Spitzkoppe

Spitzkoppe is a group of bare granite peaks in the Namib Desert between Usakos and Swakopmund. More than 700 million years old and rising to 1,784m above sea level, the peaks are an abrupt feature of the otherwise flat landscape in the area.

Historically the peak of Spitzkoppe has presented an intimidating challenge to rock climbers in southern Africa. A soldier is rumoured to have scaled the peak in 1904 and made a fire on the summit, which is a mysterious claim given the utter lack of flammable material at the top. A team of climbers from Cape Town were the first to reach the peak, which was given a grade of 24 in the early 1980s.

In 1971, a team of climbers from the University of Cape Town Mountain and Ski Club set a record for the quickest ascent of the peak, putting previous attempts to shame. They scaled the lower pitches without ropes, and reached the peak in four hours. They took two hours to descend, and when they reached the bottom it began to rain for the first time in more than a year.

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