Every time I lead the Klaassens Multiple Surprise, it’s a grey, slightly moist day. This is not a surprise. However, the customary recce a few days before is always a crystal clear blue day, seriously.
Agath’s Gully is fortuitously located to provide a great warmup for the scrambling which awaits. And if that’s not enough, a quick romp up The Camel provides the final sharpening touches.
In the context of Dave Carter’s Klaassens Multiple Surprise, a surprise is an instance in which the route doubles back on itself. In my favourite version of the route, this happens five times on the way up the west face of Klaassens Buttress. Of course this is only the case if viewed from above in two dimensions, as on a map. In three dimensions, the route finds ever higher ledges, and eventually a crack in the top of the buttress, to reach the summit.
Once up the buttress, a few more cracks, arches, and other rock features complete the fun.
