Cathedral Peak

Ok - this is a last minute post, so any responses after today won't be particularly useful!

Kliktrak, Hobbit and I will be doing Cathedral Peak as a day hike tomorrow. Nothing like planning a hike the day before!

I have the MCSA RD, Dave Bristow's RD from his book as well as Dave Gay and Gavin R's RD diagrams.

Being one of the most climbed peaks in the Berg, I assume its got a well worn path and should have cairns on the rocky bits?

Anything I need to know before doing this route?

Is 9 hours as usually quoted reasonable?

Hey Ghaz

Im sure there was a series of posts in a topic in the forum on the Cathedral peak route and about the "change" in approach from buggers Gulley due to wash away, it had good pics to. I tried a quick search and couldnt find anything obvious, which means its hidden in some other named topic...maybe try dig around a bit

[EDIT] OK GOT it!!! [EDIT 2] EVEN BETTER found the pic of the change in route i was looking for!

www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/9-drakensberg-climbing/4994-cathedral-summit-from-cathedral-peak-hotel.html#4994





check this topic

www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/8-drakensberg-hiking/53062-hike-sentinel-car-park-to-cathedral-peak-hotel.html

good pics and info




also check out these online resources, which route descriptions:

www.nightjartravel.com/hiking/cathedral-peak-trail

www.peakhigh.co.za/pdf/cathedral_peak_hike_info_sheet.pdf

peakhigh.co.za/mountaineering/drakensberg-mountaineering/ [a range of other routes probably where you got yoru Monks Cowl route pic from ]

Enjoy it is a nice hike.

The last bit is not too tough or overly exposed.

I do however have slight issue with the 9 hour estimate from the hotel and back. Sure its doable by all means, but it means the section up to Orange Peel gap has to be slogged. This first half of the hike is deceptively steep and can cook the legs. This happens to many who tries this because the hotel guides push along this section tremendously.

I would rather have an easy start at 6 am, and save the legs for the last bit of the climb which, although technically easy, is really steep. It should then be possible to summit around 12:00 - 12:30 and then head back down at 13:00, with the return hike easily done in 3.5 hours.

Also check out these topics:

www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/8-drakensberg-hiking/3567-hike-report-bell-traverse-via-cathedral-peak.html#3567

www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/8-drakensberg-hiking/53325-orange-peel-gap-open.html?limitstart=0

So, we left the car park at 8:30 and arrived back at 5. At about 12:30 we were 500 vertical meters and 500 map meters from the summit. The weather looked iffy and we had just run out of water (despite the fact that I was carrying over 2 litres at the start). We agreed that if the Bugger's Gully river was dry we would have to turn around, unfortunately it was dry.

It didn't end up raining at Didima, but there was a monster thunderstorm at Monk's Cowl, tons of lightning - I wouldn't have wanted to risk being on a high free standing peak during a storm like that.

Ps. I hate the name of that gully, so if I refer to "B's gully" you know what I'm talking about. Why do such ugly names get allocated to such beautiful (yet treacherous) places...

But any way - my views on the route. The approach is really easy, Orange Peel Gap is definitely a pass (but a fairly easy one - I would rate it a 1/10 difficulty). Very little water after 2000m.

The altitude gain is gradual but sustained for the most part, so very doable. I think 9 hours is doable, but really tough (bear in mind that for training purposes for next weekend I was carrying climbing gear - about 8kg total). 11 hours would be more realistic.

So the plan: in May or June we'll go and spend 2 nights at the Didima campsite (i.e. the night before and after), leave at 5:30AM try and summit by 11:30, spend an hour on top and be back at the campsite by 5.

Has anyone ever slept on top of Cathedral Peak for the night?

We slept there a few times (flat piece below summit) awesome spot.Fantastic viewsIts nice to camp there when climbing Cathedral or doing Bell traverse.Smugglers can be a bit of an issue,October last year we were "visited" by one. He was actually friendly and well English spoken

ghaznavid wrote: . The weather looked iffy and we had just run out of water (despite the fact that I was carrying over 2 litres at the start). We agreed that if the Bugger's Gully river was dry we would have to turn around, unfortunately it was dry.

I did the route up and down the Bell in a day several times in the past, mostly in winter, when the water on the route was as Ghaz descibes - scarce. One way of dealing with this route is to drink a few litres before leaving the road, drink a few more at the last waterfall, about an hour from the road, and then take about 5 litres with you. If you stash some of that water on the way up, it will be waiting for you on the way down and you won't have to carry much up that long gully. Sometime in March the drip in the gully runs out so at times I've carried 10L plus up to Bell Cave.

Thanks for the photos Hermann. Its a nice spot.

Did the smugglers go to north or the south side of Cathedral Peak? (can you go round the Mnweni side of Cathedral??).

Anyone ever spent the night on top of Cathedral Peak? I mean right on top, next to the summit?