Tiras Mountains, Namibia
Koiimasis – climbing spot with high potential
A new dream line at the Knusperhaus.
Upon our arrival at the Ranch Koiimasis we are really euphoric, as we see the many rock massifs. We got a lot of information about the area during our very nice meeting in the Swakopmund Brauhaus with the local Hasso Gantz. But what we saw now, greatly exceeded our ideas. A large part of the cliffs aren’t climbed yet and they are waiting for a first ascent!
Right at the afternoon, we climb over the debris to the massifs, where we suspect climbable rock. Due to our route descriptions and a picture of “Alter Weg” at the Schloss, we can also locate the remaining massifs Knusperhaus, Hospoda u Zámek, Rapunzel and Hinkelstein as well as their routes. From nearby we saw several interesting cracks and chimneys – good prospects thus for the coming days. At the south face of the Knusperhaus a line attracts my attention, which isn’t included in the topo guide yet. A hand- and fist-crack that ends in a deep gap, which hopefully will somehow continue to the summit. From now on the crack doesn’t go out of my head. At sunset we hide our climbing gear and water supplies at the base of the massif, so tomorrow we can approach a bit faster with lighter backpacks and additional drinking water.
The next day we climbe the most beautiful and challenging routes, starting with the great cracks at the Schloss. At noon we find a crevice that extends downward to a room in which we make ourselves comfortable and sit out the midday heat. In the afternoon we climb Hänsel und Gretel at the Knusperhaus east wall. Totally satisfied from today’s climbs we rappel down and make our way back to our campsite.
On our last day in the Tiras Mountains I climb the virgin crack on the south wall of the Knusperhaus. From below the crack looked as if I could jam it perfectly. But it wasn’t quite as good, and at half way I had properly pumped arms. Anyway, I was very satisfied as I reached the top of the peak: the perfect ending to our trip. We had climbed all the rewarding routes, and with the “Pumpspur” we could add yet another great route to the area!
Facts
Let’s see where it is:
First ascent:
Pumpspur (7a, 28 m, 2 pitches) on November 20th, 2011
Starting point:
Ranch Koiimasis, 510 km and 7 hours southwest of Windhoek in the Tiras Mountains. Overnight on beautifully situated campsites or in beautifully decorated chalets.
» Ranch Koiimasis (www.namibia-farm-lodge.com)
GPS coordinates:
S 25° 55' 31", E 16° 15' 35" (» Google Maps)
Our route highlights:
Schloss:
» Alter Weg, Gesprungener Spiegel, Das Gespenst von Canterville
Knusperhaus:
» Pumpspur, Hexenjammer, Hänsel und Gretel
Difficulty:
French 4b – 7a. Latest Topo guide is available at the Ranch. Detailed description of the routes are found in the summit register at any mountain top.
Route equipment:
Nearly all routes have to be protected with mobile devices by yourself, drilled rappel anchors are available on all peaks.
Climbing gear:
60 m double rope, 1 set of Stoppers, 1 set of C4-Camalots up to #6.
Caution:
Chimney- and crack-climbing in single-pitch trad routes are the dominated climbing styles at Koiimasis.
Culinary recommendation:
Oryx- and ostrich-steaks à la Anke (daily fresh available at the Farm); also you really should try the different varieties of biltong in Namibia.
Further information:
» Hasso Gantze’s overview of climbing areas in Namibia (www.spitzkoppe.eu)
» Namibia database of climbing areas and routes (www.sandsteinklettern.de …)
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