THE RORY 2009
By Diane Arvanitakis

Arguably, this challenge has grown into the largest ‘developmental’ climbing challenge in South Africa, perhaps even worldwide. Unique in its capacity to capture both the hardcore climbers and
those new (but with some skill) to the sport. Another objective of the challenge is to promote safety in the mountaineering disciplines of hiking, bouldering and sport climbing at a venue which has the capacity to offer all three disciplines.

The challenge was started five years ago by the parents of Rory Lowther who died after a climbing accident at Swinburne in the Free State. Rory’s dream was to promote mountaineering through a climbing event, which his parents have carried through. Twenty five teams competed in the first challenge in 2005, this year 94 teams (two persons per team) registered and 81 teams submitted their score cards .

On 7 March 2009 challenges competed for 7 hours completing boulder problems and sport climbing and multi-pitch routes, points are also collected for hiking to the various boulders and routes. Each climbing problem has points allocated according to difficulty of the route and the length, and bonus points are scored for flashing , even opening ‘open projects’ at the event, as well as for wearing a helmet. Unfortunately the field of hiking is not fully exploited by challengers, or non-climbers who are encouraged to compete in the event, with only three teams heading to ‘the summit’ of Rensburgskop to score maximum points for hiking.

The challenge attracts participants from KwaZulu Natal, Gauteng and the Free State due to its location, but some Capetonians were present, and in the past Mpumlanga, Eastern Cape, North West Province have been represented. The challenge has also seen international climbers from Canada, Mozambique and Namibia in years past. The character and reach of the competition has
attracted the attention of the UIAA Global Youth Summit showing their support through financial donations. Being a weekend event, it affords the organizers an opportunity to expose the new comers to a broader picture regarding mountaineering. This year participants were required to attend a‘rules briefing’ ensuring the participants understood the complexities of climbing challenges taking care of the formalities. After the challenge, the Saturday afternoon is filled with fun competitive games – this year organisers chose games climbers entertain themselves with at base camps of their mountaineering adventures - a slack-line challenge and the table climbing events kept all entertained not leaving time for the planned hacky sack challenge. Even the youngest spectators got an opportunity to compete in something – the tug-of-war.

A candlelit sundowner memorial service was for those wishing to remember climbers who have passed recently followed by an emotive talk by Selebelo Selamolela, who summitted Mount
Everest in May 2006, on Saturday night based on his book “You don’t fool around with mountains’ exposing the young audience to the realities of high altitude expeditions, having lost the fingers on his right hand to frostbite then. Sunday morning started with a demonstration by the MCSA KZN Search and Rescue team followed by a challenge based on that demonstration. And finally the award ceremony, finishing early to allow time for more before heading home from a weekend filled with climbing.

Lowther’s have organised and co-ordinated the event until 2008 afterwhich they approached the Jo’burg section of
the MCSA, where Rory was a member, to play a role in the organisation in 2009. The Jo’burg section, not blind to the value of the challenge and its contribution to the climbing fraternity, rose to the challenge choosing to invest time toward the main objectives of the event – to promote mountaineering and safety. In doing so, some of the extras that challengers have become used to were removed from the organisers distributing some of the workload back into the hands of the challengers (food and accommodation) and focussing the challenge. A slightly different character than years previously, but more manageable as an event, Another innovation came with the software program designed by Bzerotech Software Engineering, providing an online registration form linked to a digital scorecard which enabled more accurate analysis of results in record times.

The success of an enormous event like this is attributed to the generousity of sponsors and volunteers. Thanks go to the MCSA Jo’burg section Youth portfolio through Diane Arvanitakis who worked side by side with Debbie Lowther as the main coordinators. The rest of the team included Shaun Hope (from the NBL), Roland Magg (President of the MCSA), Micheal Klopper (of Bzerotech Software Engineering), Eric Lowther, Uschi Magg and Jenny Paterson and all those who stepped in on the day, including those who captured results.

The nine member strong KZN Search and Rescue team, headed up by Gavin Raubenheimer provided medical and
other assistance to a youth with a suspected fractured ankle/foot, a shaken up young lady after a safe fall off a
route, and a short search for two juniors who weren’t missing though their mother thought they were.

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