The Bell Traverse

I'm planning on attempting the Bell Traverse for the first time, the hotel-bell-twins direction. I also want to climb cathedral peak - apparently the original route has been washed away somewhat and a different approach is needed.

Few questions:
1) Can anyone give an indication of the Traverse's current condition?
2) Does anyone know how to currently approach Cathedral Peak?
3) We'll probably have a late start (11h - 13h) from the hotel.
3.1) Are there any decent camping spots between Sherman's Cave and Bugger Gulley?
3.2) Can Bell Cave be reached within half a day?
3.3) Would 3.1 (if it exists) or 3.2 be a better base camp to approach the peak?
4) Does anyone know of recent security issues in the area?

Speaking of which, it's been a while since the last security incident (2007 I think?), or the news flies under the radar.

Cheers!
Gollum

gollum wrote:

1) Can anyone give an indication of the Traverse's current condition?
no - last there 2 years ago, but the traverse doesn't change much in my experience.


2) Does anyone know how to currently approach Cathedral Peak?
I think its from the base of the peak (no longer from very near the top of BG) - i.e. once you reach the point near the top of BG where there is a shelf on the left to overlook the Mhlambonja Valley and just 80 or so metres up the final gully next to the gendarme to go. From the shelf, head towards Mnweni and pick up the scramble onto Cathedral which goes through the rock bands.
The old route (breaking right in the final gully with the Gendarme on the left) has been eroded away. The surface of the slope has lowered 1.5m or so in the last 20 years - faster than you'd tink.


3) We'll probably have a late start (11h - 13h) from the hotel.
I'd say you'd make Bell Cave OK if you're bags aren't too heavy. Latest I've left the hotel is about 3:30 - though with light 12 kilo bags and not carrying water. Its a nice route with recovery time available on the flatter stretches e.g. after Orange Peel. Just keep going, no matter how slowly!

3.1) Are there any decent camping spots between Sherman's Cave and Bugger Gulley?
you could make do somewhere at the top of Orange Peel gap, but best for individuals in bivvy bags. Else at the top of BG, near where the chopper lands on the clearing overlooking the Mnweni side. We've also slept out on the shelf overlooking the Cathedral Valley.

3.2) Can Bell Cave be reached within half a day?
yes - 3.5-4 hrs if fit & without rests.

3.3) Would 3.1 (if it exists) or 3.2 be a better base camp to approach the peak?
marginal difference really. From Bell Cave its 15 minutes back into the gendarme gully, then steeply up this and over - say 40 minutes and you'll be onto the CP scramble.


4) Does anyone know of recent security issues in the area?
not heard anything. Spent a night out on my own a year back & Bell Cave was looking very disused.

I climbed Cathedral about two months ago and we went up Bugger Guly and used the shelf with no problems - I am not sure why this option is considered a problem these days - the hotel tours use the longer and more direct route up the lower slopes - longer and more work.

Thanks for all the input!

Where is this plateau where the chopper lands?

@intrepid: OK, I'll snap the suspected section. You're not perhaps doing the traverse on Easter weekend?

The following is from the MCSA RD for the Cathedral Peak Standard Route:
"Apparently a recent, severe wash-away in Bugger Gully has made the approach described above quite tricky. An alternative approach is to start about 150 m below the top of the gully at a flat, grassy section situated just before the last, loose slope up to the top of the gully. Walk out along the grass ledge to the right and then take the line of least resistance up a series of slabs and rock bands until you locate the path described above. On either approach, some of the scrambling is fairly exposed and a head for heights is required. If you are in any doubt it may be wise to hire one of the local guides from the hotel or from the KZN Wildlife offices."

Is route finding a problem on Cathedral Peak?

gollum wrote:

Where is this plateau where the chopper lands?

Description for clarity rather than to be followed - as you'll see.
1) Find your way *all the way* to the top of BG - the Gendarme will be on the south side, CP on the north side and you'll be looking down towards the Bell and the Horns one way and down BG the other.

2) Descend back the way you came, until you are out of the v.steep & narrow gully between the Gendarme and CP (80m or so). Look towards Mnweni side with your eye following the contour that you are on, i.e. along the base of CP, and you'll see flatter ground. Last time I was there, a log or maybe even a bench was on the ground with some vege free surface nearby. This is probably the best spot to camp up.

Is route finding a problem on Cathedral Peak?

its a question of weaving round the steeper bits of rock outcrops in the first 1/3 of the ascent - thereafter the route is clear. Going up is easier than coming down because you'll be able to see the steeper bits more easily from below. It might help to have someone down below to talk to you.

What an AWESOME trip!

We did the Bell Traverse from the hotel side and climbed Cathedral Peak, hiked along the escarpment to Mlambonja Buttress, descended Cockade Pass and went back to the hotel along the Mlambonja river.

I have a photo of the washed-away start of the Cathedral Peak std route in Bugger Gully which I will upload soon. It's really not that bad, and when the peak is wet (as it was this Easter weekend) I'd prefer it to the new recommended start.

Water was in ridiculous abundance.

Here is a quick report of our weekend, for those who'd like to read:

We had a late start on Friday (about 13h30), and reached Orange Peel Gap at 17h30. There is a lovely camping spot on the top of the left hand (as viewed from the hotel side) head of the gap where we spent the night. Some thunderstorms played out over Cathkin, but our weather held good the whole day.

On Saturday we hiked up to Cathedral Peak, climbed it, had lunch in Bell Cave, and then reached Twins Cave right after sunset. At the Outer Horn we lost the path - there is a fork when you reach the horn, and knowing we must pass north of it, we took the right hand side (on my instruction - one of the many errors I cost us over the weekend ). Soon afterwards we crossed a tricky traverse and the path petered out. After some slopy traversing, my friend decided to climb right up to the rock bands to find the path, which he did directly below the rock bands. Other than that we had no problems on the traverse. There was another group in the cave who invited us to share it without hesitation - really nice. We didn't feel like looking for the annex cave in the dark so we took them up on the offer. We crossed many streams and trickles on the traverse.

On Sunday morning we topped out at Mlambonja Pass, and kept on the edge of escarpment to the tip of Mlambonja Buttress. Unfortunately the mist, which had been building up as we trekked along, enveloped everything ten minutes before we got to the tip, so we had no view. We then headed down to the river, and up behind Xeni peak. We had lunch at the top of Elephant Gulley, and spent half an hour on the south-eastern tip of the elephant hoping for the mist to clear. Predictably, it didn't!

Then my next major mistake came into play. I thought Elephant Gulley provided an alternative descent into Cockade Pass, and very happily we trudged down the steep slopes until we met the first waterfall. While we could have continued and found some way down, the weather was starting to look rather ominous, and I didn't fancy spending another night in a narrow gulley waiting for a flash flood. So we headed back up and camped near the top of Cockade Pass. That night some moderate thunderstorms passed close to us and it rained lightly until 9 in the morning.

Monday morning we descended Cockade Pass, but after joining the Xeni valley and heading west, the trail soon became very hard to find. My surveyor-general map wrongly indicated that the contour path climbed 200m once after crossing the Xeni river from the south side. So I suggested we traverse left out of the river at 2200. Then followed 2km of nasty sloping traversing - only to find the path well below us when we got there! However I didn't much like the riverbed. Then came the boring trudge to the hotel. Once down in the valley, the trail was a swamp, and viciously overgrown. Near the hotel they had maintained the path and the reeds had been cut, but before that it was a complete mess. Injasuthi's trails are much better maintained, even though they get a lot less traffic. Weird...

But all in all this was a spectacular trip, second only to our Corner Pass trip of last year.

Which is the true top of Cockade pass? We descended an extremely narrow gulley - one with a visible cairn at the top - for about 100m before it opened up into a larger gulley, while our tents were pitched at the top of a broader gulley, also with a cairn on a rocky outcrop and a cairn on the ground. However, from the top of the narrow gulley it was clear that there were no blockages in it, while the broad gulley wasn't in full view from the top. There were also a small patch of straw at the top of the broad gulley, as if someone put it there to use as a bed.

In any case, now I'll have to be content with photo's and memories until the next trip - I hate the post-mountain blues...

@intrepid: No, your directions were spot-on. After descending into Elephant Gully, I simply assumed one can head down and join Cockade Pass lower down. In the end my friend and I decided that it would indeed be possible, albeit a bit tricky. However, we had some people new to this kind of hiking in our group, so we used the safe option of heading back up and using the real Cockade pass next morning. In any case I am glad we did so, because otherwise we would have been caught by dark halfway down the pass and would have had to bivouac in completely miserable weather!