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What is the best route up Rwanqa Pass ?
2 Opinions i've had suggested up the middle ridge and work your way into the Pass to avoid the waterfalls at the bottom

The trick with Rwanqa is exactly that: avoid the gully and the waterfalls. For the most part it's a steep, grassy pass - no need to clamber up boulders. I've heard about people needing ropes to pull up packs, but that can be avoided.

The grassy ridge coming down directly below the Black and Tan Wall is your salvation on Rwanqa. Be alert for a small trail which will guide you onto the southern flank, where it starts disappearing, but where you simply ramp onto the crest of this ridge. Follow the crest up as far as reasonably possible, directly below the Black And Tan Wall. From there it's a steep, grassy traverse across to the main gully from where the going becomes easier (no trail).

If you download the GPX file from the downloads section and open it in Google Earth, you will clearly see how the track avoids the main gully. Hope this helps.

There's a rock-band that runs across the Southern slope about 1/2way up to the Black & Tan wall. Are you saying use the ridge to go above this rock-band and then traverse into the Pass ?

sorry, could not view on Google Earth

On the hiking map you'll see 2 annual rivers, one originating directly from the summit of the pass, the other from the southern part of the Black and Tan Wall. The ridge I'm talking about lies exactly in the middle of these and sticks out 90 degress from the wall. It's a steep slog up the southern flank of this ridge, a short scramble through a small rock band, onto the crest of the ridge (a knife-ridge of sorts). You continue up this ridge directly towards the wall until it's almost on top of you. From there you traverse towards the main gully.

Thanks for the advice Intrepid.
I didnt fancy the exposure using the steep middle Ridge. From my overnight at the junction I made my way up river : 2 waterfalls to navigate, the 1st I scrambled up the RHS but the 2nd was impassable so I made my way thro the thick bush on the RHS.
Just after a little cleft on the LHS banks I made my way directly up the left slopes, away from the riverbed : pretty steep !! Thro thick bushes again to just below the rock-band that runs left to right (obvious in pics). I contoured along the steep slopes into the Pass itself (avoiding a pretty large waterfall).
Then I kept mostly on the RHS boulderbed, 1 or 2 minor scrambles ... and very steep ... until I could no more and then navigated into middle and then back again on RHS onto very steep grassy slopes crossing one rock fall .... then its just a slog onto the summit.
I'd rate it right up there with Icidi ito difficulty.

Magan wrote:


This coming from a man who even managed to turn Langalibalele into a rock pass

Your route sounds like the route we used in descent, back in 2002. Quite hairy and I think I'd take that Black & Tan ridge over the gully any day...