Angus-Leppan

Okey dokey

The plan for me and my climbing partner is to climb the route on Saturday May 29. According to the weather report this could turn out quite interesting. We also plan to camp on top of the Sentinel (so long, boot thief suckers!!!) if time & conditions permit.

However, I'd like to keep Sentinel Cave in mind in case of emergency. Has anyone ever used it? Does it provide any shelter? How far from the chain ladder path is it?

Hi Gollum

If I can remember correctly its quite a good cave for shelter, its just a few meteres off the path in between the ladders and the gulley. Here is a pic for you to look at.
www.vertical-endeavour.com/gallery/drakensberg/caves/153-sentinel-cave--left.html
There is a "tap" that a guy once showed me in the cave, basically a rock formation where water runs or drips out that he said he has used to fill his bottle a few times, I cant really remember to be honest but it might take a while to get a descent sip

\m/ WHOOOO HOOOOO ! ! ! \m/

It turned out to be my best mountaineering experience ever! Highly highly highly highly recommended.

It also turned into a mini adventure, as we took very long due to inexperience (try to build a bomber anchor in rotten basalt, bleh!). The sun set just as my mate topped out pitch 6, so we got benighted on the peak without tent, stove or sleeping bags (the plan was to descend after summitting, then top-rope our friends up the standard route with proper camping equipment. We did have a "survival kit" with us). In the end we descended the standard route at 00h30 after realizing surviving the night in such cold was going to be tough, and the danger of descending in the night was a good tradeoff. Luckily it was a clear night with full moon, and once we were on the western slopes, we were sheltered from the wind and the temperature picked up pleasantly. By 03h00 we were back at our pack with tent and sleeping bags at the base of the approach gully, where we had the most pleasant bivvy ever!

If anyone is interested I'll write a quick report. I'll upload some pics later.

Some hints and info for those of you awaiting awesomeness :

1. Route finding is extremely easy (but we had good weather).
2. The rock quality is dubious throughout the climb and rotten on pitches 2 and 3.
3. 1 out of 3 placements are bomber, don't fall!
4. The belay stations at the start of pitches 3 and 4 are bolted
5. The "good peg" in the cubbyhole on pitch 6 is no longer there, but there is a good cam placement.
6. Our rack was 1 set of nuts (BD #4 - #13), one set of hexes (BD #1 - #11), and 4 cams (BD Camalot #0.75 - #3), and it was more than sufficient, although we could have used more and smaller cams.

Thanks for that - sounds most excellent! I can't freaking wait.

So I take it route-finding down the standard route is fairly simple since you guys did it at night...

Bolted belay stations??? Since when has the berg trad-climbing fraternity lowered itself to European standards? Thought that was serious no-no, regardless of the convenience offered. How long til the Via Ferrata arrive?

Oh and that report with pics will be most appreciatively gobbled up by me!

No, this is definitely not a new debate. Have a look at the topic "Bad things happen when good men do nothing" on the Climb ZA forums.

IMO, if the belays on the triplets are too dodgy for you, choose a different peak to climb. There are plenty of safer routes in the berg (and in other mountain ranges). I'm happy to accept that I will probably never stand on top of one of those summits as I am not prepared to accept the risk. However, I like the fact that there are routes out there which still require mountaineering skill/experience/balls to achieve. Something a select few can aspire to.

Mountain routes should not be brought down to simple gymnastic challenges, especially in a range with as much contribution to the history of South African mountaineering as the Berg.

I know bolted belay stations don't have quite as extreme an effect as what I've described above, but where does one draw the line?

And yes, I will still climb Angus Leppan and happily clip the belay bolts but I'm concerned about where this is all going. Spend some time in the Alps and you'll see plenty examples of classic trad routes having Via Ferratas plastered all over them.

Thanks intrepid! This climb opened a whole new dimension of Drakensberg mountaineering - much like my first escarpment hike!

@stijn: Yes, route finding is pretty easy on the standard route, except the top scramble - we started on the wrong line which is more dangerous than the real line. However in daylight you shouldn't have problems. However I memorised the RD, so I always knew what to aim for. I suggest you also learn both RD's by heart.

Bolting da berg ... Hmmm, yes a very tender topic indeed.

I firmly agree with Stijn that if a route is too sketchy for you, skip it (or grow bigger balls!) instead of modifying it to suit your needs. After climbing Angus-Leppan I've reconsidered my Drakensberg climbing career, and my to-do list is a lot easier now!

Gavin Raubenheimer told me he bolted those belay stations, because a leader fall could very easily rip a trad anchor clean off the wall. I believe this is a valid argument, as the rock is ridicilously loose at that point (between pitches 3 and 4), and all you have to work with is loose blocks (I must admit I didn't carefully check it out - I simply clipped the bolts with a sigh of relief! perhaps there is something solid). And from the start of pitch four you lead out 4-5m directly on the anchor before the first placement.

Angus-Leppan is one of the most popular routes in the berg, and I doubt whether the two bolted belays will affect the number of climbers attempting the route (as opposed to via ferrata, which attracts complete non-mountaineers). So those bolts significantly increases the safety margin of a lot of people without altering the character of the route too much (this last point is of course very subjective). Therefore, IMO, those four bolts are justifiable (at least the ones between pitches 3 and 4). Gavin also said he hadn't received any complaints since installing those bolts.

So basically my point is that I believe in this case the bolts didn't diminish the status of the route, nor make it accessible to people who shouldn't be there.

Now, something I've long wondered about: There are 2 berg sport routes I know of - Paradigm's shift on Sentinel, and Not So Auto on Monk's Cowl. How did these people get permission to bolt the routes in the first place (did they ever obtain permission) ? While I have respect for the difficulty of the routes and the vision of the bolters, I don't like the idea of stitching up peaks in the Drakensberg.

Pics and reports still coming!

Here is a teaser (actually not since it's probably my best photo of the climb) - said leadout on pitch 4:

OK, I think you have had enough time - where is your trip report and photos?!

The teaser above is not enough anymore!

Really enjoyed this route - we had a clear but hazy winter's day. Thank goodness it's North-facing and sunny because my fingers were just about ready to fall off after the short layback pitch in the shaded and icy approach gully!

Ray led all the pitches and Anna & I followed on top-rope. The crux of the route for me was the 2nd traverse (pictured in Gollum's photo above). I got myself slightly too high and found myself in a very balancy position facing a king swing of note if I had come off

The actual crux of the route is quite juggy and fun in comparison... For the last pitch we headed straight up as the RD suggested - quite a fun layback but definitely not on route. To get to the final pitch chimney, I believe you actually have to traverse left along the ledge and around the corner for 10m or so. It looks dark, wet and unfriendly though...

What a view from the summit!

The descent via the standard route is pretty straight-forward. No need to ab off Paradigm Shift!

I can't think of any freestanding peaks in the berg which top out higher than Sentinel's 3165m. Anybody?