By Joshua Swinney / Photo Maarten Venter
Arriving under the oak trees for my first ever Cederberg Tafelberg trip, I’m both excited and nervous for what awaits us up on the escarpment. Any new climbing area always gives me butterflies in my stomach, as the irrational thoughts float around my head: Will the style suit me? What if I get pumped on everything? What if the grades feel harder than usual? Add to this that we’d been tasked by Tony Lourens to climb Oscillation – a classic, bold route on the south face of the Spout with a number of stories of misadventure surrounding it – to get photos for his upcoming book, the butterflies were definitely making themselves known.
The first ascent of Oscillation was done by Don Hartley, Paul Fatti, Mike Scott and Keith Fletcher in 1970. The first pitch sports the only bolt in the Tafelberg area (and the first ever drilled bolt in the Western Cape). It was hand-drilled by Don Hartley, while standing on Keith Fletcher’s head, who was tied to a single wobbly piton! In 1983, the route received its first free ascent by Ed February and Tinie Versfeld, an impressive feat considering the gear that was available during that time. The massive ‘white nose’, which is a prominent feature of the route, can be seen from the road on the drive in, and is easy to distinguish on the approach to Tafelberg.
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