In mid-July 2026, after a long season of coaching Whetstone’s competitive team, my two friends, Gabe Krzykwa and Sarah Silverman, and I went on the trip of a lifetime: a 4 week climbing trip to the bouldering mecca of Rocklands, South Africa.

We touched down in Cape Town in the late afternoon, and after some very tense moments learning to drive on the left side of the road we were en route to Rocklands. After a three-hour drive, we arrived at the Flora House in Clanwilliam, our home for the next four weeks.

On day one, we ran into some old CSU friends, Jess and Anna Walker, and spent the day climbing five-star line after five-star line. Some highlights from the day were Gabe sending Albatross V11, a terrifying extension to the classic V10 dyno Hole in One. Sarah started her trip strong with Arch Valley, V6, while I started calibrating to the Rocklands style on classics such as Weichi V10, Minki V8, and Machine or Freak V10.

Day 2, we hit another one of Rocklands’ major zones: 8 Day Rain. After a fun day of running around on moderates, I started to hone in on my mission for the trip: flash everything. The first big flash objective was Barracuda V11, a striking prow with a perfect line of amazing crimps. I warmed up and, to my pleasant surprise, took it to the top on my flash go.

Day 3 was supposed to be a rest day, but, as would become a theme for the trip, we were too psyched to rest. We went to the Coop, an area best known for one of the most beautiful hard highballs in the world: The Finnish Line V15. Even though I was far too intimidated to try The Finnish Line, I had a very successful day on the smaller stuff. After a decent flash go on Night Show V12, I managed to finish it off two goes later. After Night Show, I shifted my focus to Ménage à Trois V14. With small crimps, shouldery moves, and techy heel hooks, I knew this boulder would suit me perfectly. Ten attempts later, I was standing on top. It was at this point that I realized I might be in pretty good form. After a close encounter with some baboons, we headed home.

The next few days were spent running around DePakhuis, ticking off more life-listers. The highlight for me was El Corazon V13, a boulder that I had been obsessed with since I was a 10-year-old kid watching Daniel Woods do the FA in the classic climbing movie Progression. Gabe climbed Electric Copper V11 with the quickness, and Sarah polished off the ultra-classic Human Energy V7. I also flashed two more amazing V11s: Gliding Through the Waves Like Dolphins and Deep Turtle.

After a week in Rocklands, we finally got a chance to visit the Roadside area, which, to our dismay, had a 30-minute approach. I flashed more life-listers like Caroline V10, Out of Balance V11, and Nutsa V11 before burning myself out trying the ultra-classic Fred Nicole testpiece, Monkey Wedding V15.

Over the next three weeks in Rocklands, we continued to run around like kids in a candy store. I managed to achieve a lifelong goal by flashing The Guest List V13 and then following it up with flashes of Quintessential and Moonshadow (both V13). Gabe climbed the terrifying Into the Void V12: two back-to-back massive dynos, topping out around the 25-foot mark. Sarah continued her rampage, polishing off 60 Is the New 30 and Minki (both V8). In the final few days of the trip, Gabe managed to climb one of the best boulders in the world, Shoshaloza V12, despite having nearly every finger taped and bleeding. I spent a few days working on another Fred Nicole crimp testpiece, Amandala V14. Although I wasn't able to put it together this trip, we are already planning a return trip next summer.

We're beyond stoked for Everett after a trip like this. And proud to have a program like GCOR (Go Climb Outside Reimbursement), which reimburses staff for travel costs on climbing trips, helping our team go have their own epic adventures.