Nodes in Rwanda

Climbing route at the left side of the panga cliff. First hanger was stolen. Bring a clipstick or an 8mm stainless steel hanger to protect the start.

Jumpy start

L1 Sport 6a+, L2 Trad (+old pitons) 6b, L3 Sport 6a For the topout it is advisable to bring an 8mm Petzl Coeur remouvable bolt, because people keep stealing the top-out bolt. There is an 8mm hole to place the Petzl Coeur for belaying the top-out. More info about the route to follow

Crimpy!

Short but fun! Technical face climb.

Central wall, right route, glue-in bolts Attention: big lose rock in the middle of the route

Left of Ukuezi

Hard variation of Nasho Nights. Jumpy start to dodgy traverse. Crux is a power move above the 3rd bolt.

An impressive 500 foot (150 meter) cliff on the south side of the Ruhengeri-Gisenyi road. A well known landmark, it has even appeared on MTN billboards in Kigali! Bigogwe has beautiful views of the heavily populated countryside, as well as of the Karasimbi and Nyarigongo volcanoes.

History: This climb was reportedly used as a training exercise by the Rwanda military in the pre-genocide period, and old cables and pitons are much in evidence. The line described above was climbed on May 23, 2004 by Doug Teschner, Erin Shutes, and Sive Bresnihan. This was apparently the first ascent in many years and attracted a large crowd of up to 1000 local observers.

This sweet climb is one of the best in Rwanda! It generally follows the obvious, right-of-center crack (mostly off-width) which runs the full height of the cliff. Good rock (with many climber friendly nubbins), sustained climbing, and exciting run outs make for a great outing. A classic trad route with route finding challenges, lichen, etc. Don’t miss it!

1. Overcome vegetation to reach the crack proper. Climb the crack and face to its right, past three pitons (getting past the third is the route’s 5.6+ crux) followed by a thought-provoking 5.5 run out (80 foot ground fall potential) up the face to the right of the crack. Finally protection! Belay at a small grassy stance with two pitons for the anchor. 100 feet.

2. Nice, but easy climbing to the left of the crack, then unpleasant bushwhacking to a nice stance with bolts and a cable. 50 feet , 5.4

3. Up face above, eventually crossing the crack back to the left, then later back right to a semi-hanging belay with three pitons. 90 feet, 5.6

4. Surmount the bulge above, then follow the off width crack up a thin face to a cable around a chockstone and (higher) a cable and bolts hidden inside the wide crack. 60 feet 5.5R

5. Up the crack and face to the right with some exciting unprotected friction moves to a hidden piton on the left. Continue past another pin, then traverse left across orange lichen to a short inside corner leading to a grassy stance below a blocky outcrop. (Note: spectator children may boldly descend to this point from the top.) 110 feet, 5.6 R

6. Climb the corner and face above to the top. 50 feet, 5.5 R

cliff of +-12m with couple of routes.

Boulder field

A nice 300 foot (100 meter) crag , with a very short approach, on the north side of the Ruhengeri-Gisenyi road, about 15 minutes drive from Ruhengeri. Expect a crowd (and some run outs!). The east side of the cliff is characterized by very steep rock with few cracks. The routes described here are on the lower angled south face closer to the road. Much of the protection is ancient bolts that look like pitons driven into the rock.

Quickly viewing the cliff from the road (before you are surrounded by children), you will observe a high point of land with eucalyptus trees at the center of the cliff base. Nkuli Dancing starts 2/3 of the way (100 feet) down to the right from this apex, directly below an old bolt.

1. Up the nice slab past three old bolts to a pleasant stance with three bolts. 100 feet, 5.4 **

2. Climb the slab above (with one bolt to the left) toward a grassy ledge. Pass the grass at its right edge and traverse back left to an awkward hanging belay with 2 bolts. (Note: expect some kids to join you at this ledge by boldly traversing across the face from the right.) 60 feet, 5.4

3. This is the crux pitch if you follow the standard route without the variations described below. Exposed traverse left, crossing a large inside corner, then straight up a face passing one bolt before a run out. Eventually step right over a grassy ribbon to an awkward standing belay with two pins. 100 feet, 5.5 R

4. Up slabs to the top. 90 feet, 5.5 R

Alternatives to the first pitch (ending at the same belay stance as pitch one):

1a. Start a little lower to the right (facing the cliff) and join the regular route part way up. Nice climbing, but a bit run out. 100 feet, 5.5 R **

1b. Start closer to the apex and follow a rising traverse (with crack) right to join the regular route ¾ of the way up. 110 feet, 5.5

3a. Head right to a thin move past a pin/bolt, then continue right to a grassy ledge with little for an anchor. 100 feet, 5.7

4a. Continue right without protection to the top. 90 feet, 5.5 R

3b. Step slightly left then climb unprotected rock just right of the obvious inside corner. Unprotected moves right lead to a curved arch and a semi-hanging nut belay. 60 feet, 5.5 R

4b. Step left and up nice white rock to a dubious small friend placement, then sustained, thought provoking climbing without protection to the top. 60 feet, 5.7 X

The routes may be short (30 feet), but the location, just minutes from the heart of Kigali, and the scenic setting on the steep slopes of Mt. Jali make “Secret Valley” very popular.

Hard- A steep face to the right of Couloir. 5.9

The best route at Secret Valley.

Climb the couloir to a steep crescendo finish. 5.7 +.

The stepped buttress to the left of Couloir . 5.9

The gully/corner to the left of Escalator. 5.3

A nice, sustained face climb to the left of Easy Up. 5.7 Reportedly a frog was first observed climbing this route, hence the name.

Just left of Frog I, pull up the steep wall and finish. 5.8

The short face climb on the boulder just below the climbs described above. This is the same outcrop where the kids gather to watch the climbing. You need a very large sling to set up an anchor over the top of the boulder.

Rating unknown 5.8+ is a guess.

good rock just too short and too far away.

To reach this pleasant 5.5 layback corner, scramble down to the right (facing outward).

This route is approached by heading back down to the left (facing outward). A short steep overhanging face 5.8+ (Belayer should be placed 20 feet below the anchor to prevent a swinging fall.)

This route is approached by heading back down to the left (facing outward). The obvious crack on the face of the outcrop. 5.4

This route is approached by heading back down to the left (facing outward). A similar route to the right of Doug’s Delight 5.4

This route is approached by heading back down to the left (facing outward). Perhaps the nicest route on this outcrop follows the unprotected friction slab next to Doug’s Delight. 5.7

This route is located on a separate outcrop near Paul’s Puzzle. A short, strenuous layback on perfect rock. 5.8 A direct start (avoiding the boulders) would be considerably harder.