The Bell - Hooper's Route

That peg is the only piece of gear on pitch 1 as I recall! And it really is hidden from below, in fact the pitch doesn't look particularly inviting from below but it turns out to be fine. The stance above this also only has 1 peg as an anchor that I am aware of. Pitch 2 has more protection, and for the stance above that there is some fine, burly Erica bush that you can tie into.

And as per classic Berg RD, very little is said about the approach scramble, which needs some careful climbing in two places. I will try and post some pics at a later stage when I get around to it.

Gavin R sent me this excerpt from his upcoming guide book.

Hooper’s Route F1 *****
FA: Tony Hooper, Howard Fish and Jacky Botha 25 April 1944.

In resent times it has been revealed that Jacky Botha may have lead the crux of this route. See also notes on the first ascent of Mponjwana.

Info box
Climbing time: 4 hrs from Bell Cave
Aspect: East and South. Very cold rock in July
Best time: Best in April- May or September- October. Wet during November- March.

Gear
2 x 50m double rope
Standard Berg rack

This is a popular route that starts up the eastern side of the mountain and finishes with the main pitches on the south face. Some parties’ battle to find their way to the start of the main climbing. When looking from near Bell Cave at the east side of the mountain, the peak has a major rock band, then a huge sloping ledge of grass. Then above this is another broken band of rock and vegetation ending in a thin narrow grass ledge that runs at the bottom of the final rock walls. The objective is to get up to this narrow grass band on its right hand side then walk all the way to the left to the starts of both routes.

Approach: From Bell Cave walk towards the gully between Cathedral Peak and the Bell and then up to the saddle between them. At this level scramble along the bottom of the rock band on the Bell in the direction of the Mwneni Valley, until there is a break in the rock. Then scramble up on steep ground and then contour back (left) above this major rock band until above the saddle between to the two peaks onto a big grass ledge. 30mins from Bell Cave.

Start on the big sloping grass ledge on its right-hand side. There is no distinctive marker at the start.

1. 50m (C). At this point scramble up a vegetated pitch on steep grass tufts to gain a grass ledge high above. Some people try to rope this section, but there is very little protection for the leader. On the ledge a bolted abseil point is found.

Walk all the way to the left to the corner between the south and east faces. Leave hiking boots and any extra gear about halfway across this traverse, as the first abseil ends on this ledge. Wong’s Route starts at the far left corner.

2. 45m (C). Belay at the start of Wong’s Route on the corner of the mountain Then contour around the corner, dropping down at one point, past some old abseil slings then up to a wide ledge.

3. 10m (F1). Start a little way along the ledge. Climb a short steep open-book with 2 pegs in it to a huge ledge. Walk left along the ledge some 20m and cross a loose landslip gully and belay from large erica bushes on the other side.

4. 30m (F1) The start is not very distinctive. Climb an easy, short black face on good holds to a peg which is often obscured by grass. Then when a about 10m above the ground, traverse left to a nose of rock, then around this to the left past fixed pegs to a recess. From the bottom of the recess step left a few metres to find 2 pitons at chest height. Then straight up a delicate face of rock above the pitons to a big ledge.

At the top of pitch 2, scramble right and then up through broken rock bands to the summit.

Descent: Abseil from chains at the top pitch of Wong’s Route, 45m to the narrow grass ledge. Walk northwards to find another set of chains back down the vegetated pitch 1. 1.5 hrs from summit back to Bell Cave.

EDIT

I counted 11 VE members who have signed The Bell summit book since 2003:

Gavin Raubenheimer
RobD
intrepid
ClimbyKel
AndrewP
DoctorG
Neil Margetts
Gerhard13
Jackson
Viking
Macc