What drives a woman to hang from a cliff face by her fingertips, run for hours through icy rain or fight riptide currents with blistered hands? Pure passion!
Rounded tummies in pink tutus. Gangly knees chasing tennis balls. Taut shoulders arching through clear water. Girls at sport, doing what little girls do — ballet, tennis, swimming… Or used to.
Now a new generation of women is taking on sheer cliff faces, sharp boulders, wild water and precarious mountain paths in pursuit of the kind of thrill enjoyed by men for generations — the adrenaline rush.
BETH HIGGINS, ROCK CLIMBER
“It’s like ballet… on rock,” enthuses Beth Higgins. We’re talking over lunch at a city cafe, metres from the law firm where she works as a paralegal, but Beth’s words have blotted out the bustling urban landscape. Her love for climbing is so tangible, she’s instantly taken my mind to the soaring cliffs and absolute silence where she spends every available weekend and, though my gut recoils at the mere thought of clinging to a sheer cliff face like some deranged Spiderwoman, I can’t help but be moved by her passion.
Every weekend and every holiday, Beth is out looking for another mountain to climb. “It’s a great de-stressor because when you’re climbing, you’re concentrating so hard on the moves you haven’t time to think of anything else. Your mind empties of everything but the rock.”
Beth’s introduction to climbing was through a mountain-mad boyfriend. “I’ve always loved the outdoors and hiking, but I found rock climbing surprisingly beautiful — doing a movement on a virgin piece of rock. It’s just you and the rock.”
According to Beth, there are now signi ficant numbers of women participating in what was a solidly male sport where strength was considered king. “But the reality is that technical ability is more important than strength. And mental strength and composure are as important as physical strength. Women are excellent at the technical components, and they have the mental ability to stay focussed and confident.”
Part of the attraction of this adrenaline-infused sport for Beth is the social interaction. “Climbers are very friendly; if someone’s done a route you’re about to do, they’ll enthusiastically share with you what they discovered and how they did it. If you’re stuck on a particular move, they’ll talk you through the options.”
But it’s difficult on relationships if your partner isn’t a climber because a single climb can take you away from home for the whole day — and often an entire weekend. “It’s no fun for a non-climber to sit and watch their climber partner moving slowly over rock for hours on end,” admits Beth.
What draws her back again and again is where rock climbing takes her. “It’s the travel. Climbers are always looking for new routes, new mountains to climb. I’ve climbed the Dolomites in Italy, mountains in the UK, in Greece, in the US. Every climb is different, the challenge is always there.”
Encouragingly for those of us already nauseous at the thought of crawling up a sheer rock face, Beth, who is considered one of SA’s top woman rock climbers, still gets butterflies before every climb. “Accidents do happen and it is usually complacency that’s the cause.”
FRANCES LOOTS, PADDLER
Roll the word “paddling” around in your mouth. It’s gentle, soothing, reminiscent of seaside holidays, plastic buckets and spades, and knee-deep rock pools.
But there are people for whom paddling represents the best kind of adrenaline rush; of sleek, sharp-edged craft punching through waves, of wild sea spray and the ache of muscles stretched to their limit. For Frances Loots, paddling is physical exhilaration. It’s also a special kind of social interaction and a release from the stress of studying. And it is a sport that claimed the life of her beloved mother.
“She died when I was two, on the Berg River,” says Frances of a woman who was one of SA’s top canoeists, an Olympic hopeful so passionate about her sport she gave birth to her daughter en route to a paddling event. “There were canoes strapped to the roof of the car outside the hospital,” laughs Frances. Although this 20-year-old Stellenbosch University student has inherited her parents’ love for paddling (father Johan is a prominent SA paddler and owns a sea kayak shop), she won’t go near rivers. “Not after what happened to my mom. But I do love the sea.”
After hours of intense concentration studying for her accounting exams, Frances loves nothing more than to head out to sea on her surf ski. “Flying through the waves is such a rush. I feel so rewarded,” she says. And she loves the travel opportunities paddling offers. “Last year, I paddled 800km along the west coast of Lake Malawi. It was very challenging — I was the only girl with a group of guys — but it was an incredible achievement. We did about 50km a day, and I loved meeting the local residents who thought we were wonderful because we came into their villages the way they did — by boat — rather than in 4x4s!”
“My advice for anyone wanting to get into paddling is to go down to their local club and get involved in the social side first. That way you can spend time chatting to the experts about the right boat and you can get in practice on borrowed craft without committing to buying. Also, you’ll see women just like you who aren’t expert, who fall, who are learning too. That will give you more confidence to keep trying”. Is Frances ever afraid on the water “I am very respectful of the sea and I won’t take chances,” she says. Right now her only fear is that she doesn’t have enough time to practice.
Kayak vs ski
> A sea kayak is more of a touring craft, says Frances, with place in the boat to store things.
> A surf ski is a light, long and streamlined racing boat.
> A paddle ski is shorter, more of a pleasure craft really, used to catch waves.
> A canoe is more often associated with rivers.
* For more info on paddling, go to www.sapaddler.co.za
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