BaSotho migrationary patterns

Last weekend I noticed the absence of any Basotho herders in the Northern Berg. It was clear from the state and smell of the huts that the kraals were only very recently vacated. That got me wondering: What drives the movements of the herdsmen between the Escarpment and Inland areas? I would assume that grazing is better in lower inland plains during winter months. But if that is so why visit the Escarpment areas during summer at all? Or does the Escarpment grazing recover faster in Spring and early summer due to higher rainfall?

I expect extreme low temperatures are key to these patterns. Herders have lost their lives in snowfalls and the animals likely die too. Dropping below the snowline will help them survive. 

Info from a Doctorate Thesis on herders in Lesotho

In order to accommodate the weather changes, in summer, the cattle posts are moved further
high up on the mountain tops where the grazing lands are fertile. In winter, the herders move
down to where the animals can be more easily accessed in times of heavy snowfalls. (1.4.2 pg 31 of 354 & 2.1.2 pg 61 of 354)

ukzn-dspace.ukzn.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10413/13461/Pitikoe_Selloane_Florence_2016.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

The main driver is the animals they have. The three main factors affecting their sheep/goats/cattle etc. are:
- water (not much on top after the rainy season has stopped),
- grass (less of it during winter as it dies off above ground due to lack of rainfall and temperatures dropping), and
- Temperature (affecting animals as stated above and the herdsman who are typically not properly equipped for very cold temperatures. Let's face it, a warm blanket only goes so far)

Never been during winter in the escarpment. Is it recommended to use crampons or microspikes? Will the lesotho shepards retreat to the valleys in lesotho as everything gets very dry there?






Mod Note-  Post moved from Snow Watch 2023

Smurfatefrog wrote:

As you say winters are dry, so the likelihood of snow and ice (on paths) is low, and in the majority of snowfalls the snow melts within a day or two anyway.
On the rare occasion of heavy snow you generally wouldn't need any additional footwear for hiking unless you are wanting to get up a pass gully that is packed with snow.

The shepherds do normally move inland into Lesotho once the cold arrives and will return in spring

 

ok. when do they go move inland? with the first snowfalls? or in the middle of the winter?

Edwin,

The herdsman move inland when the grasses starts to dry out and water becomes scarce. Their animals needs mostly determines their movements. We were in the Moncs Cowl area 3 weeks ago and didn't see a single herdsman, but near Didima dome there were lots of stone wall kraals - all empty.

Regarding snow and ice, as Smurfatefrog stated, unless you want to do some climbing crampons and spikes are generaly not needed. 2 years ago we did a super cool hike in the Giants area where we were walking in knee deep snow for 3 days. This is quite unusual, normally after a bit of snowfall you might get it ankle deep for a day, whereafter all the northern slopes melt and you only have a bit of snow and ice left on the southern slopes. On this major snowfall hike we had an interesting time going up Giants pass, as the snow had melted and then frozen as ice, which had occured for about 4 days, so by the time we arrived the pass was iced up in sections. we ended up having to kick out a ledge on one section above the 2 large caves to traverse accross to a section containing more snow than ice. All except one guy in our group had light summer boots, so he was delegated as path maker

Besides that I've taken my ice-ax up a few times, but I've never had the opportunity to test it out - there is mostly simply not enough snow and ice around.

Snow hikes are a lot of fun, but do be prepared as it involves a few changes from your normal hiking routine, such as:
- You will walk slower than usual,
- You do want to take warm gear along- I'm not a fan of gaitors, but in deep snow you want to take gaitors (preferably waterproof ones) as the snow falling into your boots will melt, and your feet will freeze - been there, done that, got the frozen feet
- On the above hike all the rivers were frozen solid - when I mean solid I really mean so solid that throwing a rock to break the ice has NO effect - it was frozen solid for at least 50cm deep on average. We ended up melting snow, which mean you will need to take extra fuel along.
- Don't forget sunscreen and sunglasses!

For the rest, it's basically the same as normal. Oh, I forgot, you might want to take a bit of exta insulation along for under your sleeping bag, and lastly, maybe a small plastic shovel. We had to move snow out the cave, it was piled up inside, about 40cm deep in place. You can of course also simply use your boots to move the snow, which is what we did.

Enjoy the snow in the berg!!!

Riaang wrote:

Edwin,

The herdsman move inland when the grasses starts to dry out and water becomes scarce. Their animals needs mostly determines their movements. We were in the Moncs Cowl area 3 weeks ago and didn't see a single herdsman, but near Didima dome there were lots of stone wall kraals - all empty.

Regarding snow and ice, as Smurfatefrog stated, unless you want to do some climbing crampons and spikes are generaly not needed. 2 years ago we did a super cool hike in the Giants area where we were walking in knee deep snow for 3 days. This is quite unusual, normally after a bit of snowfall you might get it ankle deep for a day, whereafter all the northern slopes melt and you only have a bit of snow and ice left on the southern slopes. On this major snowfall hike we had an interesting time going up Giants pass, as the snow had melted and then frozen as ice, which had occured for about 4 days, so by the time we arrived the pass was iced up in sections. we ended up having to kick out a ledge on one section above the 2 large caves to traverse accross to a section containing more snow than ice. All except one guy in our group had light summer boots, so he was delegated as path maker

Besides that I've taken my ice-ax up a few times, but I've never had the opportunity to test it out - there is mostly simply not enough snow and ice around.

Snow hikes are a lot of fun, but do be prepared as it involves a few changes from your normal hiking routine, such as:
- You will walk slower than usual,
- You do want to take warm gear along- I'm not a fan of gaitors, but in deep snow you want to take gaitors (preferably waterproof ones) as the snow falling into your boots will melt, and your feet will freeze - been there, done that, got the frozen feet
- On the above hike all the rivers were frozen solid - when I mean solid I really mean so solid that throwing a rock to break the ice has NO effect - it was frozen solid for at least 50cm deep on average. We ended up melting snow, which mean you will need to take extra fuel along.
- Don't forget sunscreen and sunglasses!

For the rest, it's basically the same as normal. Oh, I forgot, you might want to take a bit of exta insulation along for under your sleeping bag, and lastly, maybe a small plastic shovel. We had to move snow out the cave, it was piled up inside, about 40cm deep in place. You can of course also simply use your boots to move the snow, which is what we did.

Enjoy the snow in the berg!!!
 

OK. Thanks for the tips. It means that a significant number of them already moved or are in process of doing it.

Yes, I do not think a ice axe would be needed at least for me.