Vie in Africa del grado selezionato

Start: The large recess / gully sandwiched between Big Yellow Flower and Project.

1. Follow the gully until it peters out higher up.

2. Move up right onto the slab continuing on to a large ledge; walk right and climb the easy slab to a single bolt stance.

Start upstream of a small buttress angled 45o facing upstream and scramble 15m up to the back of a very deep chimney.

1. [11] 22m

   Climb the back of the chimney by straddling and chimneying and move out right to a large ledge.

2. [18] 22m

   Ascend the magnificent red smooth-sided corner to a large ledge.

3. [6] 7m

   Climb the crack at the back of the ledge.

Start: Walk around in the direction of Wolfberg, until just past The Great Crack Route. Just left of the large overhang is a very short face where the routes start.

Climb the short face to the bulge. Pull up to an overlap and move left about 1m. Continue straight to the top.

Start at stream level and climb the obvious buttress, through a small roof halfway up the buttress

Overhanging hand crack starting above the P1 ledge of the North Face route.

The route takes the groove immediately to the left of DINKUM DIHEDRAL. Scramble up onto the ledge 20m above stream bed. Start 4m left of the start of DINKUM DIHEDRAL, behind a stamvrug tree.

1. 25m 17 Ascend diagonally right from behind the tree to gain the ledge below the dihedral taken by DINKUM DIHEDRAL. Step up and left to gain the groove and follow this to below a V-notch in a small roof. Pull through the notch and belay on nettle tree stance.

2. 8m 19 Jam up the righthand crack, with difficulty near its top, until able to gain the loose-looking block in the off-width on the left. Follow the off-width rightwards to the top.

Note:

Pitch 2 offers contrived but excellent climbing. The whole route is on clean rock.

Good climbing, pity about the loose block and bushy mantle at the end...

Start: up the wall at a point where a faint path leads through the bushes and out to the right side of the crag.

Head up and tend left under the broken rock and up to the midway ledge. Climb up below the black water-streak corner for 2m and then rail left 2m and up to the exit face will a series of horizontal rails. Beware a big loose block just right of the final face. The top out involves negotiating none non friendly climber's friend.

Follows the most prominent crack lines on the Paarl Rock dome. Start below a narrow crack that becomes off-width, 13m right of Turmoil of the Skin.

1. Climb the crack.

2. Continue up and stance below a layaway crack.

3. Climb the layaway and then through the chimney.

4. Exit right and scramble to the top.

Start the approach at the base of the lower buttress beneath the main amphitheatre to the right hand side of the path. Walk to the right taking care on the ledge which is passable around some thick vegetation. A cairn marks the start of the of the first pitch at the open book slab with a vertical seam. Climb this moving left a the top of the hanging shrubs onto the arete and continue on climbing the evident line for 40 metres, stance at the mini ledge. Strat pitch by climbing up the corner and continuing on the good rock tending rightwards. Carry on climbing until you pass over the weathered rock section (no good gear for 10 metres) and then stance a the break with a seated block stance. Start the third pitch moving right up the smooth rock and climb the cracks for 15 metres to finish on a ledge. To exit, move left on the ledge until it peters out, scramble at the easy break on straight up. Abseil tat in situ off climbers friend at the eastern edge off a "Climbers Friend" tree.

This route starts from the same shelf as TIGATRIX and ARRABELLA-MELLA. Scramble up on to the shelf from just downstream of FROG GULLY. Walk downstream along the shelf. 10m right of ARRABELLA-MELLA is an upstream facing corner, at the point where the shelf finishes. 1m left of the corner is a crack which runs up to a small roof at 6m. Start at the base of this crack.

1. 20m 18 Climb the crack and gain the shelf below the small roof with difficulty. Move 1m left and hence gain the continuation crack in the small corner. Follow this to easier ground above and hence a stout tree. Rap off this, back to the shelf.

"Beware ... the Under Toad."

Takes the wall just right of Mother’s Day. Protection is tricky

Takes the 90o upstream-facing open book 10m to the left of the BIG HIGH CAVE. From below the cave scramble up left to the base of the corner (tree). To the left of the corner is a smooth steep pinky wall and to the right the crags are grey. [E – 10]

1. 15m 18 Follow the steep corner to a ledge with two loose blocks. Leave the corner and move diagonally left to attain a large foothold on the subsidiary left arête. Hand-traverse 2m (exposed) to the left and mantleshelf onto the ledge above. Climb the short corner to a tree belay below an obvious corner.

2. 12m 13 Ascend the right wall of the corner, trending rightwards on to the arête. Follow this to the top. (Beware of compacted dangerous loose blocks at summit.)

Note: The first pitch is superb and very exposed.

Scramble about 30m up to the ledge at the base of the 'Muffin-Direct' corner. Start about 50m to the right of the start of the 'Muffin-Direct' corner below a prominent steep left facing and leaning recess with a crack of very uniform width (No 1 to 1.5 "Friends") running up its entire height.

1. [18] 25m

   Climb easily up to a tree in the crack and climb awkwardly through it. Continue up the layback crack to the top of the recess (crux towards the top).

2. 15m 8 Climb easily to the top.

Start on the right side of the gray/white pillar. Climb up onto a block, carry on up and left to access two cracks on very orange rock, climb this slab, headed for the roof/ corner above. Exit the coner to the right, then up a pocketed face. Above and right is a bolted stance, which is a good place to belay from as your seconds might fall at the roof crux and this ensures less work for yourself.

Straight up the centre of the face.

Climb up to the ledge below Crack of Doom, then pull over the overhang and climb the slight buttress above, not using the crack on the right. The initial move is the crux (from ledge). The rest of the climb is delicate.

Start about 1.5 m right of My Last Sigh in a hand-jam crack. Climb crack to top of pillar. Continue up, moving right over broken terrain to the ledge at the base of a clean vertical crack in a recess. Surmount ledge and then up crack. Continue up to overhang, through this and up stem right to crack. Up this and finish left.

This climb ascends a slab on the true left of the normal descent gully. Traverse left from the top of the normal descent gully. Climb the steep slab with an overlap at its base and a grassy crack up its middle.

1. 15m 19 Climb the face up to the overlap to where the crack cuts the face. Ascend the overlap and continue up the face to finish on the same ledge as CENTURY CHIMNEY.

Notes:

1. The crack on the slab was only cleaned to facilitate protection; if the crack was cleaned more extensively the climb might become easier.

2. A short pleasant climb to finish the day off.

Between OPUS ONE and LITTLE MOLAR is a steep overhanging buttress. The climb takes a line up the middle of the buttress.

1. 30m 19 Scramble up easy rock to the base of the first overhang. Climb the face just to the right of the first overhang. Continue up the crack system to a good ledge, move leftward to small stance below the roof with crack running through it. Move through the roof and continue up, moving slightly right, onto the top of the pinnacle.

Note: Good, clean, exposed climb.

Today is the reckoning Today we hold the line Today is the quickening Of the blood and the soul and the mind. -Johnny Clegg

Start: about 20m left of CE, right next to a large bush and a spacious sloped boulder below the middle of a brown face, immediately right of a blunt arete with a cairn.

1. Make a dynamic move to a prong to get established on the face, then climb up on spaced holds to traverse left. Cross the blunt arete and traverse 6m left until it is possible to move up and right on spaced but positive holds with better pro. (Note: it is possible to skip out this meander and climb straight up from the prong, stepping left higher up, to cross the blunt arete and join the original line). Climb an obvious traverse right before heading up a recess to pass the overhang to reach a stance behind a huge block.

2. From the block, climb to the the second rail. Traverse right and swing airily around a corner above a shallow recess. Continue rightwards 4m before climbing straight up the wall to below a roof. move right to a ledge (below CE Ramp Pitch).

3. Climb the ramp 3m until able to move onto the left wall. Traverse left easily over the yawning void for 10m to where the wall becomes quite steep. Continue traversing with your feet on the lip of a big overhang to pass under a small overlap, then up a large layback flake to easier ground. climb straight up to a large ledge.

4. In the corner, climb a rightward curving recess over huge blocks to just under the enormous roof. Traverse to the right over large blocks to a magnificently exposed 'moving' one-sit-only stance just below and left of CE's bottomless chimney. Some of the blocks may demand your rapt attention!

5. Do the stunning layback up to CE bottomless chimney and at the first handrail climb left for the skyline then breezily up juglets to a large ledge.

This route and Prime Sending Conditions both climb a lovely wall perched high up on the downstream junction of Boulder and Lower Tonquani (opposite and downstream from Sabre). Well worth it just for the views. The climbing is good too. Access from the top by scrambling out to the point of the peninsular between the two kloofs. Leave some fixed gear and rap 25m down to a nice ledge with soft grass. The two lines are a few meters apart and are obvious. Routes named after a display of alpine climbing prowess later in the day, when a family of four (including two small kids) calmly climbed a route out of Boulder in a fearsome thunderstorm.

Climb the corner on the right, stepping right at the roof and then back left.

Start 5m left of the pillar in a right leaning break. 2 bolts protect the face in mid section of the climb. Abseil off the tree and use trad gear to protect the first few meters.

Starts just before the bottom of the scramble, about five metres above and to the right of Jean. Climb up the broken rock to the small roof on the right of the corner. Traverse left just before the roof for two metres to a peg. Traverse back right and climb through the bulge to the top.

Climb the slab / crack.

This climb starts on an elevated ledge 5 to 10m upstream of 'Stoep Polish'. The climb starts in an obvious crack system with a tree growing close to the face.

1. 25m 19 Climb the layback crack for 5m. Using the left face continue up the crack system to a small resting ledge. Continue up to a small overhang. Continue past the overhang to a good ledge with a tree belay.

2. 35m 10 Continue up the crack system behind the ledge to another ledge. Climb the corner with a crack in it and smooth sloping slab on the right to a large ledge.

3. 15m 12 Climb the left-hand crack system, using a tree root, to a good ledge.

On the left side of the crag, follow a vague groove, then straight up on flakes (sparse protection) to a tiny right facing corner. Move left and up through a final bulge to the top.

1. 21A1 Climb the corner under the big square roof and rail out left (pulling on cams) to the continuation crack. Hanging stance in the crack to the right and just above a tree.

2. 17 Follow the crack straight to the top.

Back side of the tower.

Scramble up to the ledge 20m above stream bed from where the crux pitch of DINKUM DIHEDRAL starts.

1. 15m 19 Climb the arete 3m to the left of DINKUM DIHEDRAL, finishing through a gap in the roof and belay by a tree on the ledge. Protection is a little sparse but placing side runners will downgrade this route!

Finish up DINKUM DIHEDRAL or abseil off.

Nice climbing up to midway, then a walk and tricky finish.

Start: on the far right of the wall.

Climb up to where a short traverse right leads up to the ledge. Walk right a few meters and then climb diagonally back up and left to a tricky exit at the top.

Start up the crack, then climb out left along a crack until you are able to stand on ledge and finish up the crack.

Climb the recess/hand crack just to the left of TSSPMQ.

The crack in the middle of the west face. You can also use some bolts on 'No Crack Crooking'.

Start as for Ballet Mechanique. Climb the corners and roofs to the right. Move around the corner at the last roof and exit up the short off-width crack.

The route ascends the centre of the grey, blank looking face immediately downstream of GRACE UNDER PRESSURE. [D – 10] A magnificent route in the "direttissimo" tradition. Fine exposure on the face.

1. 10m 18 Start 4m downstream of GRACE UNDER PRESSURE from the large ledge which is reached after little more than a scramble from the stream bed. Ascend the centre of the grey face to the small 150mm wide ledge. Place protection on the right. Traverse left along the ledge and gain the recess around the corner with difficulty and place protection. Traverse back along the ledge to the centre of the face and continue straight up past the crux to the level of the detached block on the right. Traverse right to the detached block on the ledge, making use of the short rising ramp for a hand-traverse. Take a belay on the block.

2. 21m 15 Ascend the face immediately to the left of the shallow open book (bridge up the book if desired) bypassing the roof in the process. Ascend the face to the large ledge with tree. Gain the left-curving off-width crack above the ledge at its right-hand extremity (difficult) and ascend this to the top.

Note: With a good selection of small wires, protection is reasonable.

Variation:

1. 20m 19 Climb up as far as AMAZING GRACE first pitch, where it traverses right. Climb straight up through a small roof to a large ledge with the tree. Either continue on up or abseil off here. (17 Apr 1987 S. Middlemiss, C. Curson, P. Lazarus and K. Smith)

This climbs a striking smooth walled open book, located about 200m from the fence. The angle of this open book is not steep but the walls are very smooth for part of their length. Scramble 30m up to a ledge at the start of the corner.

1. [18] 15m

   Climb the corner using a narrow finger crack in the corner. Stance at some blocks.

2. [19] 18m

   Move directly above the stance onto the wall above. Climb 3m up and bear slightly left. Continue up a break on the wall to the top of the original pitch.

Graded 19 in the book but feels more 18

Start: Below the prominent arête is an open book.

1. 18 12m

   Climb below the open book then through it to stance on the ledge.

2. 16 20m

   Climb the face to the right of the arête to gain a crack, continue to the top.

Climb the chocolate face then move right on to big jugs to gain the ledge. Pull through the roof and rail slightly left to establish yourself on the headwall. From here there are two exits. Which one will you choose?

A classic line.

Start: Behind the Middle Block.

1. Move up left and do an awkward mantleshelf to gain a narrow ledge. Traverse right 8m along the ledge to an obvious recess and climb this to another ledge about 14m above. Immediately behind is a sloping ramp which is climbed to a stance with a large flake on it.

2. Traverse 2m right and climb to a small ledge. Traverse right 5m, then climb a sloping ramp to a small pinnacle. Traverse left until it is possible to move up to the Halfway Ledge. Walk left about 30m to a large block.

3. Using a sling to reach a bollard protruding from the face, pull up and continue to the ledge beneath the large overhang.

4. Traverse right over some loose blocks. Where the ledge ends, move up 3m to a small stance with a loose block on it.

5. Move left onto an exposed corner, then traverse 13m left into a chimney. Climb the chimney, then continue up over a very large detached block on the right and climb the recess immediately above, exiting left onto a ledge. Move along the ledge and climb up to a broad ledge and the end of the route.

A well known climb including the large overhang to the left of Asutha Ridge. Climb up the small ridge to the right until a very good flake handhold can be reached, then traverse 2m left and climb up the face to the top, this is the crux.

Climb the corner 2m left of 'Dust From A Distant Sun', bypass overhang on left and scamper up slab through overlap to top.

Begin just around the left side of the arete from Bouboulinas Street. Climb the left-leaning corner up a variety of moves to a fixed pin at 5m. Move into a rightward layback and climb to 10m. Move around arete to the anchors of Bouboulinas Street on right. Poor protection; best done on toprope from Bouboulinas Street.

1. [17] 35m

2. [19] 40m

This route starts downstream and around the corner from KANGAROOF. A short scramble up a gully to a cave leads to a steep face on the left (looking inwards). Two open books are seen. A prominent one on the left side and a shallow one on the right. This route starts up the shallow right hand open book.

1. 20m 19 Climb up easy rock to the base of the open book. Continue up the open book to the bulge. Move up past the bulge (crux) to a good ledge.

2. 45m 17 Move rightwards and upwards from the ledge to the base of a crack system. Climb the crack past a rail moving leftwards near the top. Continue up easier rock past two trees moving rightwards into another open book. Climb this open book to a ledge and belay.

Notes:

1. Good clean climbing, mainly on first pitch.

2. One may scramble off at various places on the second pitch.

3. The top part of TEN O'CLOCK CRAWL's third pitch is shared with this climb.

This climb is situated on the downstream face of the LITTLE MOLAR. (See LITTLE MOLAR description).

1. 30m 18 Climb up the middle of the face avoiding the recess on the left. Use a running belay on the tree to the left, as protection is minimal. On reaching a comfortable ledge traverse right and move up underneath the overhang. Traverse further right and then, after moving up, make a very committing gymnastic move left to a small ledge on the face above the overhang (crux). Move up an exposed face to an airy stance just below the final summit block.

Note: Use the peg (Lost Arrow) for the crux move. The first slab can be avoided by traversing in to the comfortable ledge from the gully on the left. The climb can be divided into two pitches, by using the comfortable ledge after the initial slab as a stance.

Descend as for OPUS ONE.

"A Motorway for sports models only, Some excellent, hard pitches." 1978

Start: up a clean, scalloped rib rising out of the trees 30m left of Champs Elysees

1. Climb the rib on superb holds to a ledge. Move up over a wet grassy "knee-pad" into a tight leaning chimney-crack to gain another ledge.

P2. Climb a steep wall behind the stance for 5m (a groove on the left) then do an awkward move onto a little stance with two stout old pegs. Continue to the corner beneath overhangs and pull up as high as possible before traversing right to Boulevard Ledge, similar to that on CE but narrower. Climb over an exposed corner before descending diagonally right to a stance.

1. Lower yourself off the ledge before traversing right beneath some blocks to a recess. Climb this to the big ledge below the ramp on CE, and move right to below a hard looking crack.

2. Pull up to a slab and cross this from left to right to gain the bottom of a twisted crack. Take the crack to beneath the roof, then move right across a smooth orange slab to the second gap between blocks to reach the Halfway Ledge.

3. A strenuous pull up from the top of a sloping block using small grips enables one to reach large flakes in the left crack. Climb to a stance next to a yellowwood tree. This pitch belongs to Frasers Frontal.

4. Step off the tree onto the under cut sidewall of the left hand buttress into he chimney. Swing around left onto a steep wall, then up and around left to pull up to a ledge. Continue up a boulder and fight a bush to share a stance with Frasers. Scramble to the top.

Climb the recess to right of the slab.

Climbs the steep wall to the right of Daydreamer. One can abseil onto the ledge from a tree. Climb up from the ledge on a ramp leading to the corner for nine metres, then traverse right to the base of an overhanging crack. Climb up to a ledge with a small tree on it. Move right and do a hard move to gain the obvious block. Climb up this and continue to the top. Loose!!

Climb the crack.

On the opposite side of the kloof to the GRASSY SLAB the river runs (occasionally) over some polished slabs right next to the krantz. 'Right Slant' goes up the steep recess above the slabs. 5m upstream there is a corner capped by an overhang 20m up. A small tree grows at the foot of the corner. The climb goes up this corner.

1. 32m 18 Climb the corner to the overhang. Traverse left across the slab beneath the overhang. Traverse a few meters further left and climb up to the cubbyhole at the base of a steep face .

2. 22m 15 Climb diagonally right to the large tree on the face. Continue up to the overhang on the left. Turn the overhang by climbing up and right and continue up to another overhang. Bypass this on the left and continue to the ledge.

3. 27m 8 Scramble up to a face on the right and climb it.

Climb easily up to the layback from the right. At the ledge traverse left to the blunt arete and climb this to the top. Rap is a few meter's away.

Start ~5m left of Stuffed Lion, just left of a corner crack. Climb straight up the white face to a ledge. Continue straight over blocky terrain to the base of a steep, brown layback crack. After a few meters, when the crack peters out, continue straight up, and easily to the top. The lower sections of this route have surely been done before.

" It is a beautiful corner. That corner deserves full marks, which I rarely bestow on any pitch. I thought that I was on a classic Cederberg route in that corner." Tinnie Versfeld (2022)

1. [19] 15m

   Climb P1 'The Ashes' stance in the corner/ recess. Do not walk left.

2. [18] 15m

   Climb the right tending corner/ recess to just a few meters below the rhombus (parallelogram) roof, when possible traverse left on a good finger rail stepping across a corner then round to easier ground. Climb up to the overhangs. Just below the overhangs there are loose large rectangular blocks, be mindful to not dislodge them. Traverse left till the route starts to head up again. Stance here.

3. [18] 15m

   Continuing left diagonally up through the stepped roofs till able to exit a small left facing corner. A trunk size block resting on the vegetated ledge marks the end of the route. A large protea tree to the left makes a good anchor point.

Short, stout, right-leaning meat grinder that is solid hands (with smears for feet) for the first half and then a fairly casual layback for the 2nd half. Definitely need to tape up for the first section.

Start at the base of the roofs just around the corner to the right of the 'Verooka Palooka' open book. Follow the line of bolts. The top anchors can be easily cleaned from the top.

The next 4 routes up to 'Bandaloop' are all in the same 'Clockworks' open book which is located about 40 m to the right of 'Verooka Palooka'.

Retro-bolted in 2004.

Situated 2m right of STYX.

1. 23m 19 Climb the overhang and continue up the face to the top of the crag.

About 40m upstream of STRAIGHT EDGE on true left of kloof, the kloof steps back to form a bushy and tree filled ledge about 20m above stream bed. Scramble up onto this and to its back.

1. 12m 15 Climb a recess on rough rock to a chockstone which blocks it at the top. Move out left past it onto a small ledge.

2. 18m 19 On the right hand side of the ledge, there is a spectacular upstream facing open book with a crack in its centre. After a tricky take-off move, climb the open book. Continue up on good jams and finger-locks to a small ledge 1m under the triangular roof. There is an optional step left onto face about 5m up. Fist-jam through the horizontal crack in the roof to a resting place on the arete. Move up and left to a belay ledge with a nettle tree. (Note: This pitch offers superbly protected and sustained climbing.)

3. 10m 17 From the ledge, two cracks can be seen. Climb the right hand jam crack till it is possible to step left 2m into the off-width crack in the corner. Climb this and the hidden crack on right hand face to the top.

Climb the direct line to the anchors.

Up the steep orange and black stripes to the right of the bigger recess. The route tends left, always just right of the recess. Very satisfying.

On the middle tier below Out on a Limb. Climb the obvious corner crack, break left at the top roof to stand on a ledge. Climb up a crimpy face off the ledge, into a diagonal upwards plates section and then top out below the top tier routes. The birdshit was mostly cleaned off