Window Buttress

by Sean Houghton in January 2012 - Hiker's Circle

Window Gorge is a dangerous ascent route to the Back Table, made so by the loose nature of the surface, which can give way at any time in several places. So the most sensible way of reaching the top of Window Buttress is by climbing Skeleton Gorge and hiking along Smuts Track to the buttress.

Unfortunately, we chose a near windless, scorching 30 degree Cape Town day to do this hike. Not only does Skeleton Gorge remain one of the prettiest and more interesting routes up Table Mountain but, on days such as this, it is mercifully cooler as most of the climb is made under the forest canopy. Not that the shade has any impact on the humidity and we were soon sweating freely, as were all the hikers whose paths we crossed on this popular path above Kirstenbosch.

The cooling breeze we had hoped for once we climbed out of the gorge onto Smuts Track didn’t get the memo and failed to turn up, so we knew we were in for a particularly hot day.

On the plus side there was water in Skeleton Gorge – barely a dribble, but it was wet – and the stream above Window Gorge actually trickled from pool to pool, thanks to some rain that had fallen over the previous 10 days. The Mountain is still worryingly dry and, unless some more unexpected rain falls in the near future, the fire hazard in going to grow alarmingly with each passing day.

However, being on the Mountain is about the experience and it’s up to each hiker to determine whether it’s going to be good or bad. No matter how hot it was, we were going to take our time and see and absorb as much of it as we could.

We had wondered why Window Gorge was so named… Was it because of its fantastic views? Did the sides of the gorge ‘frame’ the views? Was the name coined looking down from above or up from below?

The precipitous walls of the gorge certainly make for some impressive views and this is no place for attitudinally-challenged individuals. Bruce got some spectacular photos and we just hope they give you some idea of how breathtaking Window Gorge really is.

A while later we took welcome refuge from the heat in the cool rock shelter near the aqueduct and Sweetie quickly settled in for a breather while Bruce took photographs. A little further along, we explored a small but cool cave.

Having explored all we could, we decided to head back to Skeleton Gorge to go home. Along the way we happened to look at a rock which we immediately knew was the feature after which Window Gorge is named. It is actually seen this window ‘feature’ which looks out over the valley above Window Gorge.

As hot and tired as we were, we had to go back and have a closer look at the Window and were very happy that we did. No one has ever explained or been able to show us the Window before and we’ve never seen any published photographs of it either. It’s no wonder because it was very tricky to reach and even more difficult to do so from a photographic perspective.

So we sincerely hope that you, our readers, enjoy what we believe may be some of the first photographs of this little feature ever published.

This is why we love Table Mountain. There’s always something to see, no matter how many times you climb it. And the more you respect the Mother Mountain, the more of herself she is likely to reveal.

Please remember Full Circle does not claim to be a definitive hiking guide and you should only attempt this, or any other hike on Table Mountain, if accompanied by an experienced guide.