Advanced Mountain Leadership course (Drakensberg) Sep 2003

I left my car at Rob’s place and we drove in his car. This was my last practical for my Advanced Mountain Leadership Course. The drive down was unspectacular but it started getting interesting when we got onto the paved road. There was thick mist around, the temperature was dropping and eventually it started raining lightly. Soon the rain turned into ice rain and not long after we got onto the dirt road it was snowing. We were very happy and hoped it would get thicker. By the time we got to the Car park it was snowing a fair amount and we agreed to sleep in the hut or in the car. There were only two guys in the hut so we gladly paid the R15 for the night.

Day 1 (6 September): We got up just after 6am and everything outside was white. It was still snowing lightly and we dressed warm. The walking was interesting as everything was covered in snow and parts of the concrete paths were iced over. It did not take us long to get to the gully but in between we took a lot of pictures with the snow and ice. We climbed up a bit in the gully and then we started with some of the practical stuff. I had to put up natural anchors for belaying and then belayed using an HMS knot on a karabiner. We also did some short-roping higher up in the gully. When we got to the top, Rob brewed some tea and took some more pictures. It was approaching 11am when we left for the Tugela bowl. We did some more down-hill short-roping until we got to the Tugela bowl. We chatted a little with another group camped there and then continued past to the hut where we had lunch. We were just finishing up when two Parks Board employees showed up. They invited us in and we sat around the coal stove warming up for a while before we left. We climbed across the hill and descended to Bilanjil river. Soon we found the shelter where we could bivvy and spent the rest of the afternoon doing improvised rescue techniques. It started to clear a little later and we walked over to some of the cracks in the escarpment. We took a lot of photos before eventually returning to our shelter and getting dinner started. It cleared even more as the sun set and it promised to be a very cold night.

Day 2 (7 September): Save a few wisps in the east, it was cloudless when we got up just before 7am. Though still cold, the sun warmed us up nicely. We first walked a bit of the escarpment edge taking more pictures, before finally deciding to go for Mont-aux-Sources. Rob started off very fast and I had trouble keeping up. Eventually however, I found my pace and managed to get ahead a little. We both pretty much followed our own routes and although it was a long climb we got to the top just before 10am. The wind was howling. We stayed on top just long enough for a picture – we could still see snow on Sterkhorn and Cathkin. We climbed down the top and descended via the ridge leading to the chain ladders. The walk to the chain ladders was long but easy and at the top cairn Rob wanted to teach me the classic abseil. To say the least it was uncomfortable but I tried it twice to make sure I would be able to do it again. Then we climbed down the ladders with me belaying Rob on the long one. There were a lot of people on their way up and we were glad that we got off before they got up. As soon as we hit the path we picked up speed and in less than an hour got back to the Car park. We lingered just long enough to get our shoes off and a clean shirt on, then left for home.