ROCK CLIMBING MONTESEEL

The cliffs at Monteseel are the most popular traditional climbing venue in KwaZulu-Natal, and people have been recorded climbing here since the 1940s. It has been the scene of many historic developments in South African climbing, and continues to be a training ground, both for introducing newcomers to the sport, and training the older generation on its many and varied traditionally-protected climbs.

For example, the oldest recorded climb in KZN, Hot Plate (Grade 9, first climbed in 1941 by Charles Axelson, Sherman Ripley and Ted Gathercole) is to be found in the central area of the cliffs, just two minutes walk from the main parking spot. About a hundred metres east, and possibly the most-climbed route at Monteseel, Think (16) was a surprisingly hard and technical effort for its time when it was opened in 1963 by Sherman Ripley and Jim Thomson. Also in this area closest to the parking spot is Fallout (20) the first pitch of which was done in 1969 (again by Sherman Ripley and Jim Thomson), at that time probably one of the hardest pitches in the country. Nearby is the powerful and technical route Granny’s Souped-up Wheelchair (23), opened in 1979 by the the standard-setting and prolific climber Mike Roberts, a route once described by Roger Nattrass (himself a prolific standard-setter at Monteseel and elsewhere in South Africa) as “the ‘hard climbing’ entrance exam for any aspirant rock star”. About fifty metres further east one gets to the classic White Rider (26), which when it was opened in 1981, once again by Mike Roberts, was the hardest climb in South Africa – standards have risen since then, but it still doesn’t see many repeat ascents. Another two classic climbs in this area, Child of Darkness (25) and Zone Five (27), were opened by possibly the most famous climber (and mountaineer) in South Africa, Andy de Klerk, in the mid-to-late 1980s. These routes are just a small sample of the diversity of superb climbing available at Monteseel. Incredibly, there is still unclimbed rock here, and every few years, a new classic is opened.

Monteseel is easily accessible from Durban or Pietermaritzburg and has a selection of about 300 established climbing routes of all grades between 8 and 28, mostly one-pitch routes that vary in height between about ten and thirty metres. The rock is Natal Group Sandstone, mostly good-quality. The crag comprises two major sections, the Eastern and Western Buttresses, split by a small outcrop, the Lower Middle Buttress, right where the path goes down into the KwaXimba valley from the junction of Seeles Drive and the road linking it to Magdalene Avenue. A short walk down this path, then right along the base of the cliff for a mere hundred-odd metres, gives one a dense series of snapshots in stone showing off KZN’s (and South Africa’s) climbing history, covering about forty routes, including the ones described in the paragraph above. A full exploration of all the climbs available at Monteseel might take half a lifetime, if done properly.

A more complete description of the climbing at Monteseel, including a full list of climbs, can be found at the website of the Mountain Club of South Africa KwaZulu-Natal Section:

https://www.mcsakzn.co.za/activities/climbing/trad-sport-climbing/