Nodes in Krakadouw

Krakadouw is an area of the Northern Cedarberg. It is similar to the better known Tafelberg and Wolfberg climbing areas, but has a different, more remote vibe. The walk-in is easier than Tafelberg, but takes about as long. The climbing takes place on amphitheatres on the Southern and Western sides of the Groot Krakadouw peak, as well as some single pitch routes on middle Krakadouw. You'll need a Cape Nature Conservation permit. No bolting allowed, and no fires.

Takes the steep wall and very overhung corner/groove line left of GOT.

Start: from a little raised platform on the left of the wall.

Climb up and right on the jugs. Three pitches following the left-hand trending break into the V-corner line high on the left skyline of the wall. Aid out under the first roof system up left into the grooves at the top.

Left of the big T-Rex corner is an incredibly steep wall with a roof blocking access for most of the lower section. Scramble up to below a 10m roof and continuation crack going up the centre of the wall.

1. Climb the roof and continue up the steep wall to a ledge.

2. Start on the left and climb steep jugs into a gnarly groove which turns into a recess higher.

One of the finest lines in the country. The roof and crack immediately right of GOT, joining that route's belay ledge. The name and date are provisional, since the route has only been top-roped.

To the right of GOT is a steep corner/pillar before the main dihedral of T-Rex. The route starts immediately below the pillar in a steep corner. 1 pitch leads up the left-hand side of the pillar to a ledge. Walk right to find a gargoyle and rappel.

Just right of the main TMM pillar is a smooth wall undercut towards the right with a peg in the first rail.

1. A hard boulder problem gains the peg. Continue up the corner on the right of the flake to a ledge. Scramble up to the highest block under the roof on the right.

2. Combined tactics give access into the crack. Straight up to the next ledge.

3. Continue up the same crack to the top.

Takes the huge dihedral in the middle of the left-hand end of this section of the cliff. Start at the undercut flake right of CT, below and left of the dihedral above.

1. Rail right to the grass tuft and climb the crack to the ledge. Walk right to the crack in the dihedral.

2. Climb the crack.

3. Continue up the open-book on the right. Traverse right at the top. Walk a short way right past the overhang at the top.

4. Climb up, rail right and then back left higher onto the face. Continue diagonally left to the top.

The route climbs the wall 10-20m right of the T-rex. Start from blocks and grass between enormous blocks.

1. Climb up to a ledge.

2. Climb a rounded layback flake and go diagonally right towards a wide gully/groove. Traverse left and up grooves to a large ledge.

3. Start midway between T-Rex's crack on the left and the gully on right. Climb the steep face to a small ledge.

4. Go diagonally left and up to a steepening. Rail right and follow grooves to a ledge. Traverse left to a dassie ledge.

5. Take the first break along the ledge and climb the groove to the top.

The Subsidiary Amphitheatre left of the Gendarme is marked by huge staggered roofs 20-30m up. The left-hand roof is the largest and is terminated on its right-hand side by a large block. Start directly below this.

1. Climb to a small overhang, pull through and move left. Climb to the overhang and traverse right. Continue to a steep stepped corner to stance under a smooth open book.

2. Rail left, up a slab to a flared recess on the left-hand side of the large block beneath the roof. Climb the recess to a stance on the right.

3. Pull through the roof. Move left for 4m and straight up the overhanging wall.

4. Climb to the top.

The route starts directly below a prominent black water streak right of the big roof and finishes more or less above it.

1. Climb up and through an overlap and up to a roof. Move right, continue up a corner until able to go left to a stance.

2. Move left and climb a short, smooth open-book (Juggernaut). Exit left and continue left until able to climb back rightwards to stance at the level of the obvious rail.

3. Rail hard right for 10m and up to the next rail. Climb to a stance at the level of the obvious rail.

4. Climb diagonally right over grey rails to a hollow. Continue to an alcove.

5. Traverse left and climb up to ledges.

6. Continue to the summit.

1. Start left of Kayaman. Climb up a vague break to a small ledge. Using a fraction of Kayaman, stance at the Dassie ledge.

2. Climb right to the beginning of the rail and move directly up right, then left, and right again up to a stance.

3. Move right and diagonally left up a face to stance on the right-hand edge.

4. Rail right to a juggy break, and then diagonally leftward to the top (70m).

Left of Icthyosaurus crack is a smooth wall. A line of jugs run diagonally left to right.

1. Climb up the face to a ledge, Go diagonally left to a small overhang. Pull onto a ledge.

2. Go left, pull up on jugs and diagonally left to a handrail. Traverse right to a bucket-stance.

3. Start on the right, climb diagonally left and up. Traverse right to the skyline, over a bulge and to a stance on the right.

4. Climb diagonally right on jugs.

5. Move left through a steep rounded section to the top.

"The obvious layback crack up the amphitheatre. Mega!"

A superb route that takes the obvious crack in the grey wall left of the Gendarme. Scramble up to a higher ledge below the long overhang which blocks access directly into the crack. The route climbs the smooth face immediately right of the easy Kayaman crack.

1. From the block climb to the rail and up past more rails which lead rightwards to a long ledge. Walk right to a curved scoop.

2. Move up the scoop and back left to a rail. Go right and up before moving left to a ledge. Climb into the crack to a hanging belay just higher.

3. Climb past the roof and up the crack. Stance on the right.

4. Climb the break and wall to the top (65m).

Left of the second rappel down the Gendarme Gully is an obvious layback crack (oft tried). Start at the groove which is the next break left.

1. Pull through the groove and up to a ledge with a large block.

2. Walk 6m right to a break. Climb straight up to a ledge. Diagonal left to a stance below (Leviathan takes the left-hand side of this pillar).

3. Climb the crack to a ledge, walk right to the standard descent down the Gendarme Gully.

Start on the extreme right-hand side of Rastaman amphitheatre (the last recess on the right before the descent route).

1. Start in the big crack. Rail left to a shallow recess. Up and onto the slab above to a stance.

2. Move left and climb to the base of a pillar.

3. Climb the crack in the middle of the pillar, exit right.

4. Start far right and climb up and leftwards below a huge roof. Climb the obvious overhanging crack/bulge on jugs. Stance on the right.

5. Climb straight up to large roof, Rail left and through the roof on flakes.

The feature is a huge two thirds up the face, above which is the prow on the skyline. Scramble up the gully to a large ledge (level with the second rappel down the chimney. Traverse 20m left to a beacon.

1. Climb the face, then traverse left along the rail until able to move up and right to a ledge. Walk 10m right.

2. Climb diagonally left and to the base of a pillar.

3. Climb the chimney on the left of the pillar, continue to a small stance. Move up and left through an undercling flake to stance on blocks below the huge roof.

4. Step down and go left. Move up under the roof and rail left to the lip. Pull through to a stance.

5. Climb to the top, keeping left of the nose.

The lower tier of the Subsidiary Amphitheatre. The wall extends from the cave/campsite on the left to a small gendarme on the right.

The juggy wall on the right-hand side of the cave.

Around the corner of the cave on the right is a clean corner on grey rock.

Walking along from the cave a smooth wall is reached bounded high on the left by a smooth corner, and by a large corner/crack on the right. This is the South America Wall.

Start at a mini-ramp below a flake dead centre of the wall. Climb to a rail (thin), and traverse left for 10m to the first break in the roof. Power through and go left into the corner. Climb up and find a gargoyle to rappel.

The corner/crack on the right-hand side of the wall.

This is the wall above the ledge from which one abseils down behind the Gendarme. Some climbing has been done on this wall in the past but, to the best of my knowledge, never been written up. So the routes described below may not be first ascents.

This line takes the prow at the left hand end of the Black Wall buttress just above the gendarme abseil point.

1. Start on the left, about 2.5m below the base of a narrow corner, with a hairline crack at the back. Move up to a rail and right, where difficult moves gain arête at the top left side of the corner. Continue up on good holds to the face above. Traverse right, and then up featured rock to stance on top of a white ramp.

2. Move up and right. Tricky moves up to a horn, then pretty much straight up on excellent, grey rock to the top.

Just left of the centre of the wall is a heavily pocketed roof at a height of about 8m. Some 10m left of this roof is a left facing corner crack. Start on the face below and left of this crack. Descent: To escape from here traverse 15m to the right passing behind a big flake into a gulley. Follow this back to the main access gulley where a 15m abseil takes one back down.

1. Climb the face to the left of the yellow patch and move into the corner crack. Climb this, then rail left until it is possible to pull through the left end of the double-tiered roof. Move back to the right along the lip until able to pull up into another crack which is followed to a stance in a recess with chicken heads.

2. Climb the layback crack above and then, at the gulley, step right and climb faces and cracks to a ledge.

Just left of the centre of the wall is a heavily pocketed roof at a height of about 8m. Start directly below and 1m right of the right side of the roof.

1. Head up over a bulge and then up and left to the right side of the pocketed roof. A short ramp leads to a distinctive fin-like feature over the next narrow roof. Fight through the fin and then straight up the thin face above. Move diagonally up and left to a position where a delicate, balance move leads left into a tube-like feature. From here head straight up on featured rock.

Abseil point in situ (as of 2015).

R. Halsey & M. Penso

On the bottom, right hand side of the wall the ground rises up to meet a short ledge. On the left this ledge ends at a short, blunt, undercut prow about 10m off the ground. Grimposaurus starts just left of this prow at ground level (i.e. below the ledge).

1. Start up a crack just left of the small roof (undercut prow). Continue slightly left into the obvious, big crack which heads up and back right towards the top.

C. North, R. Halsey & M. Thilo

On the bottom, right hand side of the wall the ground rises up to meet a short ledge. On the left this ledge ends at a short, blunt, undercut prow about 10m off the ground. Start at the left hand end of the ledge.

1. Climb up and left to pass the roof at ~8m on its left. Head up to a narrow, slightly leftward tending, layback crack. Climb this and then continue straight up to the top.

On the bottom, right hand side of the wall the ground rises up to meet a short ledge. On the left this ledge ends at a short, blunt, undercut prow about 10m off the ground. The left half of the ledge is capped by a small roof at about 8m height. Start on the ledge below the right hand end of the roof.

1. Climb up a break just right of the roof above then step left into a corner system just above the roof. Continue up the corner system / crack, past a large pinnacle, to the top.

On the ledge above the second, shorter abseil on the Gendarme there is a huge block up and on the climber's right. This route follows the striking arete above the end of the ledge.

Start on the right of the arete. Climb to the rail below the crux and place some solid gear. Use small crimps on the right hand face to reach a thin rail and then ease left to the big hold on the arete. Alternatively, a bit more satisfying but a grade or two harder, use a pinch on the arete itself to go straight up. Crank a couple more moves until able to get in more gear then head to the top.

On the front of the Gendarme is a square recess capped by a roof. Start at the left-hand crack.

1. Climb the off-width, move right and up the wall tending diagonally left to a ledge.

2. Walk left to a corner leading up tot he roof. Climb up and traverse left to a layback crack breaking through.

A Yosemite type crack on the corner of the Gendarme just before the amphitheatre comes into view. Start next to a boulder 10m right of exodus. Climb the hand-crack 1.5m left of the corner to the overhang. Pull through and climb the finger-crack to the rappel anchor.

Just right is a corner/groove. Two pitches to the top of the Gendarme.

Further along a rightwards leaning layback crack is reached. Climb up to a rappel peg.

Start around the corner from Route X.

1. Climb the knobbly wall right of a wide crack. Trend right and back let to a ledge. Move right and up to the base of a layback crack.

2. Climb the crack moving right a the top. Walk about 25m left to the end of the large ledge.

3. Climb the grey wall left of the overhang to the top of the Gendarme.

The obvious corner left of the orange overhangs. About 150m left of the start of the frontal route.

1. Ascend the corner. Belay next to a detached boulder

2. Climb up next to the boulder. Belay on top of the boulder.

3. Start up and right. Climb yellow rock to a rail. Rail left, pull up onto arete (undercut). Move diagonally right across face to grass ledge on right.

4. Pull through roof on left, climb wall above to ledge. Traverse left and rappel off the Gendarme.

Start almost in the middle of the amphitheatre. There is a large beacon under a small roof.

1. Climb the recess/jam crack

2. Up, and then right out to the nose. Up this to broken rock. Scramble up to the base of a ramp with a split block at the top.

3. Climb the ramp and into the crack.

4. Up right and diagonally up to a large ledge.

5. Starting near the middle of the face, climb up on jugs.

6. Traverse left into the corner, then up to a ledge.

7. Continue up for about 20m, then crawl right for 45m.

8. Climb the face, then further on, to belay below overhangs.

9. Traverse right around the corner, through a whole and to a ledge.

10. Traverse further and up a yellow face to easy ground

Start about 30m right of the Amphitheatre route. Scramble up a crack to the upper ledge.

1. Start on the left, climb a short face and across to the open book. Take-off from blocks and go up the recesses. Exit left.

2. Climb diagonally to where it is possible to go straight through a roof above.

3. Traverse right on good rails.

4. Climb through the crack in the overhang. Climb the crack on the left. Handrail right until able to move diagonally back left.

5. Traverse left and climb thin wall just right of the bottomless crack.

6. Move left and up 15m. Traverse right and up to the highest of two giant ledges.

7. Start from behind a large block on the right, and climb a crack. Move right to a cubbyhole and stance further right.

8. Move up to the overhang and through to the top.

"A totally anthropoid experience!" D. Cheesmond in his 50 Selected Routes.

Orang-Outang starts more or less in the middle of the amphitheatre in a right facing open-book. The Grooves starts about 6m right and follows a groove/crack line leading three quarters of the way up the wall.

1. Climb the right-hand crack, walk 2m left at a ledge to another crack. Follow this to a ledge.

2. Traverse left, then back right to a stance above the start of the pitch in a small cave with grass.

3. The Boat Pitch: Go back left to an orange covered slab. Climb this into a groove and up to a jug. Go right and up the crack to a stance.

4. Continue straight up to a large ledge.

5. Scramble up easy rock to the giant ledge.

6. Climb the juggy wall to a cave/dassie ledge belay.

7. The Gorilla Pitch: Climb diagonally left towards a vague recess, heading for the left of a vague pinnacle. Move right to a stance.

8. Climb the crack to the top.

In the middle of the amphitheatre is a prominent orange-grey recess capped by a large triangular overhang. The route starts directly below this overhang on a large block 10m left of KK. Scramble up to the upper ledge.

1. From the block, pull up onto the face. Up a recess to a ledge. Continue up to a small stance.

2. Climb the crack to the roof. Move left into the red recess and up to a block stance below the upper roof.

3. Traverse right and climb up to ledge. Continue up through a roof to a grassy ledge. Traverse right to belay at the end of the ledge.

4. Move across a slab 5m. Pull through a roof. Traverse diagonally right to a block ledge. Drop down and rail into a recess. Climb to a dassie ledge below a roof. Move 5m back left to a grassy ledge.

5. Move diagonally across rightwards to jugs leading upwards slightly left, steeply, up to a stance on the right.

6. Move left to the lip of a small roof on the left. Easier climbing up to a ledge.

7. Continue up to a higher ledge.

8. Climb a recess, just before a smooth wall on the right. Continue to a stance on blocks below a large roof.

9. Move left on a flake below the roof. continue up and left to the next set of roofs. Pull through where a crack splits the roof and go to the the top.

Walk about 50m right of the grooves on a ledge below an overhang with a Y-Shaped crack in orange and grey rock.

1. Climb around the left-hand side of the roof and up the corner. Take the right-hand fork of the Y. Climb up to a stance behind a block on the right.

2. Traverse right around the skyline and zig-zag up the ramp.

3. Take-off the right-hand side of the ledge and up the crack/recess.

4. Climb the recess on the left.

5. Start on the left, move right and up a crack. Go left and up to a ledge.

6. Start on the right and move up leftwards on jugs. Continue up the face and then move diagonally right through small overhangs onto a ledge leading to the right of a pinnacle block.

7. Climb to a ledge just higher (10m).

8. Climb up in the open-book to a rest. Either stem up and move right, or move right and climb up further around. Continue up an easier break and groove to a belay.

9. Climb the steep recess, move right at the top.

10. Step left and pull through the overlap. Climb up to massive overhangs. Move to the right and follow the recess to the top.

About 10m past the right hand end of the huge roof an obvious rounded smooth layback crack starts about 10m off the ground. The start is directly below this under a little overhang.

1. Hard boulder problem gains overhang. Move left and pull desperately through to stand. Up to base of layback. Climb desperately to ledge on right.

2. Traverse left till just past base of blonde arete.

3. Ascend right to thin crack just left of arete. Pull up right and ascend arete till it blanks. Move left and up on rails (crux) to grassy crack. Up this then step right and gleefully climb juggy face to ledge. Easy climbing leads to a higher ledge. Belay on left where the ledge runs out at a small corner.

4. Climb straight up to where corner blanks. Hard move up right gains good edge. Bold climbing slightly left gains a good rail. Up to open book. Climb this and final headwall. (Original pitch went left when the corner blanked. This is about 25).

Descent: traverse right on the large, grassy ledge and then either down climb the frontal, rap it, or scramble/climb up it to the top.

On the far right hand side of the main amphitheatre, about 30m past the layback crack of Indecent Exposure's first pitch, is a big, dark red recess with a crack in the corner. The route goes up the crack then skirts the roofs above. It then follows a couple more corners before some immaculate face climbing to finish on the big, grassy halfway ledge. Start on a platform below a block at the base of the corner.

1. Climb up the block to access the crack. Climb the corner until the crack runs out then traverse left on the rail until below the next recess. Climb this recess to the roof then rail right and up onto an awkward, grassy ledge below another corner.

2. Climb the short, steep corner exiting left at the roof onto a large ledge. Climb the layback corner above on the right for 10m and then proceed up the juggy face to stance just below the black streaked headwall.

3. Move up and left and pull through the roof at a shallow, orange recess. Move slightly right onto a line of huge holds. Continue straight up and exit via the left hand of two cracks onto the big ledge. Alternatively, at grade 20, follow the steep, leftward trending flake from the stance to the black crack which is used to turn the roof. Then stretch out left to the line of huge holds.

Descent: traverse right on the large, grassy ledge and then either down climb the frontal, rap it, or scramble/climb up it to the top.

Start 200m left of the edge of the ridge below a good recessed crack-line.

1. Climb the crack. Traverse left to a corner with black streaks.

2. Climb the corner to a ledge. Traverse 8m left.

3. Climb the juggy wall moving right at the top onto a ledge. Traverse 6m right to a crack.

4. Climb into the crack, past the overhang and onto a block. From the ledge step right and scrambling leads to the summit via the Frontal ridge.

Start Towards the right side of the amphitheatre at two small slabs leaning against the face.

1. Start 8m right of one slab, head up a diagonal crack. Climb this until able to traverse left across to a stance

2. Start in the corner on the right. Climb the crack and go left to a ledge.

3. Climb left then right to a ledge. Traverse left and scramble further left to a platform.

4. Climb up to a traverse line and follow it left.

5. Climb the recess on the left to a ledge. Walk right until the end of the roof.

6. Climb the crack, go left and up. Go leftwards into a chimney and up to a ledge.

7. On the left is a recess leading into a crack. Start up this and onto the rib on the right. Gain a smooth slab and hence a ledge.

8. Move right and up. Traverse right and into a gully to the top.

A variation of Indecent Exposure and On Hold. Climbs the superb first pitch of Indecent Exposure. Then climbs and extends the second pitch of On Hold. Lastly, it adds a new, long pitch up to the big halfway ledge.

1. Climb the leftward tending layback crack (pitch 1 of Indecent Exposure). Traverse left just below the bushy rail and up to the stance directly below the crack (pitch 2 of On Hold).

2. Ascend the crack as in the second pitch of On Hold but pass the gnarly ledge on the right and go to the next ledge on the left.

3. Ascend the face to the right of the stance to another ledge. Climb the rounded crack to the roof. Move left and pull through the obvious break in the roof. Move a couple of metres right, and ascend the face to the massive ledge.

Descent: traverse right on the large, grassy ledge and then either down climb the frontal, rap it, or scramble/climb up it to the top.

D. Steyn, F. Buhrmann, J. Wakeling

The ridge.

Start: in the panic room. This is the first of the three caves as you walk down the panic sloot (camping cave).

1. Starts at the back, on the right hand side of the cave on a large undercling. Follows the break tending rightwards with cool funky climbing. Finishes out right and tops out.

Start: in the Bottom Cave, the last big room you get to as you walk down the Panic Sloot.

1. Fun little prow in the right back corner of the large room. Bouldery start with some big moves at the end. Escape left at the big flat roof.

The Southern Amphitheatre can be accessed in one of two ways. You can climb one of the routes on the right hand side of the Main Amphitheatre to the huge ledge about 3 pitches up. Then walk right on this ledge around the corner to the Southern Amphitheatre. Alternatively, you can walk across the top of the mountain and down through the Panic Sloot Gully which opens out overlooking Clanwilliam. Directly in front of one is a Pinnacle (Coming Of Age climbs directly in front of this pinnacle). Scramble down to the left of the pinnacle to a rap point on a bollard. 1 abseil of just over 50m gets one down to the ledge where the routes start.

Walk around from KK (15mins) to where a gully leads up to a notch. On the right is a series of dihedrals capped by a 15m roof. Start at the base of the most undercut corner on the right.

1. A bouldery start allows access to an excellent corner past two small roofs to a ledge.

2. Climb up to a semi-hanging belay under the first roof.

3. Rail left, up to the big roof. Escape to a ledge.

4. Move left, climb 4m up to a roof and rail 10m right. Go for the top.

This is a vast area, with multiple landowners, see each subsection for specifics

This is a vast area, with multiple landowners, see each subsection for specifics

About 50m right of Coming Of Age are three parallel, rightward tending cracks like giant Velociraptor claw marks. The route climbs the middle crack.

1. Climb the crack past two overlaps to the roof. Reach out right and pull round the roof and onto a small, bulging slab. Make a semi-hanging stance here. Combining this and the next pitch could work but rope drag might be a problem.

2. Climb the steep crack to the big roof. Hanging stance in the corner.

3. Rail right and pull through the roof in the crack. Follow the crack until it runs out and then continue up on the grey face to the top. Descent: Scramble up and left into the big Panic Sloot Gully and thence to the top.

About 100m right of the 3 cracks marking Velociraptor is a beautiful, long, clean arete above a bulging, pocketed roof. The route starts on the face below and left of this roof and bypasses it to reach the base of the arete from the left hand side. The first pitch wanders a little and the second is hard, a bit grotty in places, and run out. The top, arete pitch, however, is superb so an option is to rap in from the top to the ledge from which one starts this last pitch and just do that.

1. Start off a long block about 10m left of the corner below the pocketed roof at the base of a thin crack. Reach up high to a couple of small edges and pull up onto the undercut face. Head up the crack and rightwards to the top, left corner of the pocketed roof (about 15m up). Rail left underneath the small overlap and then up the corner on its left side to stance on a ledge with some blocks and capped by a roof.

2. From the right hand side of the ledge pull up delicately onto the smooth slab above the roof. Move left and a little up until able to do a difficult move left into an obvious crack. Follow the crack up as it widens, past a small roof and an unprotected, vegetated section, to a good ledge.

3. From the ledge head up and right towards the arete on the skyline. Follow this superb arete all the way to the massive ledge. Descent: Walk left along the ledge, through a bit of a dip, and up into the big Panic Sloot Gully which is followed to the top of the mountain.

Single pitch that climbs the centre of the face to the left of the final pitch on Staggersaurus. Abseil in from the top to the ledge about 50m down.

From the ledge head up and right towards the arete until able to pull onto the face. Traverse back left and follow a series of layback features to a narrow roof. Pull through the roof and then continue straight up the face until the top.

Start 2m around to the right of the arete next to Chicane. Climb the crack