Routes in West Coast

Abseil/ Rap station. We used doubles ropes. A single 60m might work.

Solo the arête.

Solo up from below the roof.

Solo up the left streak.

Solo up into groove.

Start: In the first big corner just to the right of the low overhang to the right of 'Maiden's Prayer'.

1. [21] 40m

   Pull into the undercut corner and then climb up into the flared recess above. Move out to the right using a horizontal crack, then move up to an excellent horizontal crack. Climbing to the left lands one in the upper part of the flared crack and climb to the roof to traverse left to a small ledge. Continue traversing until able to move up to a higher level and then further to the left onto the lip. Move up and around to belay on the left-hand side of a large, detached column.

2. [13] 46m

   This pitch can be split. Traverse to the left to a black undercut face and climb it on small incut holds, after which it is possible to move easily to the left under an overhang. Continue to the left, moving slightly down at one point, until just before an obvious watercourse is reached. Climb out and up to the right to a bottomless crack/chimney. Climb the crack on huge 'jugs' to a large ledge.

3. [14] 30m

   Walk right below the amphitheatre. Pass 'Maiden Voyage' break, continue past another break with a massive 2m thick block which is cammed in at around 6m off the ground. Start just before the ledge pinches out at a small cairn with restio's below a slab/ wall with breaks. Climb a recess moving up and right, continue in this fashion to the next ledge.

4. [17] 45m

   Shift slightly right to find the left tending dassie crawl, climb up to this then move left for a few meters till able to step up to below an overhang. Climb up to the overhang and reach for a good jug out left use this to turn the overhang. Continue up to top out.

The route breaks through the big roof between Grappler and 'Tafelberg Frontal' with steep and spectacular climbing. Starts ±30m left of 'Tafelberg Frontal', just left of a big roof and under a hook-shaped feature at the base of a layback crack. Some extra medium size cams are useful on pitch 2.

1. 20 m (23) Head up ±5m to the hook, then up a short layback crack. Step right and up to the roof. Traverse ±2m right to the top of an arete, then up to a huge ledge. After belaying, walk 7-8m right to below a featured, hanging block under the narrowest section of the double-layer roof above.

2. 25 m (26) The superb In-Your-Element pitch. Climb up and slightly right for ±7m to a roof below the hanging block. Rail ±2m right then pull strenuously left across to the right-hand side of the block. Continue up to a wide rail, then over the first layer of the roof to another rail. Crank hard to a hidden, but fantastic jug over the final roof, and make more hard moves diagonally right until you can establish on the face above using good side pulls. Make a hanging stance 3m up at a good rail (small/medium cams).

3. 25 m (16) Climb straight up towards a projecting block on the skyline. Stance on the large ledge.

4. 30 m (21) Start just right of 'Sorcerer'. Head up a series of two curving layback flakes until able to traverse 2m right to gain a small, right-facing corner. At the top step left onto the grey face and up several meters to a ledge. Continue up to the big ledge and stance on the right of a large block (shared with Sorcerer).

5. 35 m (20) Traverse 3m right to a short, undercut crack (shared with 'Jedi Fish' P3). Start up the crack then head right onto the face. Make a rising traverse to the right, passing above a fragile white flake. Continue traversing until directly below an obvious smooth-looking corner with a layback crack in the golden rock ±15m up. Climb straight up to the layback, then a short face above 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.

Climb the roof crack

Start about 5m right of Dragonboat. Rail in from the right and up a steep crack system. Move slightly left and up the face, finishing at the arched crack at the top. Scramble off back.

The line between 'Echoes and Shadows' and 'Comes a Time'. Pull through the roof at twin cracks. Straight up the wall to the big halfway rail. Climb the crack (black streak) on the right of 'Comes a Time' to the top.

Just left of the very steep sector at the right of the crag.

[18] 20m

Start behind the the big boulder at the base of the wall. Head up, passing a small roof on the right. Traverse 2m left over roof, then straight to the top on big holds.

Follows a series of left leaning fins to a puzzling crux on the face.

Start up the short black-streaked wall, passing to the left of a hanging bush 5m up. At the ledge pull up onto the first fin (marginal gear), then great climbing just right of the fins to the dark orange face (crux) below the final overhang. Pull right onto platform and then to the top. Abseil point from tree and touch point in situ.

The recess/chimney on the left end of the Comes a Time Wall.

Climb the chimney to the top.

Start with left hand on undercling, boulder up and right then do a long move up to crimp and climb up to ledge. Climb the overhang wall, first on good holds then some dynamic final moves to finish.

P1: 30m, (17). Start on the prow 5m to the left of the start of Vulture Culture. Climb up to the next ledge system and continue up the orange open book to a ledge.

P2: 30m (21). Start on the left-hand end of the ledge. Pull up to a rail. A difficult move leads up to the next rail (small cams and nuts). Move 2m left to where pockets lead up to good hand-holds that can be followed left-wards to a vertical crack (green BD cam). Climb up, moving further left onto the prow before coming back onto the right face and continuing up easier ground to stance on a ledge on the prow with a big jammed block.

P3: 30m (17). Continue straight up a crack system to the big lunch ledge. From here the next pitch starts 30m to the right (past a dassie traverse).

P4: 30m (16). Start at the base of an off-width crack in an open book. Climb the open book crack to a ledge. Continue up the corner to a stance on a second ledge next to a tree.

P5: 30m (18). From the stance, traverse 3m right on good rails to a vertical crack. Follow this to a ledge.

P6: 30m (17). Follow the crack system to the top.

Can use the anchors on ETAGQS to descend.

Scramble up the black rock to the right-hand end of a large ledge below the orange rock in the deep recess. Step right onto the face and pull up past two rails to a ledge on the right. From the left side of the ledge, move up to a rail, step right and up a thin crack to the split block abseil point. Descent: Abseil from the fixed tat.

The climb takes the prominent crackline on the left-hand side of the dusty amphitheatre.

1. Climb the slab to the right of the crack moving into it as soon as possible. Climb this until it gets off-width, move right to a short crack and climb up this and then back left into the main crack. Climb to a ledge below an overhang, which undercuts the obvious crack one can see from the ground.

2. Pull through the roof and do a layback move to gain a rail, rail right with your feet on the lip of the overhang, to a vertical crack and climb this to where it begins to steepen. Make a belay just to the right. (Beware the cammed block at the end of the rail).

3. Continue up the crack to the top.

Descent: walk left to the min descent gully. It is not advisable to come down the first gully.

Follows the crack opposite Sweet and Sticky. At the top of the wall, you can step across the gap to the anchors of 'Sweet and Sticky' to get down.

Up and right on good laybacks to a small ledge. Up the face to the top crack. Gear above mid ledge is not great.

Start on the face below the sun downer deck. Traverse in from the left. Climb up the corner to roof, move right and then up a ledge, continue up to the deck.

Start about 2m left of 'Solitaire'. Climb a blunt arête to a ledge. Follow the thin black water streak with some committing moves above the ledge. About halfway up the streak, you need to make a move left and up for 1m to a thin crack on a flake, before moving right again. At the next ledge move slightly right to a vague corner and then easily to the top.

Crack line on right of panel. Traverse left to use chains on The Lily Flex

Takes a fairly direct line to the right of Sorcerer. Start a few meters left of Tafelberg Frontal at a 'tower' cairn.

1. 42 m (20) Climb straight up for 2 m on a red face with pockets leading to a grey wall. Pleasant grade 12 climbing to a ledge. Continue up little ledges aiming for the open book on the right (Sorcerer takes the easier line even further right). Climb the open book to the roof, take 2 steps to the left and pull through to good holds just left of a lonely small bush. Step right and move up the face to a good stance 10 m above the roof (tower cairn).

2. 30 m (19) A tricky move gets one onto the face. Follow a faint straight line of red lichen and then a white streak to a block on a ledge. Say 'Hello' to the 'Fish jumping out of the waves' feature below a layback crack. Use the fish's back, delicately, to gain the crack, follow that to a hollow-sounding flake and another one with better rock. Move left below the little roof and up to the ledge. Stance at the splitter crack.

3. 40 m (19) Climb the splitter crack and over some blocks. Tend leftwards to avoid the roof, 2 moves up into a leftward slanting break. Don't follow the break all the way, instead move right onto the face and straight up to the top. The last 10m are on superb orange, featured rock.

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.

Climb the corner crack

Climbs the wall just between 'Comes a Time' & 'Human Highway'

Just left of the very steep sector at the right of the crag.

[17] 20m

Start just right of the big boulder at the base of the wall. Climb straight up the grey streaks to the top

Takes a direct line up the centre of the face to the left of Johan’s 19

1. Start up the centre of a short brown face up to a wide crack formed with a boulder. Pull onto the face above and continue up and right along a series of three small, right-facing bulges. Belay at small ledge.

2. Continue straight up the face on layback features. At the height of the large, vegetated ledge to the left, continue up the face, where a tricky move leads up and right to access the shallow corner just below the top.

Start at a jug at head height, 4m right of 'Sling' and crank up to the ledge. Head straight up the wall between 'Sling' and 'Sting'.

Start up layback, move left then up to rail, do a tricky move to a ledge, move to next ledge then up scoop and continue straight up.

Start: This route climbs up the large brown open-book system on the left-hand side of the wall.

P1: 30m (19). Climb the recess to a ledge, continue up the crack at the centre of the open-book to a large ledge.

P2: 30m (20). Continue up the crack until forced left under the roof. Delicate moves lead to a ledge stance on the left-hand edge of the large roof.

P3: 35m (17). Climb up the corner and continue straight up to the lunch ledge.

P4: 35m (17). Climb up the crack system nearest to the arette, directly above the last pitch. After 15m, cross over to the right hand side of the arette to a scoop. Continue up, passing by the left hand end of the prominent triangular roof visible from the base of the cliff.

P5: 30m (15). Continue straight up to the top.

This superb single pitch follows a steep, straight line directly below the abseil point on The Optimist (which is from a large split block 25m up on a ledge). Would be 5 stars if it weren't for the rest ledge.

Scramble up to the top of a conical pillar. Pull up to underclings in the roof above the short, smooth face. Make hard moves right and around the roof onto a wedged block. Pull up and left to good pockets below a curved finger crack through a bulge. Once over the bulge, climb dead straight to the abseil point. Descent: Abseil from the fixed tat.

On the right-hand side of the right-hand amphitheatre is a crackline.

1. Climb the overhanging crackline to a ledge.

2. Rail right to a gritstone type arête. Climb this to the top.

Start 4m right of 'Sweet and Sticky'. Follow the break, to the right of some loose looking flakes higher up and through an overlap.

Better than it looks. Scramble up to the long crack and corner system, ending at a magnificent perch overlooking the kloof. Tat anchor to the left (shared with Gortex ).

A varied pitch left of 'Green Eggs and Ham' on the right-hand side of the 'Solitaire Wall'.

Start at the corner crack on the right of the 'Solitaire' face. Climb up about 8m to a slightly bulging face. Some tricky moves to a ledge (avoid the enormous, balanced, cigar-shaped rock). Climb the left side of the vague arête to an overlap. Traverse left and up and then pull through the right side of the next roof to the juggy face above. Straight to top.

1. (20m) 15+ : Climb from corner Diagonally Right up a grey wall above orange band to a fragile chicken head. Follow thin vertical crack straight up to a ledge.

2. (5m) 14+ : From Ledge stand on boulder facing away from ledge, do awkward pull into a sloped corner up to horizontal rails. Rail left all the way to a ledge.

3. (10m) 12: Walk to obvious big vertical crack at the back of ledge. Climb right of large vertical crack rail out until onto face, follow easy line straight up to small ledge where you pass a short crack on your left follow this up and scramble out.

Start from a nook to the right of a tree. Head diagonally left behind the tree, then straight up to a roof. Place good pro at the decent holds just over the lip. A couple of thin, strenuous moves gain you the headwall. Head up and a little right, past rails and a pocket, to the top. Beware, there may be some loose rock low down.

Start in the same place as Prisoners of the Sun, from the stack of blocks.

1. [18] 30m

   Climb straight up the break, to a stance below a groove in a semi-cave.

2. [21] 12m

   Traverse left and up a short face via strenuous moves to reach a rail. Traverse left and up to a stance on a narrow ledge (shared with 'Quite Something').

3. [16] 15m

   Climb straight up the short face ('Quite Something' heads up and right) to a ledge. Walk right to a short right facing corner.

4. [19] 10m

   Climb the corner, starting on the face on the right. More tricky than it looks. Walk to the back of the ledge, where the next pitch starts from in the trees.

5. [15] 40m

   Pull up onto the featured face to the left of the big gully. Soon becomes an easy, juggy ramp to the top.

Climb the crack through a chimney and then traverse right a few meters to find some flakes up to a ledge. Move right to a shield that is setup as a tat rap point. We stopped short of the summit due to time. Potential for more climbing above.

Varied climbing with a committing crux pitch. Runs right and parallel to 'The Jedi Fish'. The crux pitch can be replaced with the first half of pitch 2 of 'The Jedi Fish', to give a safer route at grade 21.

1. 15 m (13) Climb the face just left of 'Tafelberg Frontal'. Stance below a small roof.

2. 20 m (21) Pull over some bulges to a little ledge below some roofs. Pull strenuously into a left-facing V slot. Establish over this and pull through two more roofs onto a face. Straight up to a small ledge.

3. 15 m (18) Climb the series of right-facing layback cracks, through an overlap and past a huge rectangular block to a ledge.

4. 15 m (23) Start below a large flat hold at about eye level. Head up a few meters (Camalot #1 and #2). Traverse left for 3m on good foot edges. Pull up at a flake (micro nuts or tiny cam). Move up and right to the large undercling feature. Hard moves out left then straight up to the enormous ledge. This pitch wanders a bit, and the gear is a bit tricky.

5. 20 m (20) Start at the hairline crank that rises slightly left. Follow this to a rail. Move right and up to a narrow roof. Pull through to a left-facing layback. Balance up, and continue another few meters to a hanging stance at a handrail with a good foot ledge.

6. 30 m (18) Step right and follow a series of huge flakes. Continue tending right until able to pull up into another set of flakes just below the summit.

E8 trad arete

The ridge.

Climb the flake through the roof

Climb the black streak and grey overhanging wall above it, to the right of 'Human Highway'.

Just left of the very steep sector at the right of the crag.

[17] 20m

Start 3m right of the big boulder at the base of the wall. Pull up to a rail. Traverse 2m right to a miniature corner feature. Use this to gain the next rail and step back left. Straight to the top.

A fantastic 3 pitch grade 20 This route can be done in 2 or 3 pitches. It is a beautiful dihedral. An easy description for it will be: “Follow the dihedral crack to the top.”

The route climbs easily from the ledge past the huge block to under the red roof. And there is a sting for the last move or two.

Descent: Walk 10m or so left to the thread point and biner at the top of Sling or walk off to the right.

Start as KaKa-Boom but from the rail traverse right and climb up diagonally right finishing up a black pocketed wall.

Follow the crack system from the back of the cave

P1: 35m (17). Start up the corner system 5m to the right of Vulture Culture. Climb up to a ledge and continue straight up the crack system to where it is topped by a small roof. Move 1m left to a Hanging stance.

P2: 30m (23). Move up into a corner, step right above the roof and then move back left into a crack . Follow this up to a stance below the prominent chimney/slot.

P3. 30m (18). Climb up the chimney/slot. At the top, move 2m right, pull through the overlap into a crack and follow this to stance at a ledge.

P4. 30m (17). Move 5m left. Climb the vertical recess leading up to the lunch ledge.

P5. 20m (19). At the top of P4 is a face with a set of vertical cracks. Climb the vertical crack second from the right hand edge of the face to a ledge.

P6. 15m (17). Move left to a crack system and continue 3m up to a stance.

P7. Climb up the face and traverse left into the large chimney system. Continue to the top.

Another superb single pitch. Steep and intimidating with excellent moves and just enough gear.

From the path, start up the right of the conical pillar. After a few meters, make hard moves right onto the fin. Continue up the steep prow, to a horizontal line of pockets. Move 1m left then up and right to a small platform. Continue straight up the face and recess to the ledge with an abseil point. Descent: Abseil from the fixed tat.

Just around the corner from The Four By Four Convention is a short overhanging wall. Start on the left-hand side of the upper ledge.

Do the first few moves of Happiness and Light moving out left and up to the short wall '18'. Boulder up, past the bolt, on edges and pockets to finish on the top left-hand edge of the wall.

Note: wire placements are tricky so so it might be wise to abseil down and preplace them.

Right of 'Mooi River' is a finger crack. Follow this to the ledge, then step right and climb the short steep face above (this is actually a large block that appears to be balancing on the top of the gulley, so user discretion is advised).

Pitch 1: 20m (17) Head up a thin crack to then transfer onto the slab on your left. Slab up easy climbing to reach a tree. Pitch 2: 20m (21) Continue climbing up and then trend left to reach an open book corner with a thin crack to protect. Surmount the corner to reach a nice ledge above. Pitch 3: 25m (18) From the ledge continue up a face that appears to be suspect at first. Trend through several big holds to reach pleasant climbing that takes you to the summit. Rappel back down the route using trees that are in line with the summit. No rap cord.

Features a strenuous start followed by a good mix of climbing styles. Start in the same place as Dogmatix.

1. 20 m (22) Start up Dogmatix for ~3m. At the rail below the roof traverse ~3m right until able to pull strenuously up into a corner. Follow the corner for several meters and then step left and up to a stance on a ledge.

2. 20 m (20) Head straight up and then slightly right to pull through the thin roof at its narrowest point. Continue up slabs and a tiny corner (micro cams useful) to a gargantuan ledge.

3. 40 m (18) Start 7m right of Dogmatix at a monster pocket containing a small cairn. Climb up to a break, then up on orange flakes to the right of a projecting block. Continue up a short corner to a ledge, then another 5m to the next large ledge.

4. 15 m (16) This pitch is actually 'Dogmatix' last pitch. Use a massive layback flake to gain a ledge, then move left to a prominent corner. Climb the recess to the roof, step left, and up to a rail. Pull right and over the roof and then easily up to a ledge.

Descent: The descent scramble/ abseil is about 30m in front of you when you top out.

A 3 pitch route through the steepness between 'Nambarrie' and 'Snake in the Grass' Steep climbing through some imposing terrain. Large cams including a #4 Camalot useful. Starts by climbing the first pitch of 'Snake In The Grass' and then heads left for two pitches to a ledge on which one can traverse left a few meters to where 'Nambarrie' comes up in a corner. From here one can do a single abseil back to the ground.

1. [20] 15m

   As for Snake in the Grass: up to the rail and traverse left on the wide broken rail. Continue left to hanging stance where the wide rail runs out.

2. [26] 15m

   Straight up on edges to a rail and into a steep right-facing flare that turns into a crack. Continue straight to a roof, which is passed on the left side via some face moves to another wide rail. Crank through here to a rail and make a long move left to a side pull. Strenuously up to a break and a hanging stance on the right.

3. [25] 20m

   Pull through the roof and corner to the left into a short left facing recess. Pull up to the next hand rail. Traverse left with increasing difficulty to the left end of the finger rail and pull up into the base of a vague right-facing recess. Continue up the recess, with a committing section (small wires) to a triangular feature below a roof (treat with care). Pull left and up to a wide ledge.

Descent: Locate a rap point about 5m left of where you come up above the corner on 'Nambarrie'. One ~50m free abseil to ground.

A consistent, direct line to the left of 'Central Direct'. Along the first long traverse of 'Tafelberg Frontal', there is a large rectangular block with a roof above it. The route starts below the left side of this block.

1. 15 m (14) Climb the easy break to the block.

2. 20 m (19) From the left end of the block, pull up to just below the roof and head left on good holds until able to pull over onto the face. Head up and then slightly right to stance at the base of a narrow chimney (shared with 'Tafelberg Frontal')

3. 30 m (17) Start up the chimney part of 'Tafelberg Frontal', then move right onto the middle of the orange face. Head straight up to a narrow ledge.

4. 50 m (19) Start up a crack and then blast straight up the wall, aiming for a left-tending corner crack just below the summit. This crack forms the first (not the second) left-facing corner about 5m left of the massive flake at the top of 'Central Direct'.

Climb the roof crack

The wall and slab on the right end of the Descent Gully wall.

Just left of the very steep sector at the right of the crag.

[19] 20m

Start 7m right of the big boulder at the base of the wall. Pull up to an undercling, then through to rail. Follow grey streaks up to finish via a short, square chimney-like feature.

Start: Find a scramble to access the ledge which forms the start of the route, ±15m left of the start of the standard 'Dogmatix' route.

1. [17] 35m

   Above are a few overlaps/ overhangs, start below and left of the one which has chicken heads and gargoyles. Start with easy climbing, heading in a right tending direction to the small overhang. Pull through on amazing jugs, till forced right. Climb the ramp easily to the large ledge.

2. [17] 45m

   Starting 10m to the right, climb leftwards to, and through a 'juggy' layback, slightly right then through another layback feature up to stance at the base of a massive layback (left leaning) flake.

3. [16] 20m

   Using the flake climb 8m into a prominent right facing corner. On a very good handrail, rail left and then up to finish.

Descent: Abseil is about 30m in front of you when you top out. Only one rope required.