Still Wandering

A guide to planning your rock climbing trip to the mighty Spitzkoppe – everything you need to know

Let me begin by saying – you’re making the right decision planning a trip to the Spitzkoppe. The climbing is like no other, and the setting is amazing. You’re in for a good experience. Get psyched!

Climbing Season

Spitzkoppe climbing season is during the Namibian winter – the core winter period being June to August. This is the best time to plan a trip, as you will have lower rainfall and cooler temperatures. Regardless of when you go, you’re going to end up baking in the sun at some point, so pack for a desert climate, sun hoodies are a must!

How to get there

If you are driving from South Africa, Spitzkoppe can easily be reached in a small city car. The Namibian roads are fantastic quality, all tarred and well signposted up until the last section which is gravel but easily do-able in a hatchback or sedan such as a VW Polo. When passing through the border it is useful to bring your own pen! At the time of writing, precautionary measures have been put into place regarding foot and mouth disease, this means that you are not allowed to bring any meat or dairy products into Namibia from South Africa – so be prepared to purchase these in Namibia, or see what being vegan is like for this trip! Google Maps is effective for trip planning – just ensure to download your maps for offline use before reaching the border, as a South African SIM card will cease to function at the border, and there are no shops with Namibian SIMs available until you are well into the country. This is not a major issue though, as the roads are very straight, long and simple to navigate.
If you are flying in, you should fly to Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH). On arrival here, you can rent a car and drive to Spitzkoppe (3 hour drive) or join one of the guided tours.

Accommodation

The Spitzkoppe and Pontoks are inside a commonage that is managed by the local Damara people, called Spitzkoppe Rest camp. Camping is allowed, and this is the form of accommodation I would recommend – the campsites are beautifully set in amongst boulders and if your sights are set on the main event at the Southwest Wall, you have easy access. Booking is required and can be done via the website. It is a large area and well-spaced out, so you will likely be camping pretty much all alone for the duration of your trip. There are a lot of rented overlander 4x4s that are in and out of here on their way to Etosha – these are generally the only other campers you will see. There are also huts available for booking via their website.

The campsites do not have running water or electricity, and they use ventilated pit latrine toilets. There are showers for campers to use close to reception and you can get drinking water for your campsite here as well. A good couple of large water containers/bottles are useful for moving and carrying your water between reception and camp. There is also a fantastic little restaurant near reception and you can get cellphone signal here if needed. Our daily routine after a day of climbing was to head straight here, have a shower, refill the water, tell the loved ones we’re still alive, then get a cold beer at the restaurant!

Food

You need to purchase all your food before reaching the campsite as there are no shops at Spitzkoppe, besides the restaurant, which closes promptly at 5pm. A 12v fridge with solar capabilities is a game changer, otherwise some kind of Evaporative fridge is great – basically a mesh bag on a string with a thick cotton covering that is kept wet (you can set up some sort of water bottle contraption to drip onto it) and when hung up in the shade, should keep your food or drink nice and cool.

Bolting

The climbing at Spitzkoppe is on bolted granite and most routes have fully bolted belays. Most multi pitch routes require a trad rack to be brought along as the bolting is in general quite conservative, so a section or pitch of climbing that can be protected by traditional gear (such as a crack) will be left unbolted. Some routes will have full pitches that are unbolted, others have 1 or 2 traditional placements with the rest bolted, and some are fully bolted. Ensure to look carefully at the guidebook to see what gear is required for the route you are setting out to do. The style is a mix of friction slab (low angle smearing on blank rock) to near vertical crimpy climbing, to beautiful cracks in all shapes and sizes.

Some of the older routes at Spitzkoppe have very bold run outs and old bolts (which are in the process of being replaced). Always double-check the most up to date information using the new Spitzkoppe guidebook , as well as on theCrag.com as it will have warnings and up to date information.

Rack

A rack consisting of the following will get you up most of the climbing in Spitzkoppe :
Ropes: 2 x 60 metre dynamic sport ropes are the go-to, to be able to abseil on the multi-pitch climbs. The extra rope is also useful for hauling. Most of the routes have been bolted assuming the climber is able to abseil 60 metres at a time.

Quickdraws : At least 15 (more if you want to be able to link pitches)
Slings: 6 x 60 cm slings (you can replace some of the quickdraws with alpine quickdraws if preferred)

Cams (I’d recommend throwing in some Totems as some of the doubles):

• Purple BD #5 : 1
• Silver BD #4 : 1
• Blue BD #3 : 1
• Gold BD #2 : 3
• Red BD #1 : 3
• Green BD #.75 : 2
• Purple BD #.5 : 1
• Grey BD #.4 : 1
• Blue BD #.3 : 1
• Regular set of stoppers : BD #1-10

Classic routes

Goldfinger (21)

This is a must do Spitzkoppe line – it takes you to the peak of an obvious large pinnacle known as ‘The Rhino horn’. The history is also cool – it was bolted and opened by Kurt Alberts (Wolfgang Gullich’s climbing partner) in 1999. Best done at sunset.

Rumours of Rain (21/22)

Although very run-out, but mostly safe, this is a fantastic climb to get the mind ready for a big project and help you believe in your rubber! It climbs a beautiful and obvious water chute which can be seen from kilometres away on the large feature called the Sugarloaf.

Normal Route (15)

A big traddy day out that takes you to the summit of the Spitzkoppe (The Matterhorn of Africa !)

Pontok Spitze (15)

Summit route of the mighty Pontoks!

Desert Diamond (23)

Beautiful slab pitches join with a fantastic undercut crack corner system – with a cruxy start ! One of the newer routes, on Pontok 4.

The Slab Chip Experience (25)

Mega Classic – it has it all. Big route with some hard pitches, bouldery pitches, crack pitches. So cool, a must must do route. See www.colerobertsonclimbs.com for topos.

Desert Storm (21)

Thin and sketchy! But classic. Very big run outs, but some cool climbing. Another must do on the Sugarloaf.

Watersports (21)

Mega classic. Clean continuous undercut crack on gear.

Herero Arch (26)

Classic route that follows a rightwards trending undercut crack on the left side of the SW wall, with fantastic thin slab pitches.

Rescue information

There is no mountain rescue organisation operating in Namibia. In the event of an emergency, you can contact Spitzkoppen Lodge at: +264 81 850 2566 | +264 81 149 0827

Permits

Permits for climbing are not required if you are staying at Spitzkoppe Rest camp, as the fees are included in the campsite fees. If you would like to visit only for the day, you will need to pay the necessary conservation fee and day pass rates at reception.  The Northern side of the Spitzkoppe are fenced off and to climb on this side (such as to access the Normal route) you will need to enquire at reception as the access is more sensitive on this side.

Pricing and cash

The campsite does have card facilities, but it is better to bring cash just in case there is no signal or a problem with the machine. They will accept South African Rand or Namibian Dollars – the exchange rate is 1:1. It is easy enough to draw some Namibian dollars at an ATM using a credit card in one of the towns you pass through to reach Spitzkoppe.

Up to date pricing information can be found here.

I hope this article has helped you with planning your trip. For any questions or concerns make a comment below. All the best!