Monday, January 15, 2007

Sibebe - Swaziland

My time in Swaziland included a trip to the largest granite dome in Swaziland. The place is called Sibebe Rock and is up the Mbuluzi River Valley and found amongst the Mbuluzi Mountains. Sibebe rises about 300m above the valley floor and the slabs of granite are quite steep in places.

After a quick discussion with one of the locals - did I mention Swazi's speak impecable English - he pointed out the route to the base of the rock but after that I was on my own. The rock itself reminds me of a large granite dome in Canada located in the Cocquihala (sp?) called Yak Peak. I prepared myself based on a prior discussion with Swazi Trails' guides and took a litre of water, good friction runners and a stop watch. They informed me it typically takes 4-5 hours car to car so I figured that it would mean about 2 hours up and a little less down.



Looking up at the base of the dome, the summit looked closer than what I had imagined but then looks can be deceiving. I flipped the Chrono on and started my ascent. The friction on the face is great and there are just enough ruggosities to keep the feet well secured. I can see how this would freak a non-climber out but with the La Sportiva trail shoes I was wearing and the comfort factor high I had no problem keeping a nice pace. 2/3 of the way up I snapped a couple of shots including the view down the face. Off I was again and crested the summit to touch the big boulder at a little over 24 minutes.
The summit is covered in great granite boulders with a ton of bouldering potential and the views were great looking up and down the Mbuluzi Valley. Game trails run all over the summit so continuing to trail run was a joy.


One thing that must be considered is that the rock is pretty hot and the heat is fairly intense. Do not forget to hydrate on this run. Eventually I made my way down and around the west side slabs. The only casaulty on the route was this little guy. I guess he never had the common sense to pack his own water.


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