The Send Space

Oh Hey Senders! Welcome back to The Send Space season 2 episode 3 (00:07:47)! In this episode guest host Timothy Larsen, speaks with the legendary Andy Wood about some of the classic trad routes in the Western Cape through the decades, the climbers who climbed them, and the gear that they used. The pair chart the history of trad climbing on Table Mountain, from the first ascent of Arrow Final, in 1985, to Mary Poppins, a breathtaking 31/32 on trad and many inspiring first accents in between, from Kindergarten to Matric. They start their conversation with some tales and stories of the South African climbers who established the routes on Table Mountain from decades ago. They climbed with minimal gear, ropes around their waists, and the old mentality of leaders never falls. Andy shows us that; along with the guts and brawn of the early crushers, the evolution of gear has opened countless opportunities to climb, and routes to establish. So as Andy would say, remember to calm it down, rest, and keep it going!

You can find some of Andy’s MCSA journal entries here:

Wood, Andrew. Artichoke: a new rte on Muizenberg Pk. 79: 157, 1976. Tec.

Wood, Andrew. Picnic on Mt. Kenya. 86: 46-48, 1983. Illustrations. Many female climbers forming their own parties: Mt. Kenya Women’s expedition 2000. 103: 10, 2000. Mt. Kenya. 100: 20, 1997. 103: 80-81, 2000.

WOOD, Andrew (Andy) A hitch-hiker’s guide to the Alps. 86: 63-65, 1983.

Wood, Andrew. New rtes. in the Pakhuis Pass area. Cederberg. Shady Lane; G-string Dancer. 87: 142-143, 1984. R.D.

Welcome to the 2nd episode of season 2 of The Send Space.

In this episode Allister Fenton speaks with Terry White about “Vertical Chess”.

Terry takes us through his early days of climbing from starting out with the scouts to becoming entrenched in the sport with the Wits University Mountain Club. From climbing in Tonquani and in the Burg, Terry brings us back to the ‘why we climb’ and the importance of truly experiencing the sport to its fullest potential. Terry reminds us of the unique nature of the sport and how experiencing things like the thrill of trad climbing and surrounding yourself with a community of people to sings songs and be social, are equally important.

So stick around and let Terry convince you why we do the sport in the first place!

You can find Terry’s songs in the following MCSA Journals:

Vol 107; 2004; Page 154 - The climbs they are a changin’.

Vol 108; 2005; Page 171 - The Wicking Song.

Vol 122; 2019; Page 100-101 - The climbs they are a changin’ (more).

In this, the first episode of The Send Space season 2. Mienke speaks with the legendary South African climber Paul Fatti! Take a listen to find out about Paul and his earlier years of climbing in South Africa and some brief insights into his start with the Wits Mountain Club. From hitchhiking through Africa and climbing in Blouberg in his early years to scaling the Rommin route on The Troll Wall, the tallest wall in Europe.  Stick around for some jaw dropping stories and some awesome insights into South African climbing history. And on behalf of The Send Space, welcome to season 2.

No amount of planning can guarantee a safe ascent – especially when it’s an (unintentional) first ascent. In this episode we chat with Stephen Hoffe (planner of epic missions) and Kati von Ketelhodt (MSAR extraordinaire). While Kati is well-versed in rescue missions, she recently experienced a role reversal after a climbing accident in an incredibly beautiful but remote area of the Eastern Cape coastline. What happened? Where did things go wrong? And what can we learn from the event? Find out in this episode!

Mentioned in this episode: Find out more about the Pondo Experience, and MCSA Search and Rescue.

Welcome to our debut 'short', featuring KP as we talk about the creativity, passion and hard work of routesetting. The start of this episode was recorded at the Gauteng Provincial Champs, with a follow up convo some weeks later to satisfy our curiosity. We hope you enjoy this change of pace!

What’s the difference between your climbing buddy, and a mentor? Between a newby enthusiast, and a long-time mentee? How do we balance mentorship, climbing, and daily life? What’s the point of mentorship anyway? Should mentors get paid? These are the questions we tried to cover in this episode featuring two lady-CRUSHERS (who we are definitely crushing on). Brigitte and Cath join Mienke for a chat where they cover it all: from getting started, to comp climbing, to trad ethics. Did they cover any of the questions we set out to ask? Give it a listen and find out for yourself.

As mentioned in the episode: Check out the Business Wars podcast miniseries about Patagonia vs the North Face. You won’t regret it! Also see what DreamHigher is up to.

Tune in to stories from our listeners as they share their personal climbing experiences. This community episode covers everything from that first-time-climbing feeling, to experienced guiding on multi-day adventures - and everything in between. In order of appearance:

This special 10th instalment features stories from our listeners as they share what climbing means to them. This community episode is packed with passion, adventure, and STOKE for the South African climbing scene!