Table Mountain, the great roof. (one arm hang). Jacques van Zyl / mediadrumworld.com

By Mark McConville

INCREDIBLE images have captured one brave climber dicing with death as he scaled huge cliffs without any safety equipment.

The spectacular pictures show the fearless mountaineer climbing an enormous grey cliff face which makes him look tiny in comparison.

Paarl Mountain Reserve, Little Dutch Boy. Jacques van Zyl / mediadrumworld.com

Other stunning shots show the rock climber hanging by one arm with the sea and land visible in the background hundreds of feet below, looking up into the camera as he continues his rise up the rock and celebrating at the top after the completion of his climb.

The astonishing photographs show Free Solo climber Matt Bush and were taken by South African photographer Jacques van Zyl.

Paarl Mountain Reserve. Jacques van Zyl / mediadrumworld.com

ā€œMatt is one of the most talented climbers I have ever met,ā€ he said.

ā€œIt must be obvious by now that Matt has an incredible mental ability to stay calm and focused even when death seems to be knocking at the door but he is also extremely talented physically.

Lions Head, Route: De Bruyn Damage. Jacques van Zyl / mediadrumworld.com

ā€œI personally think if he wanted to, he could match or more the hardest climbing grades in the world. So now you can just imagine what else is possible for somebody like Matt.

ā€œClimbing is much more calculated and methodical than people realize. It is not like we get jacked up on 10 cans of Monster energy drink and go smash out hard routes. It could never work.ā€

Table Mountain, Route: Africa Arete. Jacques van Zyl / mediadrumworld.com

Mr van Zyl explained how Matt could scale these huge rock faces with no safety equipment.

ā€œMatt can do this because he has been refining his skill set his whole life,ā€ he said.

ā€œHe is very meticulous and only sets out when he feels he is completely and honestly ready. I told Matt once Iā€™ll solo climb something when I am 95% sure I can do the climb flawlessly and leave 5% for the adventure.

Table Mountain, Woodhead Dam Wall. Jacques van Zyl / mediadrumworld.com

ā€œMatt looked at me rather disgusted and said he would never solo climb a route like that and I should not either.

ā€œHe carried on by saying that he only solo climbs a route when he felt he is 120% ready and so leaves no element to chance.

ā€œI remember questioning myself who the crazy one is here. You must be really honest with yourself before you leave your rope behind.

ā€œIf the answer is ā€˜yesā€™ then it can be very rewarding but there is always a factor of randomness that needs to be added to the equation.ā€

Paarl Mountain Reserve, Casualties of War. Jacques van Zyl / mediadrumworld.com

Mr van Zyl, who shoots using a Fuji XT-2 camera, admitted there can be some problems due to the factor of randomness and explained how he took the amazing pictures.

ā€œJust the other day Matt got attacked buy two Jackal buzzards while free soloing on a 100m route at Paarl,ā€ he added.

ā€œThis could have killed him. Six months before a snake popped out of a crack while he was soloing a route on Lions Head. You just canā€™t prepare for everything.

Paarl Mountain Reserve, Route: All or nothing. Jacques van Zyl / mediadrumworld.com

ā€œThe best shots are often where the action is so I rely on my climbing skills to get me in and out of there.

ā€œIt can get a little scary because I often have to take up some gear but itā€™s not too bad. You get use to these spaces and I try and be very careful when doing so. Especially when Matt climbs very close to me.

ā€œI have to be very careful not to get in Mattā€™s way because he has no margin and is most likely free soloing a route that most people could never climb even with a rope.ā€

Paarl Mountain Reserve, Route: Run Like Hell. Jacques van Zyl / mediadrumworld.com

The rock-climbing photographer believes the challenge makes the result much more rewarding.

ā€œI love it because its wild and challenging,ā€ explained Mr van Zyl.

ā€œMaybe the hard work makes the image more rewarding. Every shot has its own adventure story. You canā€™t just snap these on the go. It takes planning and hard work. Even then it is never a given.

Table Mountain, Route: Dynamite. Jacques van Zyl / mediadrumworld.com

ā€œJust last week Matt almost got swept away by a massive wave on route to his project. You just never know if itā€™s going to work or not.

ā€œWhen it doesnā€™t Iā€™m generally not too phased. It is fun to be in the mountains and I intend to keep it that way.ā€