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That reminds me: I saw clear signs of smugglers on the sunset trail above the hotel in December: Old shoes, cloths and lots of mealie bags strewn down the stream at one of the small waterfalls.

On our Pine Bust in March, we saw 8-10 smugglers between the Keartlands Pass/Sphinnx for, and the route to the top of Sunset Trail, toward Champagne Castle Hotel. 

Also, from the trail below Keith Bush, where it starts to turn back toward Hlathikulu Nek, there is a smugglers path virtually in a straight line to the top of Makhulumane Gorge. Not sure of the route from there..
 

My guess would be not down via Champagne valley to avoid the KZNEzemvelo gate and hotel bottleneck. I have not once seen any smugglers in the area between Hlatikulu neck and Blind mans corner down to MonksCowl gate and Champagne Hotel in 20 years. My guess would be down towards Bergview area unless they snug through Monks Cowl gate area at night somehow.

 

5 smugglers going down Gray's at 9.30am on Sunday morning 24 April 2022. We were heading up as a party of 2, and there was a party of 5 hikers a little behind us. Smugglers were friendly. It's funny, because we were anticipating lots of smuggler activity near Tlanyaku pass and the Didima gorge area, but didn't see any evidence at all in those areas - yet on the popular Gray's pass, they were just marching down in broad daylight and there was a lot of trash and left behind clothing (why does this happen?).

We were wondering where they might exit to South Africa. Straight towards the Champagne valley or would they head down Mhlwazini river at some stage.

You ski the scree coming down.  You need poles.  Plant your downhill pole, jump twisted one way, land sideways the other way, legs bent, slide in the scree, everything moves, that's good, less stress on you.  Plant the downhill pole, swing on it, get your feet in the air, and twist the other way, landing sideways the other way. 
It should look like your head tracks straight down, only below the waist are you twisting and shock absorbing.  Bam bam bam you're down in no time and it's easy.  Leather boots and gaiters essential.  Wear gloves in case you fall.

Yip, did that on Kilimanjaro back in 2000, Robbie copied me.  We waited hours for the others.

wrote:

1. Mponjwane Pass has a really dodgy section by the wormhole - as Papa Dragon discovered. I didn't enjoy this section either - we also had a lot of rocks raining down as each person went through.

And more recently, Mzimude North Pass..   www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/drakenberg-passes-garden-castle/56628-mzimude-pass-north.html#77339

As far as loose Drakensberg ground goes, I think different routes have a very different feel to them. Loose ground next to a big drop is different to loose ground in a gully. I've done Gray's and BT about 5 times each - so I would say I have a fair basis for a comparison between them (no comment on the bit after the turnoff on each as I have never missed the turnoff on either).

I find Buggers feels more likely to end badly - there are large drops that one could easily go over, even with very careful foot placement, the ground is exceptionally unstable in all but perfect conditions. I have watched surprisingly large rocks go down the Orange Peel side of Buggers after I dislodged them despite being very careful, and they go a long way (based on the noise). Gray's summit gully is loose, but one can pick a line that is mostly stable with careful planning and gentle foot placement. I usually hold to the edge of the gully as much as possible. Both sections are reasonably short, though. If I had to do one - I'd take Gray's over BT any day, from a purely safety perspective. Then again - I don't really like either pass (the views from both are notably exceptional, which is a mitigating factor).

Some other dangerously loose sections on passes:

1. Cathkin Mountain Pass (Ships Prow North Gully) has a very long sustained loose section. While slipping probably won't take you over a cliff, there's enough loose ground in that gully to get badly hurt if you or someone else nearby isn't careful.
2. Nguza Pass has a very long loose section which I actually found really fun.
3. Mponjwane Pass has a really dodgy section by the wormhole - as Papa Dragon discovered. I didn't enjoy this section either - we also had a lot of rocks raining down as each person went through.

Incidentally I recently climbed Mount Meru (4566m) in Tanzania. The top section is on volcanic scree - which is always tricky ground. It helps that the mountain gets climbed a lot, so the trail is heavily compacted, plus you go up at night while the ground is frozen. But coming down that in the early morning, you do slip and slide a lot. Although its tame compared to any of the passes mentioned above.
  

I generally find the Cape Mountains far less intimidating in this regard, I think extremely loose ground is a more common feature of volcanic mountains. On Mannetjiesberg in the Kammanassie Mountains, I used a massive scree field to avoid vegetation and the rock was surprisingly stable, especially considering it was mostly small rocks. This picture makes it look a lot less steep than it actually was.
 

@Matroskinn

The "INTERESTING" sections on the Grays pass gully (i.e. if you missed the turnoff to the right about 30m down the pass itself and continued straight down) are further down. It's pretty much near vertical in sections. Different kettle of fish entirely when compared to Buggers Gulch, which is mainly steep with loose rocks and gravel. However, Buggers Gulch can definitely also be "interesting", depending on the weather conditions on the day. Iced up that thing is "INTERESTING"

I went down Gray's Pass at the very end of November 2021 and the chain with the sign to go right was there for sure. I didn't go pass the chain but there were lose rocks everywhere. Not as bad as Bugger's Gulley though. 

Ah ok thanks Merv   Yes it seems the 10m high gulley wide boulder I found myself perched on is gone now. Andy Birkett had an article on his website (which no longer exists) and he also noted this boulder but then escaped sideways in the day time. We went back up. It sat about 170m vertical metres down. It seems like 400-500m down there is a big waterfall. The person noted all the rocks looks like they had recently fell down and super loose. Hopefully someone can get up there and maybe set up the chain again. The thoughts still haunt me 

There is a chain across the gully and a sign pointing to the path, I did suspect a rockfall would destroy the chain sooner or later, so maybe this has happened in the last couple months

Just a heads up once again about Grays Pass if you are descending. Someone recently went down at night into the gulley and then missed the exit. The story had a good ending but please take note and exit the pass correctly. I did the same thing in 2016 also at night and that gulley is your worst nightmare. It was without a doubt the scariest night of my life in that bed of marbles. Take care as it's very easy to go down too far and it has claimed lives already. Have a great 2022 

Hi Brea,

Welcome to VE

Can you maybe be a bit more specific with your question? What specifically do you want to know "Any news on this pass" could keep me typing for hours

To maybe help you out in the meantime, here's a couple of pointers that you might find usefull.

3 days hike. Absolutely doable. Here's how I would do it over 3 days:

Day 1
Start early from Moncs Cowl office, hike up past the Sphinx and stop for a quick break and water at either breakfast stream once you get to the top of the lower berg, or continue for another 1km or so to the T-Junction at BMC (blind mans corner), turn left and stop for brunch in the shade at BMC campsite. We did this exact route (up to BMC) about a month ago and the water in the stream was very low, so maybe fill up if there is water at Breakfast stream. Bring lots of sunc=screen along as it is getting a lot sunnier and warmer now. 

From here, continue along the contour path (turn right at BMC) and carry on to KBC (keith bush camp) where you can pitch your tent/s. Ther is normally water in the stream below the campsite, but, if the waterlevel is low where you cross the river about 1,5km from KBC, fill up and carry up to KBC. If you get to KBC and the group is fast and strong you can tackle Grays pass, if not, spend the night at KBC. If you go to the top you can either spend the night at vultures retreat (once you top out, turn right and carry down for about 300m, and camp anywhere where you find a flat spot), or turn left and carry on about 350m to the left, cross over the river and go to Nkosazan cave located in the lowest rock band on the western side.

Day 2:
Get an early start, as once the sun is out you will bake in the sun - there is no water on the pass. I would suggest downloading the track for Grays pass from this website (look under the downloads section), as it is fairly easy to miss the path about 70% up, as you get closer to the rockbands. I made this mistake on my first ascent, and got cliffed out. I climbed up, but it is far easier and safer to simply backtrack about 70m or so and you should then see the correct route to take. The correct path takes you right under the cliff face - if you are about 50m away from it while traversing under it, you are on the wrong path.

Once you top out you can explore the area, if your goal is to overnight here. I would suggest turning left and hiking the 3km up to the left and checking out the top of Ships Prow pass, Champaign Castel and Moncs Cowl. If you overnighted on top on day 1, you could go check out Didima cave which is a good 10km further and then backtrek to spend day 2 on top of Grays.

Day 3 is a relatively easy, but long trek back to the campsite. Once past BMC I would suggest taking Kearlands pass down the lower berg rather than the route you came up with (past the Sphinx) for a change of scenary. I suspect it is the slightly longer route, but the final 1km back to camp is flatter and therefore easier.

Whichever route you take, enjoy!!!

Good day, any news on this pass ? We are planning to do it this coming long weekend on 3 days. Starting from Monks Cowl.  Thank you. Blan.

We arrived at Dragon Peaks in the dark on Thursday night (3rd Sept) to a cold and overcast Champagne valley for a three day two night hike from Monks Cowl Car park to the top of Gray’s and back. We did not intend to sleep on top as our plan was to use KBC as a base camp. On Friday morning we woke to see the upper reaches of the berg covered in snow.



However all nine of us were in good spirits before starting off at Monks Cowl with the sun shining down on us. Once past breakfast stream the cloud came in and we were hiking in pleasant overcast conditions. Water was in reasonable supply all the way to the Mwhalzini stream crossing. Seven of the hikers were first timers but all were fit enough for the challenge and we kept a fairly good pace.




After Hlatikulu neck it started to drizzle but not hard enough to make it unpleasant. The mood changed a little on the last leg to KBC after crossing the stream as this part is a bit of a slog after the “easy going” path from MCC to Mhwalzini stream. However we arrived at KBC in good time, after missing the path that goes down to KBC and doing a bit of “bush whacking” to find KBC.



The views were stunning with snow covering the tops of most of the mountains surrounding KBC. We found water at KBC so no issues there and the only problem was the un-expected cold. Fortunately there was hardly any wind so it was bearable with the kit we had. All went to bed fairly early but none had a good night’s sleep, although judging by the amount of snoring some people slept better than others.



The next morning the clouds had lifted and the morning started off sunny and bright. Again the views of the snow covered peaks were stunning. Not being experience climbers we were not sure if we could make it through the snow but decided we would go as far as we could and turn back if the snow was a problem. During the early parts of the climb up the ridge above KBC the clouds came and went, so we had some amazing views and then within a few minutes we were climbing in the mist, this continued on and off for most of the day.



When we reached the altitude of the snow the going became a little tricky as some members of the party did not have proper hiking shoes or boots and were in running shoes. We also struggled to find the cutback as the snow was hiding any signs of a path. None the less we found our way to the entrance of the scree gully near the top of Gray’s and apart from a few cold feet all were in good spirits. Two of our fellow hikers suffered from vertigo and I must commend them on keeping going to this point. We also came across our first group of “smugglers” who appeared out of the mist as we were starting to round the corner to the gully. In total we passed three groups of them during the day.



I went ahead to examine and test the conditions in the gully as the snow was quite heavy here. After checking it out three of our group decided they would remain where we were, as conditions in the gully were quite difficult especially for those in running shoes, whilst the others went ahead to summit the gully.



The snow on top was approximately 100-200mm deep on the eastern side (west facing slopes)but fortunately the wind was mild and we were in the sun once on the summit. Unfortunately we could not experience the stunning views owing to the cloud forming in the valleys below and up the face of the Champagne ridge and Dragons back. We did still manage to get some amazing pictures. We reached the top of Gray’s in around 4 hours.



The hike back down was uneventful and ended up being a relay between us and the third bunch of “smugglers”. They would pass us at pace and then stop for a long break and we would pass them, and so it went on until we reached KBC. There were no issues with them at all. The front “runners” of our group made it back in 1hr45 minutes, the stragglers about 40 minutes later.



The third day we again woke to a clear sky and majority of the snow melted except for a fairly deep snow drift in the neck between Monks Cowl and Cathkin Peak. The cloud again came up as we started back and stayed with us all the way to breakfast stream. Most made it back to Monks Cowl feeling a bit wobbly but in good spirits. One of our eager front runners from the day before was feeling the effects and struggled down from breakfast stream with sore knees and ankles.



All in all a very enjoyable hike and everyone has memories that will last a life time. I must also mention that two of our group come from disadvantaged backgrounds and said that this was the highlight of their lives to date.

ghaznavid wrote: From here the path gradually loses altitude as you approach the Mhlwazini River – the great Sterkhorn towers above you. At some point there is a path that splits to the right which you need to take (not sure where the other path goes to).

The join up about 100m further on, one zig zags & one is more direct going side to the side stream.

This is where the path splits on the way up the pass, as mentioned either path is fine and they meet up at about 2900m
29° 4'26.17"S 29°19'59.06"E at 2722m

This is the spot where you need to go left, there is a false path going right.
29° 4'23.55"S 29°19'37.49"E at 2951m


The gully: it is very loose but I didn't find it too bad. There is a path all the way up, its not always the best line but help avoid some of the bigger rocks.

Tent city at Keith Bush camp. There are 6 tents there and still plenty open space, 3 groups had just left.


View up the pass to the gully


Nkosazana Cave, at the moment a 2 sleeper. The good thing was that it was at least 5 degrees warmer than down by the river which had sheets of ice in


Looking down Gray's from the top

Approach:

You can approach the pass via Keartlands Pass, this route assumes you are taking the easier Sphinx Route.

From the car park you briefly follow the road till you see a large rock with a sign pointing to the left, with, amongst other things, the Sphinx. Take this turnoff.

The path is obvious and easy. It crosses a large stream that I wouldn’t drink from via some large wooden bridges (remember that people do live upstream from here). About 2km in you cross the stream just under Crystal Falls – I usually get water here if necessary. The waterfall is tucked around the corner, but you can hear it and see it without deviating from the path.

Shortly after Crystal Falls you will walk under the Sphinx. The path then turns around sharply and winds up toward the top of the Sphinx.





The path then turns around sharply again and rises toward breakfast stream (another good water spot). Breakfast stream is crossed on the small Berg escarpment. You will have a nice view of Cathkin, Sterkhorn, Turret and Amphlett from here. Old Woman Grinding Corn and Ntunja are clearly visible from around here as well.



Keep following the path as it rises gently toward the contour path. You gain around 150m in this 1km stretch. It’s slightly more tiring than it sounds!

As you reach the contour path the path splits in 2 in almost a triangle shape – while it doesn’t really matter which side you take, the right side is a bit shorter, and on hitting the contour path, turn right. There is a large green sign here that tells you that you have reached Blind Man’s Corner.



The walk from here to Hlathikulu Nek is flat and easy. The path winds in and out of gullies just like what we are all used to on the contour path. 2 of these have good water in them – remember that you will have good water in about 3km, so you don’t need too much here.

To me, explanations of what Hlathikulu Nek is made no sense, but when I saw it it was obvious. The contour path suddenly goes around a corner with a large ridge extending out. There is a turnoff to the left here which is the turnoff you must take. The big giveaway is the view of Intunja straight in front of you (for those who don’t know, Intunja is Zulu for the Eye of the Needle, referring to the large hole clearly visible from Hlathikulu Nek).



Apparently Hlathikulu means a great forest – referring to the large forest on the slopes below the nek on the south side.



From here the path gradually loses altitude as you approach the Mhlwazini River – the great Sterkhorn towers above you. At some point there is a path that splits to the right which you need to take (not sure where the other path goes to).



From there the path relatively steeply drops to the river, which you cross at around 1980m (a bit painful after being at 2150 on the contour path). This is the last water you will have before the escarpment – remember that Gray’s Pass mostly follows a ridge, not a gully.



You now begin to slowly gain altitude again as you walk further and further into the cutback carved out by the Mhlwazini River. The path is still very good and clear.

Keith Bush camp is off to the left near the base of the pass, by a tree near the river. In winter its visible due to the fact that it is a flat grassy patch of different colour to the surrounding grass. It doesn’t look like you could get more than 2 tents in there – but I haven’t been to that spot, so I’m not sure.

The pass

The pass starts by crossing a dry riverbed and ascending a steep eroded bank that will probably collapse in the next 2 or 3 years – much like the official start of Mashai Pass opposite Pillar Cave Annex.



The pass starts off with a sustained altitude gain of roughly 50m in altitude for every 100m covered. The path is very eroded and there are false paths all over the place. Prior to 2500m, if there aren’t erosion barriers, you’re on the wrong route! There is also a 3 rung wooden ladder on the path here.



You continue to follow this steep route for a while, often walking over big rocky areas that look off-route. If you aren’t sure, look back and you can see if you are on the most prominent path or if you are on a false path.

The initial phase of walking steeply up the nose is long and slow, but fortunately it does eventually end! The supposedly easier traverse stage starts around here.



There are 2 paths for the initial phase of the traverse section – we used the high path for the way up and the low path for the way down (I would recommend doing it this way round, it works out easier). The split comes around a large rocky outcrop that you can either traverse under to the right (low path) or climb to the left around (high path). The join up later anyway.

The path is still good, and is rather steep – although slightly less steep than before. Note: slightly!



As you get higher and closer to the gully, the path swivels around in a large S shape to avoid a few rock bands before it eventually swings around to enter the dreaded summit gully.



The entrance to the summit gully doesn’t look or feel exposed, but apparently there have been incidents here in the past – so be careful!

The path soon hits a rock wall – probably a difficulty A or B as far as climbing grades go (for non climbers, A is ah – that’s not climbing, B is Barely Climbing, C is come on that’s not really climbing, D is Darn Easy, E is Easy ….. I is impossible and J is you Joking). Its 2m high, has beautiful holds on it and is only slightly more difficult than a staircase



The path continues from here into the final scree gully. Fortunately the gully is short, and no steeper than the similar gully on any other pass. The problem is it’s very lose and a bit like walking on marbles. I set off at least 2 large rock avalanches while climbing it.



Personally (after figuring it out on the way back down), I would stay against the left (true right) wall. Almost climb up the rock (as in use the rock wall for at least one of your footholds), it’s much more stable and considerably easier/less demoralising than climbing up the loose stuff on the right.

From here you soon hit the escarpment and will find the Nkososana River which should have good water.

Don’t forget to take a walk down to Vultures Retreat (about 1km from the top of the pass) – the view is well worth the effort!

Thank you.

Here we go www.vertical-endeavour.com/blog/38-drakensberg/passes/174-grays-pass.html

There is a link at the bottom of the forum "Info on Berg Passes"

We are planning a 3 night trip next weekend. 15, 16, 17 June. Monks Cowl to Keith bush on 15th, Up and down Grays on the 16th. Back to Blind man's corner on the 17th to explore the area more. There's a small river about 5mins away towards Injasuti. We want to go further up that ravine to see what's there. If i'm still feeling strong, i'd like to go and fix the cross at the top of Sterkhorn but that may be a single day mission on it's own.
Home on the 18th.
We have 2 tents. Myself, wife and son (12). My mate and his daughter (14).
I hope we get to meet some of you guys up there.

PS. Please can someone give me the link so Stijn's description of Gray's pass. I can't seem to find it.

Hike cancelled

Anyone keen for some hiking this weekend can inbox me.

intrepid wrote: It can easily be argued that they are too close, and that Cowl View is just an extension of Champagne Castle.

According to GE, by walking distance (i.e. not "jumping over" Ship's Prow north fork) measured from the 3377m Champagne the distances are as follows:
- 900m to Ship's Prow (which is 600m from Bothlolong)
- 1.3km to Cowl View
- 1.5km to other Champagne Castle Peak (3246m)

Cowl View to the other Champagne Castle is 1.7km

So theoretically the highest peak wins and thus Ship's Prow (which looses to Champagne Castle) and Mlwazini (which is overruled by Cowl View) are Khulu Tops, not full khulus. I need to update my list some time...

ghaznavid wrote: The blue line would be the lower path is very exposed if I have this right?

Yes the blue is roughly where the trail variation is that I was talking about. Both trials have equal exposure which actually isnt't all that bad.

ASL wrote: NB. There is also an exposed section right at the top of the pass where the wind can really whip through from the Lesotho side. A person got blown off an exposed section there just before my party came through and they had a very bad fall down the face.

Did this by any chance happen in the early 1990's? I've been wanting to find out more about that incident. If you wouldn't mind sharing all the details you have?

ghaznavid wrote: If I am correct, when you stand at the top of the pass with the pass behind you, you would have Dragon's Back (3063m) to your right, Mlwazini (3305m) to your left and in front of you would be Nkososana (3318m).

Roughly speaking yes. Though Nkosazana is more accurately at about 11 o'clock from that position, rather than dead ahead...if you walk straight you get to another interesting looking peak that looks over into Vultures Retreat. And beware of the slog up to Mhlwazini, even though its just "on your left".

ghaznavid wrote: I'm trying to figure out how Mlwazini and Cowl View both qualify as khulus, with less than 500m between them (looks like about a 700m walk).

It can easily be argued that they are too close, and that Cowl View is just an extension of Champagne Castle.

diverian wrote: Interestingly enough we did an early descent one morning of the pass, we were waiting at the top of the pass for enough light to find our way down. Another group that had been camping near us had left earlier and started off down the pass in the dark, when we met up with them later in the day we found out they had missed the path out of the gully and continued most of the way down the gully before they found a place to climb out. That must have been pretty hectic.

That has happened to several groups of hikers that I've heard of, and is a critical thing to remember when descending the pass. Its kind of a similar thing with the false Tsteketseke Pass...it catches people out time and again.

Our attempt was in 2008. I had slipped and hurt me knee in the rain the previous day to Keith Bush Camp. I could not bend my knee to much so was not going to attempt that scramble on wet rock. The sections up to there was OK using a Monks Cowl wooden stick. Sad to say I missed the opportunity get to the top that day. Attempting it again in September. I know where the mistake happened now, after chatting to others back at the camp. The path turns onto a rocky section which was not apparent to me at the time in the mist, which cleared occasionally.

Seeing as I will be pushing for a bit of khulu bagging on SA's most densely populated 3300+m khulu ridge - Mlwazini Peak is the peak true right relative to Gray's Pass, right?

If I am correct, when you stand at the top of the pass with the pass behind you, you would have Dragon's Back (3063m) to your right, Mlwazini (3305m) to your left and in front of you would be Nkososana (3318m).

I'm trying to figure out how Mlwazini and Cowl View both qualify as khulus, with less than 500m between them (looks like about a 700m walk).