Advice: up Grays down Ships

Hi Everyone, leading a group (8pax) up Grays and down Ships Prow (South) in late June. 
A couple of novices amongst us. Couple of questions: 
I know Ships pass is very high and tough going but does it have any bad exposure? Also, it seems as though camping at the bottom of Ships is limited, is the campsite at the bottom of Cowl Fork better? 
Lastly would I be better off reversing the trip and coming down Grays?
THANKS 

Hi

I am doing exactly the same with a team of about 8 as well starting 15 June, so I would love to hear the answer.

I would probably avoid taking novices through Ship's unless they have previous experience preparing them for a strenuous, long day... you might just put them off the Berg

There is no exposure, tho.

Space for 8 camping in the pass itself might be tricky (certainly not the spot we used).

It's been a long time, but I seem to think the "camp site" at Cowl Fork would be tight with 8 (the new Slingsby map does not indicate a camp site - which doesn't surprise me given the bush around there), there is good camping once you get up on the next spur - but it's unlikely you'd reach this in the same day as coming down Ship's (bear in mind many groups do not complete the pass in a day).

I would definitely rather descend Ship's.

Be sure to read the pinned thread on Gray's/Ship's loop in the Monk's Cowl hiking section - good info there.

Hi Stobes,

Welcome to VE!

You can do the route either way around. Hopefully the below will help you decide which pass to ascend. I've done the route both ways, and I prefer doing it up Grays and down Ships Below you'll find out why.

First off, I've taken complete newbies on the up Grays and down Ships route. Ships is a loooooooong pass and tops out high, so if you go up it, you are in for - on average - nearly an additional 300m ASL vert. Definitely easier for newbies, at the end of a long day to do an additional 300m going down, rather than up.

Also, Grays pass has lots of rock plates that are normally easier to go up on, than down - especially when wet or covered in snow or ice.

Grays is lower than Ships, so less climbing on Grays. Neither pass has water in June, again easier to do a shorter pass with limited water (i.e. Grays up).

Regarding exposure - Grays has some, Ships South has none. Do NOT do Ships North, lots of loose scree that could cause problems. We went up Ships North 2 years ago and it was a case of 3 steps upwards, then sliding 4 steps backwards We had to work fairly hard to get to the top, and it involved going sideways often to get grip. Quite technical for us, and my wife, who's done lots of adventurous hikes is NOT keen on doing Ships North again.

Cowl fork campsite? Never found it, searched for it often. There are lots of small camp sites in the Ships valley itself. We've fitted 3 tenst into the bottom one, about 300m or so from where you exit the riverbed.

DO get a track that shows these, it makes life much easier. 

Note that the Ships riverbed section is harder than the pass itself. Much harder and much slower. Do not underestimate the amount of time it will take to walk that 2,5km stretch. In places we were doing 0.5km/h, it was so overgrown we had to bend trees to make forward progress. Going down Ships, keep to the left side (true left), there is sometimes something that resembles a path. Don't expect much, then you won't be dissapointed. Also, he path itself dissapears often, and you might have to search arund a bit to find it again after crossing one of the many boulderfields in the valley.

All this beng said, it's one of my favourite places in the berg. The sunsets from that lower campsite is spectacular.

Another benefit of taking newbies up Grays and down Ships is that the newbies will encounter nice trails all the way to the top, but on the way down, until after Cowl Fork, there is not much of a trail, except the section out of the Ships Prow riverbed. Remeber to get a track!

I've done a few write-ups on this exact same route, search for it on VE, should give you a good idea of what to expect.

Note: Do have the newbies do some form of training for this trip. My one newbie was so tired, he slid down his bum on the grassy sections down Ships on the lower third of the pass. Don't say I didn't warn you, it's a long pass.

Whichever way around you do it, enjoy!!!

Hi Stobes,

With a couple of novices in the group, why don't you rather go up and down a slightly easier pass? Grey's is very exposed and Ships is super long with lots of bushwacking at the bottom to make any newbie Berg hiker not ever want to come back to the Berg.

Just my 2c

Thanks everyone for your feedback, much appreciated. Will keep the trip as planned and get going really early on the Ships pass day so that we have time on our side. 

Yoh Sabine, you have no idea how right you were! 
 

Eish!

As long as you all got down safely, thats all that matters

Sabine knows, as she's been up and down those passes before