Epic Day Hikes
04 Dec 2016 16:21 #70317
by chrisbiley
Replied by chrisbiley on topic Epic Day Hikes
Injisuthi to Mafadi via Corner Pass (19/11/2016)
A couple of weeks ago I made my first proper trip to the Drakensberg for a solo out-and-back UP Mafadi. Many thanks to all the contributors on VE, it's a great source of info that really helped the planning!
Left Injisuthi camp at 04:27 and headed up stream to Battle cave in the mist, then on to G74 and up to Centenary Hut. Sunlight broke out on the climb and the mist disappeared just as I reached the hut. I had heard that Corner pass may still have some unstable snow so opted to contour south instead of the Northern High approach - intending to use Judges pass if Corner looked dodgy.
I reached the bottom of Corner Pass by 06:40 and the view all the way up the pass looked good, so I decided to take it. The lower part of the pass is not great, with lots of grass tuft trudging, and I'd certainly take the NHA next time. There were some remnants of snow near the top of the pass but was melting fast. Reached the top of the pass 1h10 later, just as I ran out of water. Filled up with some of Lesotho's finest and headed up the clear path to Mafadi.
A bit of a head-wind and the altitude slowed the pace, but I ran where I could. Despite the change in gradient from the pass, the peak is still another +500m ascent away. I reached the peak just after 9:00, took some photos and chilled a bit before turning back. The scramble decent down the top part of the pass was about as slow as the ascent, being extra careful since I was alone. About a third of the way down the pass I took the NHA path, which was much better (even though I was going downhill). There were some nice runnable sections and great views of the escarpment on this decent. After the last steep descent back down to Centenary Hut I joined the same I came in on all the way back. The only difference was two brief stops to jump in the stream to cool off
.
Was an awesome experience and will certainly be back for more!
Distance: 45.1km
Ascent: 2921m
Total time: 8h04
Facing NE towards Centenary Hut
Facing SW away from Centenary Hut - NHA goes straight up over the contour path
Looking up Corner Pass from the contour path
Last bit of snow melting in the pass
Top of Corner Pass
Mafadi Peak - 3450m
Looking NE to Centenary Hut from NHA
A couple of weeks ago I made my first proper trip to the Drakensberg for a solo out-and-back UP Mafadi. Many thanks to all the contributors on VE, it's a great source of info that really helped the planning!
Left Injisuthi camp at 04:27 and headed up stream to Battle cave in the mist, then on to G74 and up to Centenary Hut. Sunlight broke out on the climb and the mist disappeared just as I reached the hut. I had heard that Corner pass may still have some unstable snow so opted to contour south instead of the Northern High approach - intending to use Judges pass if Corner looked dodgy.
I reached the bottom of Corner Pass by 06:40 and the view all the way up the pass looked good, so I decided to take it. The lower part of the pass is not great, with lots of grass tuft trudging, and I'd certainly take the NHA next time. There were some remnants of snow near the top of the pass but was melting fast. Reached the top of the pass 1h10 later, just as I ran out of water. Filled up with some of Lesotho's finest and headed up the clear path to Mafadi.
A bit of a head-wind and the altitude slowed the pace, but I ran where I could. Despite the change in gradient from the pass, the peak is still another +500m ascent away. I reached the peak just after 9:00, took some photos and chilled a bit before turning back. The scramble decent down the top part of the pass was about as slow as the ascent, being extra careful since I was alone. About a third of the way down the pass I took the NHA path, which was much better (even though I was going downhill). There were some nice runnable sections and great views of the escarpment on this decent. After the last steep descent back down to Centenary Hut I joined the same I came in on all the way back. The only difference was two brief stops to jump in the stream to cool off
.Was an awesome experience and will certainly be back for more!
Distance: 45.1km
Ascent: 2921m
Total time: 8h04
Facing NE towards Centenary Hut
Facing SW away from Centenary Hut - NHA goes straight up over the contour path
Looking up Corner Pass from the contour path
Last bit of snow melting in the pass
Top of Corner Pass
Mafadi Peak - 3450m
Looking NE to Centenary Hut from NHA
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