Traverse House
7C+ – 8A · 4 routes · sandstone · Font
- Approach 14 min — rock slabs and sand from the upper Pakhuis road, one short section of easy scrambling
- Best season July and August, on cold dry days with wind. Give the wall a day after rain.
- Published
- Updated
Traverse House is the hard climber's destination in Rocklands: a steep, overhanging wall with a small number of world-class 8A and above problems, famous for powerful compression climbing on immaculate orange sandstone.
The hard lines
This is where South African bouldering set its modern standard. The problems are steep, athletic and long, often with a crux at the very top where the wall kicks back. Several of them involve compression between two slopers, which is a style the area has become known for.
There is essentially nothing below 7C here. Treat the sector as a project destination and plan rest days around it — the sandstone is demanding and sessions are short.
Conditions
The wall is high on the slope and catches the wind. Cold, dry, windy days in July and August give the best conditions in the southern hemisphere for this style of climbing. Humidity after rain makes the slopers unusable for a day or two.
The approach holds moisture longer than the lower sectors, so give it an extra day after significant rain.
Respect the project culture
The hard lines here often have people working them over multiple seasons. Ask before you pull on, do not take photographs of someone else's sequence without asking, and do not leave tick marks on the holds between sessions.
Routes · 4
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Hold types arete · sloper · heel-hook
Open beta
Technical arete with a delicate finish on slopers. The hardest moves are the last three, which is exactly when you least want them.
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Hold types sloper · compression · heel-hook
Open beta
The sector's signature problem: a long compression line on two blunt slopers with a top-out that kicks back. Conditions decide everything.
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Hold types crimp · roof · toe-hook
Open beta
Steep roof on small edges with a hard first move out of the horizontal. Set the toe hook, then move fast.
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Hold types crimp · lock-off · compression
Open beta
Powerful face climbing with a crux on a single small edge. The most repeated hard line in the sector and the sensible first 8A here.
Crag ethics
Crag ethics
No chipping, no glue, no brushing of the patina. Tick marks are removed at the end of every session without exception.
