“Montes” is a 2km-long, north-facing sandstone crag. For 70 years it has been the mainstay of climbing, climbing training and rescue training in the province, essentially making it holy ground to many cragsmen. It is also the crag where Andrew deKlerk (AdK), Mike Roberts, Roger Fuggle and Dave Cheeseman cut their teeth (and established test-pieces of their era's). In the late 1970s, some of the hardest climbs in South Africa were located here.

This crag offers a variety of climbing, includingperhaps the best environment in SA to introduce new climbers to the sport. Themain area boasts plenty of easy to moderate, well-protected routes with easy topand bottom access. This has also led to it being used by various rescuetraining organisations, including the Mountain Club. 

ACCESS

The land that forms the Eastern Buttress is eThekweni (Durban) municipal land, which is preserved for conservation purposes. There are no access restrictions for climbers or walkers. The residents of the large house with horse stables on top of the Western Buttress own most of the Lower Middle and Western Buttress. Although the land is privately owned, the Mountain Club of South Africa, KZNSection, owns a servitude to the cliffs all along this property. This covers the area 10 feet back from the edge of the cliff and 10 feet down the slope at the bottom of the cliff. A concrete wall encloses most of the owners’ property, and all the cliffs that fall within this area must be accessed via the main gate. The Mountain Club has good relations with the landowner. Please do Pleasedo not scale the wall to gain access.

CODES

Monteseel has letter codes given for most of the routes, dating back to the 1970s. This code is included in the RDs below. The code has been painted on the rock at the start of many routes and in some places, also at the top of a route.

GETTING DOWN

Abseilpoints: Seven bolted abseil points have been established to aid access to the bottom of the cliffs. These are located, from east to west, at the top of the Vertigoscramble, Quality Street, Old Man’s Climb Direct, Sizzle, Jean, First Annual, and Morsel (this last point is mainly used to get to the start of Utopia).

SECURITY

There is a large, impoverished population in the valley below the crags. No serious incidents have been reported, but it would be wise to leave nothing of value visible in your car. It is equally inadvisable to leave valuables, especially clothing and footwear, lying around unattended at the top of the crag.

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