by Tony Lourens
Krakadouw Main Amphitheatre is an impressive and rather intimidating wall of rock – a 250-metre-high amphitheatre skirting the upper ramparts of Krakadouw Peak, stretching about 500 metres from the Gendarme on the left to the ridge of Krakadouw Frontal on the right – a wall with no easy routes breaking through its steely grey and orange faces. Even the easiest route, Krakadouw Amphitheatre, is a tough proposition, demanding respect and courage. The route follows a somewhat meandering line up the centre of the amphitheatre, trending from left to right, taking a series of faces, corners and cracks to finish at the top right-hand corner of the wall.
Some decades ago, I attempted this route but, due to time constraints and a slice or two of fear, we decided to ditch our attempt a few pitches up in favour of more friendly endeavours. That retreat always niggled away at me and I knew that I had to go back one day and climb it. That day arrived in April 2023.
At 6am, before the light of dawn, Garvin Jacobs and I left our cozy campsite in the nek and traversed the base of the dark foreboding Subsidiary Amphitheatre, rounded the Gendarme and stood beneath the towering Main Amphitheatre, watching the colours of the rock grow lighter as the sun brightened the sky. Then we slowly made our way to the centre of the amphitheatre, where the route started.
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