Up and away for outreach

It was William Blake who wrote: "Great things are done when men and mountains meet."

Taking that a step further is the UCT Mountain & Ski Club's outreach programme, headed by second-year climber Megan Greenwood.

The outreach team has joined up with the South African Education & Environmental Project to work with 15 grade 10 pupils from various schools in the province.

The aim is to get them out of their communities and into the great outdoors.

"My desire is to match skills from the club while exposing the kids to different types of climbing," Greenwood said. "For example, we've held meets at Lion's Head, we've been caving at Boomslang Cave above Kalk Bay, climbed the Saddle near Devil's Peak and been rock climbing at the old quarry."

At the end of last year, they spent a night at the Mountain Club of South Africa's hut on Table Mountain.

"We focus on team work," Greenwood said. "At the end of each meet we gather for a debriefing session. It's amazing what comes out. They're extremely open to new things."