On the 3rd of February 2004 a young and exceptionally talented young climber by the name of Rory Lowther was to climb his last crag. Three years later the third annual Rory Lowther Memorial Challenge took place at Swinburne, an event organised by his family and friends to honour and pay tribute to the young man lost, as well as promote safety and awareness in climbing across South Africa.

As dawn broke on Saturday morning climbers from all across South Africa, as well as from Canada, France and Botswana were waking up to a perfect summer day, without a cloud in sight and nothing but an exercise filled day of challenges ahead. After a short breakfast and a briefing at the starting line, the Challenge was ready to begin. Climbers everywhere were buzzing with excitement and admiring their fellow rock lovers who had braved to dress up in a variety of eccentric outfits.

Just after eight, the RLMC 2007 kicked off to the sound of ‘Conquest of Paradise’ and a countdown, as 61 teams made their way through the Sponsor banners and up the mountain.  Some taking on Dolphin Boulder, Platypus or Whale Rock, while others headed for some Sport Climbing like “Time to Climb” and “Long Bolt to Freedom”. The day's proceedings were however halted by a snake hiding under a crack halfway up Blowhole, scaring off several climbers. After serious contemplation and further investigation they discovered that the snake was in fact a harmless little gecko.  Whilst at Spearhead the Search and Rescue team were in action, training their members!

The challenge ended at 15h15 as most challengers made it across the finish line in good time. The rest of Saturday afternoon was spent relaxing in the shade of boulders and trees by some, while others watched the challengers who still had energy to compete in the fun time-keeping Burn-A-Thon. The entrants were encouraged by the spectators, particularly the KZN crowd, as they pushed each other in wheelbarrows, jumped in sacks over tyres and ended up having to choose from a snack of a Big Bar One or a Little Mopani Worm.  A delicious spit braai was enjoyed for dinner. Whilst dining, over 100 spot prizes were given away to the lucky people with Meal Vouchers.  This was followed by the renowned mountaineer and motivational speaker,  Alex Harris, who gave a presentation on Antartica in preparation for his forthcoming trip to the South Pole. The evening ended off with some table climbing in the Bar and Fire Dancing and singing at the Bovine Boulders.  The challengers that were not totally exhausted managed to entertain themselves to the early hours of the morning.

Sunday morning arrived far too soon for most, a farewell breakfast was served, and this was followed by a Self-Rescue Competition organised by the MCSA Search & Rescue Team.  Marshalls tallied up the scores as the crowd waited ever so patiently in the scorching heat.   On behalf of our many sponsors, some awesome prizes were handed out to the top three overall winners, the Best Mixed, Best Ladies & Best Junior Team, as well as the inter-school floating trophy to Treverton and a number of miscellaneous categories. The prize giving was completed by Rory's younger sister, Kathryn, singing ‘Raise Me Up’ with the crowd joining in for the last chorus.

The Rory Lowther Memorial Challenge was a truly memorable and enjoyable experience, despite the serious and solemn tragedy it commemorates.  Thank you so much to everyone who made the RLMC 2007 possible, we trust that every person who was there had a great experience and we hope to see you next year again!

Thanks to the efforts and wonderful gesture of the guys from Kreature.co.za
 a marble plaque has been erected at Rory’s View, we salute you!