Hill Training

One of many lessons I learned on my speed GT a few years back is that you can never do enough hill training. I personally find that if I do not swear out loud at least once up Cleft Peak I am not going fast enough, and I have never yet made it up Giants Castle without a significant slow down and a lot of cursing.

I however do not do well at repetition so laps up and down the same hill just do not work for me. I once did 6 laps of the Westcliff steps, and that is a personal record that will last for many years to come.

So, in the interests of training for those hills and yet keeping sane (?) I came up with a plan. It would get me going at midnight (good idea to train for that as well ) and keep me going for 24 hours of hard work which should be good training as well.

Before I go on, I should mention that I respect the old farts greatly. I am sure you have actually beaten me to this. So, at the risk of being lynched...

How many Khulus can you bag in a day?

If you like the concept, thank Ghaznavid who has spent the whole year breaking me down to attempt exactly this. And you if do not like it, you can lynch me - but you must catch me first

The rules:
- you must start and end at the same place: aesthetically this is better than point to point and it has a tidyness that just seems right
- above mentioned point must be a conventional car park/KZN wildlife office/Hotel etc. Mnweni visitor center and Sani Pass top are in, but 3km along the Sani Road is out as is the road end in the Mnweni valley
- the 24 hr cutoff is exact and final. You do not lose a khulu for every minute you are late. If you are 1 second late, your score is ZERO
- your score will be adjusted over time as the khulu list gets refined by the population at large

To get it going...

I have done 4 khulus in a day twice:
- Champagne Castle, Mafadi, Lithobolong and Botlolong from Monks Cowl campsite via Greys Pass
- Mafadi, Injastui Dome, Trojan Wall and The Corner. Up Leslies, down Corner Pass and back at Injasuti campsite by mid afternoon despite taking an hour to find the top of corner pass in thick mist

I have also done 6 in a day:
- Mlambonja, Matebeng, Wilsons, Rhino, Verkyker Peak and No Mans Peak from Sani Top and back. But my main goal and success of the day was to scope out the pathways of the ridges/valleys south of Sani

I'm in.

If....this challenge is for the whole of 2015. I will only get to an entry around June/July, as until mid-April I'm committed to the short and fast stuff inside a velodrome: the only hill climbing will be "up the bank' before the 200m fly.

PS. I love this 'Khulus in a day challenge' kind of thing, although I will have no hope of winning. Think I may have done 5 khulus in a day around Mt. Aux Sources / plains of pofung, need to consult the map first.

My best in a day was when myself and Hobbit went up North Jarding, bagged Bond, Potterill and Erskine and down Langies in about 10 hours. I rate I could hit 10 in a day, and I have a plan. Now to try and sneak this attempt in before Andrew sets the record at 35

Hmmm... nice challenge Andrew!

Giant's Castle must be the place to do this? Up Judge Pass and down Giant's Pass, cleaning up all the Khulus from Mafadi to Giant's Castle. How many is that Ghaz?

Stijn wrote: Giant's Castle must be the place to do this? Up Judge Pass and down Giant's Pass, cleaning up all the Khulus from Mafadi to Giant's Castle. How many is that Ghaz?

There are only 2 places to do this - the other would be from Sentinel car park.

Khulus from the Mafadi ridge to Giants:
1) Lithobolong Peak
2) Mafadi
3) Injasuthi Dome
4) Trojan Wall
5) The Corner
6) The Judge
7) The Auditor
8) Popple Peak
9) Gypaetus Point
10) Sanqebethu
11) Bannerman Face
12) Thumb Spur
13) Erskine
14) Bond
15) Potterill
16) Mount Durnford
17) Kambule
18) Carbineer Point
19) Katana
20) Long Wall
21) Giant's Castle
22) Giant's Pass Peak

I still rate that the Mafadi speed record should be attempted from Giants rather than Injisuthi - just because you can head up to the summit with trails almost the entire way, vs the slow bottom of Leslies. Judge Pass is not the easiest pass in the Berg, but there is no overgrown or scree section and it has a good trail the entire way. The contour path past Bannerman Hut is iffy, but if you manage the first km, you will be fine. For the 6km extra, the much easier terrain should make all the difference.

My 10 khulus would be:
1) Namahadi Pass Peak
2) Long Buttress
3) Beacon Buttress
4) Mont-aux-sources
5) Kubedu
6) Crow's Nest
7) Ampitheatre (although this will come off the khulu list at some point - I hope)
8) Bilanjil Bump
9) Amphingati
10) Mount Amery
11) Singati Wall (bonus khulu)

The loop of:
Long Buttress
Beacon Buttress
Mont-aux-sources
Kubedu
Crow's Nest
Ampitheatre
Bilanjil Bump

is a very efficient one to get max kulus for min effort.

I wonder if:
- is it better to go for Namahadi Y, Z etc than to go for Amphingati
- or, maybe drop Namahadi Pass Peak in favour of Thaba Edanyazana

The weather on Saturday is very tempting...

Good luck and don't follow the lights