so don’t be surprised to hear preaching and singing in the background, and some areas of boulders are best left to worshipers.

Soche is also a religious site

Although we didn’t have any problems, I would advise women to cover up their knees as a minimum to avoid comments or causing offence. In general, you are just greeted by lots of Malawians on their way to pray as you head up to the boulders. 

Matt on pop-off senior, 6b

Pop-off senior, I caught it eventually!
Photo: Matt Fitton

The scope for developing the bouldering is huge and I feel so lucky that I happen to be in an area with so much potential. It doesn’t look like I’ll be struggling to fill up my time off that’s for sure!

Sunset over Blantyre

Leaving Liverpool for Africa

Liverpool

I have been living in Liverpool for almost 2 years and have come to love the city, not to mention the Lambananas. 

Super Lambanana 

Liverpool is a busy, vibrant and friendly place. I’ve spent plenty of happy evenings in both Awesome walls and the Climbing Hangar - regardless of whether I’ve had the energy to climb or have just been lazing around on the mats chatting.

Outdoors

One of the big bonuses of Liverpool is how close it is to North Wales and over the time I was there, I did manage to explore a few of the crags. My favourite day out was probably a sunny day at LPT with friends. This really is an impressive crag and one I would like to spend more time at. It’s right on the coast and some dolphins even paid us a visit!  

I’ve also had good days out at some of the A55 crags including Dinbren, Llandullas and the surprisingly picturesque Waterfall crag at Dyserth. I was even psyched for the infamous Parisellas cave, but never managed to put enough time into that place.

Away from North Wales I have fitted in a few sessions around Sheffield where after a struggle I found myself at the top of ‘too old to be bold’ (7c) at Rubicon.

Africa

Now though, it’s on to new adventures as I have been given an opportunity to work in Malawi, Africa for several months. I wasn’t sure how much climbing there would be until I saw the following video of bouldering in Malawi! 

I am now writing this from Africa where I have arrived, with a bouldering pad. As ever, I don’t know what I will find but I’m ready for an adventure.

Mind Games in Tenerife

For a long time my boyfriend and I have been searching for a place to combine both surfing and climbing and in Tenerife, we might have finally succeeded.

Tenerife definitely ticks the boxes for a winter sun destination and we woke up to blue skies every day except one. We stayed in the village of El Rio which was conveniently only 30 mins from the airport and 5 mins from the nearest crag. 

Tenerife

We were very impressed with the climbing. In the end we tried out two of the crags “El Rio” and “Arico” but there were loads of other options to explore. El Rio was probably our favourite, with really technical fun climbing from the warm-ups upwards. It was quite common to have decent rests during the routes, which was a help with our lack of route fitness. Arico also benefitted from being in a valley so you could have your pick of sun or shade depending on your preference. Overall, the rock was great quality and unpolished.

Keeping warm in-between routes

One of my main focuses for the trip was to work on onsighting. On a recent trip to Kalymnos it became painfully apparent how much I struggle with a ‘fear of falling’ and this is most obvious when climbing on unfamiliar ground i.e. onsighting. The best thing for my onsighting I’m sure would be to practice falling indoors and out. Other than that, one simple and subtle change that I found helpful was trying to change my perspective and accepting that this is something that I find challenging.

With more experience climbing indoors I go climbing outside with an expectation of which climbs will feel easy and hard. Therefore when this expectation isn’t met, it can be disappointing and feed a negative mindset. However, this trip I tried to alter my perspective seeing onsighting at any grade as a worthy challenge to enjoy overcoming, rather than an embarrassment to avoid.  

This small but important change in perspective definitely helped though there is still a long way to go. As well as onsighting of course there was a bit of red-pointing and I enjoyed fighting my way up a very bouldery 7b at Arico.

Finally, onto the surfing…this is not an area I know much about but Ryan was happy. There were a range of places to go and plenty of surf shops for hiring gear. Also the proximity of the surfing and climbing meant a double day (climbing half the day, surfing the other half) would be possible – if you have the energy!

Rab Microlight Review

I have been fortunate enough to try out a Rab Microlight Jacket for Outdoor Kit and here’s my verdict:

The most stand out feature of the jacket is it’s weight to warmth ratio. This jacket is super light-weight and can be taken just about anywhere with ease. It comes into it’s own on a summer’s day in the UK or trips abroad. Personally I feel that this jacket is not warm enough for sub-zero temperatures but is perfect for the cool evening after a days climbing or keeping warm in between routes at the crag or even at the wall. 

Keeping warm in Tenerife

Another useful feature is it’s size (see picture below). This extremely packable jacket is warmer and lighter than any hoody or fleece that I have come across and will pack down to at least half the size.  So again, it is perfect for the days when you might not even think to pack a jacket but will be extremely glad you did as lets face it…I live in the UK. I have seen this jacket passed around my friends when the breeze picks up on a summer's day at the crag and others have optimistically left their jackets at home.

Next to a 15cm ruler

The women’s fit and style are good and I would recommend a closer fitting size to keep the warmth in. I chose my normal UK dress size which was slim-fitting but remained practical.

My one minor criticism is the wrist cuffs could be tighter to keep the warmth in and if I could choose again, the equivalent with a hood would also help give that extra cosiness usually associated with down jackets but perhaps that is just personal preference. It is also perfect and comfortable for belaying in and more than flexible enough for warming up in on a particularly chilly day.

Conclusion:

The perfect down jacket for the warmer months or for those chasing a bit of European winter sun. Why should we wait until winter to get wrapped up in down?

Thanks to OutdoorKit