Lekker long easter!
28 Apr 2011 07:25 - 28 Apr 2011 07:25 #2766
by intrepid
Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
Replied by intrepid on topic Re: Lekker long easter!
@Aux: is this is a recent washout on Tseke Pass? Please post pictures of this if you have them.
Am aware of the pines in this area, but post pics of them if you have (this is a dedicated album for this in the galleries).
We used Tseke hut in December. We improved on the arrangement of planks blocking the back window, since this is normally the side that storms come in. Several years ago there were no planks closing it off and we got woken up in the middle of the night because of rain and wind blasting in. Yes, the structure is sound and hopefully it has many years left. I have had thoughts of doing some maintenance sometime: the roof needs some rust treatment, the windows need new shutters or should be permanently closed, and the door needs a new latch. It would be sad to loose the hut.
I'm off to Garden Castle tomorrow...
Am aware of the pines in this area, but post pics of them if you have (this is a dedicated album for this in the galleries).
We used Tseke hut in December. We improved on the arrangement of planks blocking the back window, since this is normally the side that storms come in. Several years ago there were no planks closing it off and we got woken up in the middle of the night because of rain and wind blasting in. Yes, the structure is sound and hopefully it has many years left. I have had thoughts of doing some maintenance sometime: the roof needs some rust treatment, the windows need new shutters or should be permanently closed, and the door needs a new latch. It would be sad to loose the hut.
I'm off to Garden Castle tomorrow...
Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
Last edit: 28 Apr 2011 07:25 by intrepid.
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28 Apr 2011 08:18 #2767
by Aux
Replied by Aux on topic Re: Lekker long easter!
I dont know how resent it is, looks no older than a month in some places. This was the first time down it in about 6year and it changed a lot or i just navigated like my bum. I was also thinking of maybe doing some work on the hut. Maybe put polycarbonat windows in, and paint it to stop the rust. It would be a shame to see it go to wast, had fun times there after climbing trips in the area.
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02 May 2011 11:23 #2776
by anthony
Returned yesterday day from a successful GT,the weather was very kind to us except for the days we summit-ed redi peak and Thabana-Ntlenyana when i experienced the strongest wind in the berg ever.
Replied by anthony on topic Re: Lekker long easter!
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03 May 2011 07:30 #2779
by Errol
Replied by Errol on topic Re: Lekker long easter!
I was on the trip with Aux, totally agree it was a great trip in all:thumbsup: , however, Tseke was terrible:thumbsdown: !Any new paths that had been formed were mostly washed away which made the going very slow. Many areas were covered by fresh (less than one month), unstable, debris (boulders etc). Wasting events have removed much of the path forcing one in to the river bed, which is fairly unstable in places. The sides of the river are generally shear (up to ca.10m in some places), and also appear unstable, making access to the valley slopes tricky. With heavy rains I imagine this pass could change on a regular (near daily) basis. I would rather have walked up and down the Camel route all day than once down Tseke. I would suggest using another pass if possible, unless you enjoy unnecessary hardship and have a knee maintenance plan.
The image below shows the pass from near the contour path, around C8 I think. Probably the only view I will ever see of the pass again.
The image below shows the pass from near the contour path, around C8 I think. Probably the only view I will ever see of the pass again.
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03 May 2011 07:52 #2780
by Errol
Replied by Errol on topic Re: Lekker long easter!
Battling to load the image...Ill get there...
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03 May 2011 08:40 #2781
by intrepid
Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
Replied by intrepid on topic Re: Lekker long easter!
Got back yesterday from a thoroughly enjoyable time at the lovely Garden Castle. Was weighing up various options until shortly before the trip until a friend flew up from Cape Town for the occasion and we settled it. We camped at the campsite, doing long day hikes from there. Walked up Rhino Pass, did the Rhino summit, and then down Mashai Pass on the first day. Second day we ascended Bollard Pass and descended Wilson's Pass. All really good stuff!
Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
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05 May 2011 06:59 - 05 May 2011 07:29 #2799
by Errol
Replied by Errol on topic Re: Lekker long easter!
Here's Tseke pass from on the Camel route.
The slides on the right of the image appear to be quite recent, this sort of event has taken place at many points up the pass, on both sides.
The slides on the right of the image appear to be quite recent, this sort of event has taken place at many points up the pass, on both sides.
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Last edit: 05 May 2011 07:29 by intrepid. Reason: Embedded attached image
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