TheCorporateNight
About400meterslong,E1-5a
MountKalongo,NorthernRegion,Uganda
FA.E.Freudenthal,L.Hodgkinsonon30/11/2015
TherouteclimbstheSouth-EastfaceofMountKalongo,startinginthelargest
gully,thenmostlystraightupfollowingcrackssystemsandeasierbutrunout
slabstothetop.Overall,ithasreallygoodandfairlysustainedclimbing,therock
issolidandonlyafewpassagesrequireyoutobattlewithvegetation.Wetook
about8hfortheclimband1hforthedescent.
Bewarnedthatthetopslabswillbeimpassableiftheyarewetandbackingoff
fromthemwillbetricky/expensive.Thisisthedescriptiontothebestofour
recollection;theremightsomemistakesandbettervariations.
Approach:MountKalongotowerssome400mabovethevillageofKalongo,in
theNorthernRegionofUganda(map:https://goo.gl/maps/4JjRGh9ynD42).The
routeisonSouth-Eastfaceofthewall.Fromthepathinthevillagebehindthe
hospitalfence,spotthelargegullywithaverytall,straighttreewithwhitebark
stickingoutofit.Simplythrashyourwaythroughthehighgrassandboulders
untilyoureachthebottomofthegully.Thestartoftherouteisabout30mleftof
therighthandwallofthegully,whereanarrowblackslabwidensoutintosome
bushes.
Pitch1(10mS–4a):Climbthedelicateslabtotheundercutblockslightlyleft,
withashortcracksplittingit,intoabushybelaystancebelowablankwall.
Pitch2(30mHS–4b):Followthebaseofthewalltotherightthroughthe
bramblesuntilyoureachaleaningpillarconnectingtotherightedgeofthe
gully.Climbthepillardelicatelyuntilitjoinstherighthandwallandfollowthe
cracktosomeawkwardblocks,mademoreawkwardbytrees.Roundthefinal
boulderontoasmallledgewithaslingableboulderforasolidbelayandalarge
treecomingoutoftherockbehind.
Pitch3(20m-VDiff):Climbupthetreebehindthebelaydirectlyupwardsand
followtherampuptotheleftundersomelightvegetation.Traversesomesmall
bouldersuntilyoureachalargeclearingatthebottomofablankblackwalland
thebaseofthewhitebark,tall,straighttreeyoucanseefromthetown.Lookout
forsnakes!
(Variationpitch:climbtotheleftoftheledgethenupthepillartothenextledge)
Pitch4(30mHS–4b):Takethemossychimneyattheverybackoftheledge
andontheleftsideofthewall.Roundthechockstone,thenfurtherupthegully
climbtheeasyslabtoatreebelay.
Pitch5(40mVS–4b):Climbthegroovetotherightofthetreeuntilyoureach
theprecariouslybrokentopofthepillar.Takeacommittingstepleftand
traverseacrosstheslabandintothegully.Followthegullyuntilthewall
steepensandtheroutebreakstotherightintoanarrowpassageenclosedbya
flake.Traversetothemossfilledflakeandclimbupandoverthebushtoyour
leftintoacomfortableledgewithtwotreesforabelay.
Pitch6(25mHVS-5a):Followtheundercutcracksuptothelargetreeabove,
thentraversetotherightundertheoverhangtoaslopingledgewithalarge
groovecutintoit.Down-climb1-2metersuntilyourfeetreachthesmalledges
belowandshufflerightwardsuntiltheedgesdisappear.Thenreachagoodcrack
ontherightoftheslab.Moveeasilystraightupintoasmallgroovewithabelay
about6metresbelowthedark,vegetatedgullyabove.
Pitch7(40mVS–4a):Climbthegrassyblackrockstothebottomofthegully,
andbridgeboldlyupwardstothefirsttree.Thrutchandsquirmyourway
betweenthetreesuntilthegulleysplitswithatreeandanoverhangingblock
endingthenaturalpassagetotheleft.Fromabovethetree,rockovertotheright
ontoanexposedgreyslabwithadeepcracktotheright.Eitherthrutchupthe
crackorenjoythefaceclimbing.Thelargetreeatthetopmakesforastunning
hangingbelay.Enjoytheview!
Pitch8(45mE1–5a):Climbabovethetreeintoalargegroovewithan
undercutcrackfollowingtheleftwall.Followthiscrack,thenclimbstraightup
andrightintoacruxsectionwithpoorholdsandworsegear.Graspforthegrass
inthegroovetoyourrightandbreathasighofrelief.Afewmetresabove,follow
theseamtoyourright(notthecrackonyourleft)andcontinueupuntilyou
reachafridge-sizestuckblockonyourleftthatcanbeslungforabelay.
Pitch9(35mHS–4a):Followthecrackstraightabovethebelayupwardsuntil
itdisappears.Then,padupwithnogearforafurther25metresuntilyoufinda
largegrasstuftwithasolidflakeaboveitwithspaceforacoupleofcamsanda
dishearteningbelay.
Pitch10(45mS–4a):Furtherunprotectedclimbingonroundedblackrockand
grasstuftsendswithasecurebelaypointinadeepcrackabovegrasstufts.
Pitch11(20mHVS–4c):Continueupfromthecrackwithgoodgearuntilyou
arefacedwithasteepblackwallwithashallowcrackandasmalltreeaboveit.
Thereisgearatthebottomrightundertheflake.Boldlyclimbthecrackandface
edges(nogear)beforeslingingthetreeforawelcomebelay.
Pitch12(50mS–4a):Furthereasybutpoorlyprotectedclimbingcontinues
zigzaggingandtrendingleftwardsuptheslabswithsomeshallowcracksand
grasstufts,toabigblockontheleftsideofasteepening.Youshouldbelayhere
tomakethepitchunder50m(therearenogoodbelaysabovesolearnfromour
experience!).
Pitch13(100m-Diff):Climboverthelargeblocktoagentleslopewhereyou
canbelayononeofthetreesorboulders.Then,scrambleupthroughthesteep
grassandtreesuntilyoureachtheradiotower.Congrats.You’vemadeit!
Descent:Headnorthwestacrossthesummittofindtheroaddown.You’ll
probablymeetBosco,themilitarymanstationedatthesummit.Sayhifromus
andsignhisbook.Hemightgiveyoucitrusfruit.Thedescenttakes~1hr.