Climbing at Schattenwand – Erongo Mountains, Namibia

Mountain Lifestyle

Climbing at Schattenwand – Erongo Mountains, Namibia

We both slept well and thanks to the ‘blackout’ tent, we’re not rushed out of bed in the morning. Although we both wanted to get up and go climbing, we also both needed a gentle start! It was cool first thing and our camp remained in the shade until nearly 10am, so there was no rush to get going. We brewed a coffee and just sat quietly next to each other in our chairs just looking and marvelling.

It was 11:30 by the time we were ready to leave camp. The climbing is just a short (but impressive) walk away. The geology is remarkable. Real Uncle Bob terrain. I’ve never seen anything like it. Huge spherical boulders ranging in size from a few metres across to bigger than office blocks. All with a strange crystalline texture and lumpy protrusions. It felt a bit like walking through Jurassic Park.

The cliff we chose was a long escarpment with a good range of bolted climbs. The style of climbing took a bit of getting used to. A bit like the Tors of Dartmoor, with rounded, insecure holds that required trust and balance over strength – except that the views were very different! Some of the rock is a bit crumbly (no surprise giving the range of temperatures it must endure!), but the bolts were good and it was great to be climbing.

We climbed a few routes, (all in the shade), then had lunch on a rock in the sun, just gazing a the views. There was some unidentified ‘growling’ nearby that put us on edge a bit (especially Clare as she was on the ground at the time!). I scanned around as best I could from my vantage point, but could see nothing moving.

At the end of the escarpment, some yellow rock markers led the way through the bush to a fantastic viewpoint that looked down on the plains below.

We sat with binoculars scanning the vista, knowing that somewhere down there were zebras, giraffes and rhinos, but all we could get a visual on was a large Gazelle with big horns.

I’m not sure if it’s the heat, the travel, the climbing, the new surroundings or the constant amazing at everywhere we look, but by 16:00 we were pretty much exhausted and decided to get back to camp while we still had the energy! We had a brew in the dappled shade of a tree and while we were sat there about 15 or so Baboons (from babies on backs to pretty big dudes), all crossed the road at the edge of our camp. Amazing to see!

Before it started to cool down, we had an outdoor shower (which felt great). It’s possible to light a fire under the water tank for hot water, but it’s also more than warm enough to just have a cold(ish) one and then warm back up in the sun, which is what we did, as despite being told otherwise, the camp is not stocked with any wood.