Following a bad injury and a 5-month lay-off from climbing I'm keen to get started with some big, easy country routes.

Dark Horse, Guy Paterson-Jones and I are intending to climb Lucifer in Duiwelskloof on Saturday 26 January. I've done four or five routes in the kloof over the years but haven't been there for a few years. This will be the first trip in Duiwelskloof for Dark and Guy.

Would any of you Stellenbosch climbers like to join us? Can you advise on current access arrangements, etc?

regards,
Hilton Davies

We had a fantastic day climbing Lucifer on Saturday. I'd forgotten what a big wall it is - about 450m. And what a big day out it is.

My memory of the descent from previous trips was vague. On Saturday night we descended the gorge to the giant boulder that blocks the kloof just upstream from the dogleg and scrambled down to the left of it. Then directly below the boulder we went down the watershoot for a ways then out to the right where we did a pretty dangerous exposed descent.

Anyone have some better beta for this section below the boulder?

Hi Hilton

The descent/ascent of the waterfall below the boulder is relatively easy, maybe a C scramble. On the way up the kloof we usually start up an obvious lower angled section some way to the left (~20-25m) of the waterfall (looking upstream). Once at the top of the scramble there is again a fairly obvious climb to the right (moving around the arete) and down to get to the stream above the waterfall and cross to the right bank where you can walk easily up to the right of the huge boulder.

My guess is that you were too close to the waterfall and should have been further away around the arete to the right (facing downstream).

. Apologies for the terrible picture but my work pc only has paint

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Happy climbing
Nic

aah, thank you Nic.

Thanks for your pm and these messages and drawing.

I think you're right - that we were too close to the waterfall. It felt pretty serious with a 50m fall from the slightest slip.

Duiwelskloof is such a fantastic canyon. And at 500m that main wall is big. You guys in Stellenbosch have a great adventure-zone there on your doorstep. I had a call from Robin Barley last night (he was the main man once upon a time and opened such routes as Roulette, Apollo, Celestial Journey etc) and he told me some of his old stories in Duiwelskloof. Great memories for him.

Thanks again.
ciao
H