Pyramid Scheme F2/15
FA: D. Mercer and C. Turvey 2/02/2010
P1 – The Knights Who Say Ni: FA by Tony Lourens
This is a great route on good rock – recommended.
Start: The route starts up the crack of “The Knights Who Say Ni” on the left hand side of Block Buttress.
P1 – 20m F2: Climb the crack to an easy and obvious traverse. Follow the traverse right and climb easily up to a bolted stance on a good ledge.
P2 – 35m F2: Climb up and left onto a shattered shelf. Follow the shelf to the left. Where it runs out pull up through a small overlap and continue up to a ledge on the right (pitch could be broken here). Climb the undercut corner crack at the back of the ledge and then climb diagonally up and left across a face split by horizontal rails. At the left side of the face continue straight up the arête/corner to a good ledge above and to the right. This is at the right hand base of the blocky pyramid that provides the key to this route.
P3 – 20m C: Scramble up and to the left to the top of the blocky pyramid.
P4 – 15m F2: Climb up into the recess on the right, reach high for an excellent rail and move across the corner onto the face on the left, directly above the belayer. Continue straight up a vague recess to a narrow ledge under another large roof.
P5 – 35m F2: Traverse easily to the right for 6 or 7m. Climb up to a rail beneath a roof and traverse back left for 3 or 4 m to bypass the overhangs. Climb straight to the top.
Blunt Brothers F3/17
FA: D. Mercer and C. Turvey 3/02/2010
Good rock all the way, pitch 4 is particularly good. Recommended.
Start: Where the path to Rooiberg meets the rock face it turns left to follow the wall. It soon climbs steeply up into the prominent corner below the great red roof. A short way up on the right hand side is a ledge on a corner under a large overhang. On the end of the ledge is a pointy white block.
P1 – 30m F2: Traverse right from the white block across the easy angled face to the corner. Hand traverse a further 5-6m to a detached block. Belay at the block.
P2 – 40m F2: Climb straight up the face above the block. Move slightly left at the top of the face and continue up to stance at the base of a recess capped by a triangular roof.
P3 – 20m F2: Climb the left hand wall of the recess heading diagonally up and left to a block stack on the edge of the overhang. Climb the block stack, pull through the small overhang above and continue up to a long broad ledge.
Walk 10 – 15m to the right to a big recess capped by a huge triangular roof. The next pitch climbs the layback crack at the back of the recess on the left.
P4 – 16m F3: Climb the crack till forced left. Do a tricky move up to gain a hand rail below the dassie ledge. Follow the rail (and sparse footholds) to the left till forced to pull up onto the dassie ledge. Follow the dassie ledge to the left to a broad, bushy ledge.
P5 – 20m F2: 8m to the left of the dassie ledge climb an obvious weakness in the face above. Jug-haul up the face to where the angle eases.
Scrambling leads to the top.
