Rolands Cave

Hi makeyser,

The cave is well protected, once you in. You will be out of the wind, but not out of the cold, @3000m, also depends on how many are sleeping in the cave? Eight is absolute max, four very comfy. Check the weather and work accordingly.

Here's two pics from late May 2017. As luck would have it the weather was fair, I chose to thake my First Ascent Ice Breaker along just in case!

This pick is from the back of the cave so you can see not much depth?


This is the morning view:)

Thanks very much. I guess the forecast sets the decision. Taking into account the mountains follow their own rules.

A 5c sleeping bag at 3100m in winter - I guess it depends, how close are you to the people you are hiking with

Jokes aside, I would strongly discourage spending a night on top in a 5c sleeping bag in winter (actually would be careful doing that in summer too), and I also am rather skeptical of adding a +15c liner and expecting it to actually make a massive difference.

It is noteworthy that surviving a night in -30c without a sleeping bag has been done before, but its not a road one should take voluntarily and not if one plans on actually sleeping.

You're right. I'll get everyone in the group to invest in the right sleeping bag

Hey guys me and some mates are planning to go to rolands cave this weekend, we've done a few drakensburg hikes but never this one, how hard is it to find the cave and what is like the average time it takes to get there? thanks in advance 

Hey BOTShane

Rolands is difficult to find without a GPS, as you need to approach it on the right elevation to find the entrance ledge/path. There are some cairns stacked at the right elevation, but you need to find these first, as you ascend the Ndumeni dome. With mist it is almost impossible to find it without a GPS. I tried it once and failed, and that is after being at the cave before. So in simple terms I would strongly advise using a GPS, you can find the coordinates here on VE to Rolands. Average time it will take you to get there depends on the route you take up. Several possibilities:

1)  Camel pass will be the quickest, you should be able to make it to Rolands in a day, with a moderately fit group if you start hiking @ 8 ish...it will still be a long day though.
2)  Organ Pipes pass is also a option but a longer pass than camel, and you will have to really push with a fit group to make it to Rolands within a day.
3)  Thuthumi pass is also a option, also a fairly long pass, although easy.

All the passes summit approximately in the same valley, alhough Thuthumi summit closer to Rolands. So my advice would be to take Camel, if you wish to reach Rolands in less that a day. 

We will be in the same area over the weekend, doing Xeni, and planning to sleep in Rolands on Sunday night if all goes well. When are you planning on using the cave? 

Hey vivo

Thank you so much for the reply, we are only going to use the cave on Saturday night, hike down to ribbon falls and spend Sunday night there. I will see if I can get a gps to help assist, if it's very misty we'll have to find another place to camp better safe than sorry.