Girls day out

I finally made it outdoor climbing this Sunday, when I hit the Luwazi Rock with three other lovely girls. The crag is yet another beautiful place with views over lush green fields (pic1). I believe this is why Uganda is called 'The Pearl of Africa'; in addition to being surrounded by great scenery where ever you go, you get to enjoy a pleasant climate. It hardly ever gets too hot but it is always comfortably warm, while rain storms keep the air fresh.

As normally, it took us a while to ascent the crag, locate top bolts, build reliable anchors and repel down. Unfortunately I could not lead climb because there were no lead belayers. (Read: I was relieved to find out I did not have to face my fear of lead falling.)

We set up two routes and I spent most of the time trying to solve the crux of the harder one (pic2). The other route had an interesting corner part (pic3). After some good climbing we enjoyed a tasty picnic lunch under the shade of a small cliff. Just as we returned to the tackle the routes again it began raining. Unluckily, the crag was targeted by a small but heavy rain storm. It left both the rock and us girls completely wet (pic4).

All we could do was to pack up and head home. One of the most satisfied participants was our car driver, who followed us to the crag and tried rock climbing for his first time. Since hiring a car and a driver is reasonably priced here (approx. 50€ per day) he will get to accompany us again. Because the Luwazi Rock is conveniently only an hour and half away from Kampala, we plan on returning there to continue on our project routes...