South Ifidi Pinnacle Gendarme

On September 26th AndrewP and I climbed the South Ifidi Pinnacle. Its a fun and straightforward E grade climb consisting of a series of 3 chimneys (its fun provided your chimney skills are up to scratch).

What really caught our attention however was the fascinating gendarme right next to the peak. It looks really impressive on the approach, and on the route up the South Pinnacle, the gendarme is in full view all the time.

South Ifidi Pinnacle (left) and the South Ifidi Pinnacle Gendarme (right):


Abseiling down the South Ifidi Pinnacle - the gendarme is running up the centre of the photo behind Andrew:


Once we were down from the pinnacle, we decided to climb the gendarme too. It was first climbed by Gavin Peckham and Richard Knott in 1999. The RD reads as follows:

SOUTH IFIDI PINNACLE GENDARME : F3 / A1

(Map #1 : L:28)

Opening Party: Gavin Peckham and Richard Knott.

Date: 21 November 1999.

Use the same approach as for the South Ifidi Pinnacle (see above), to reach the nek between the gendarme and the escarpment.

25 m D. From the highest point on the nek, walk a few metres to the left and start up a right-tending recess. Follow the line of least resistance, tending left on mixed rock and grass, to reach a belay on a grassy shoulder at the base of the final rock pillar. The belay is at the base of a short, shallow chimney or recess with a chockstone about 3 m up.

30 m F3 / A1. Climb the chimney / recess to just above the chockstone. Traverse left for about 4 m and then climb diagonally up to the left for about 6 m to a tiny stance located about 3 m left of an old peg. Layback up a short recess to reach a position under a small roof / overlap. There is another old peg a couple of metres off to the right and just below the only tuft of grass on the pitch. Reach across and clip a sling into the peg. Step across into the sling to gain access to the recess above. Climb straight up to the recess to the top. Belay points are located in a crack just over the far (north) edge of the summit.

Descent: A 5 m loop of ab cord around the escarpment side of the summit is required. From this, a 45 m abseil reaches straight down to the nek.

Ref: MCSA Journal 1999, pg 165.

The first pitch was very straightforward and did not require roping up. The second pitch was a crisp, sustained F-grade throughout. The rock was pretty good, protection adequate, and as far as Berg pitches go, it was a thoroughly enjoyable and exhilarating climb!

Andrew getting close to the F3/A1 crux:


The aid move involving the sling clipped to the peg does not help the person climbing second much, since the sling has to be removed before committing to the move (the moves above it remain sustained). I had to do a series of lunging moves while Andrew took in the rope to get past the aid section. This part could be led free without aid - the grade would probably be 20 or more.

The summit was about 1m wide and about 4m long - also very exhilarating! And there was even a summit box placed by the opening party. According to the log we were the third party to climb the peak. The second party climbed it in 2002. We noticed that there were three abseil cords on the summit. Does this mean that perhaps there had been another party that did not sign the log? We are not sure. The RD above mentions 5m of ab-cord being used. One loop only required about 2m or so of cord, so possibly they used two loops since the cord was pretty thin. So, indications are that ours was the third ascent, with the small possibility of it actually being the fourth. The container of the log needs to be replaced.


Getting off the peak involved trusting a microwave-sized bollard for the abseil which was a bit intimidating psychologically at first!

Andrew abseiling down the gendarme (my hand is blocking out the sun to make the shot possible):


Thus ended an extremely rewarding and satisfying day as we worked our way up to the escarpment again (a climb in itself), where we met andrew r and his group, and we all shared Ifidi Cave that night.

The South Ifidi Pinnacle Gendarme definitely deserves more recognition.

Surveying the peaks from below, with much satisfaction, on our way out:

Looks awesome Intrepid! Thanks for the share.

If the route RD mentions two old pegs and the Peckham party wrote the RD, can we presume someone climbed it before and never recorded the climb, or attempted to climb and never made it?