Mounain Spirit Guiding
From Paris you can get a direct flight to Antananarivo for about 820€.
Welcome to Antanarivo!
We arranged getting picked up from the airport and are allready on the way to Finantsanarivo.
A quick visit in the local Casino,
some food shopping,
and we are back on the road again towards Tsaranoro.
Lucky we dont have to take a ride with them. Petrol is expensive for the locals therefore you dont see empty cars driving.
People are very friendly and it feels very safe to travel.
People seem to like staring at us.
Along the road you always find people selling food and whatever they produce.
Not all transport has got an engine yet!
After a day and a half in the car we arrive in TSARASOA. The climbing looks fantasic!
Great spots for our tents and we even get dinner cooked...luxury life!
Our first rock contact is on Black Magic Woman on the Limur wall.
It takes us about 2h from our camp to get to the climb.
Eva starts on the first pitch, 6a+.
The second pitch 6a+ is well spaced between the bolts.
The pitches get harder the higher we climb. 6b for Eva on the 3rd pitch.
On the 4th pitch 6c+ we turn around. To far for us between the bolts on our first day climbing in Zaranorro.
A nice shot of Graham climbing next to us on Ebola 6b+ max.
On our second climb we decide to try CROIX DU SUD on VATOVARINDI.
3h of walking through fantastic Madagascar landscape lead us to the base of the climb.
The locals have build a water system to collect the water for their rice feelds.In the back gound Tsaranoro the bigest tower of the valley.
On the final slopes up towards VATOVARINDI.CROIX DU SUD starts on the left side of the wall.
The bolts are well spaced but we are getting used to it. Fantastic climbing for Eva on the second pitch 6a.
It is very seldom you find water runnels in granit. The heavy rain during the rain periode makes it possible. Great fun on this 6b pitch
A little slopy and not to many bolts. Great fun higher up on the wall too, another 6b pitch.
Last pitch! 6b+, we are close to the summit!
By the time we reach the base of the climb again the sun starts to go down. Great day!
Another day aonther climb! CASNULLARD on KARAMBONI.
We leave camp just before dawn. After an hours walk we get a fantastic sun rise over Dondy.
We very much recomand to stay on the trails! But sometimes they are difficult to find. Axel is breaking trail trough waist deep grass. It feels a bit like powder.
The grassfeelds turned into bushes, great landscape though.
In front our route, we are getting closer!
While I am climbing on the second pitch,
Axel is comming up on the first one behind us.
The route follows most of the way big water runnels.
The higher we get the easier the climbing gets and the less bolts we find.Eva leading on one of the last few pitches.
Very slabby, but great fun. Eva climbing on the second last pitch.
At about 12 o´clock we reach the top of the actual climb; great ambiance with the walls of Tsaranoro in the back.
A few minuits walk over granit slabs lead us to the...
...summit
On the descent we follow the west ridge of Lemur Wall.
After a nice days rest we climb PECTORINE on LIMUR wall.
The route is about 300m long and located on the steeper left part of the wall.
Great vertical climbing all the way through. Eva is coming up on the 3rd pitch 6a.
The 4th pitch 6b starts with a short traverse on fairly small handholds.
Great vertical climbing also higher up on pitch 4, the hardest pitch of the climb.
The bolts are still well spaced on the best protected route we climbed in this region. Here Eva on the last pitch, 6a.
On our next rest day we spottet a snake by our lunch table.
Our local camp manager cought her and..
..of course Eva had to say hi as well!
OUT OF AFRICA, on TSARANORO.
Just after dawn I start of with the first pitch.
Like most climbs in the valley OUT OF AFRICA gets the first sun on the day. Here Eva on the second pitch 6a.
Pitch 4 (6b+), the sun is allready strong and it is getting warm.
The climb followes the ramp below and traverses to the left after. Below you can see our backpack that we have left behind on the 4th belay.
Eva is comming up on the last pitch of the day. 6c+.
We know we won´t finish before the dark and we are well stressed.The bolts are well spaced also on the harder pitches and to take a fall is most of the time not an option.
On the descent we rappell the route. 2x60m ropes are mendetory.
For now we say goodby to TSARASOA, its fantasic climbing
and the friendly locals.
We drive back to Antananarivo form where we fligh to the north to do some well protected sports climbing.
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