The Bell Traverse
11 Aug 2011 06:51 #3596
by Serious tribe
Replied by Serious tribe on topic The Bell Traverse
Awesome bru!!! That must have been tiring, but a lot of fun. Those sliddy sections look cool.
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11 Aug 2011 08:06 #3601
by mike.wanliss
They were brilliant and loads of fun! A lifesaver for the knees too. I'd imagine were were able to slide for about 1km which was great.
Replied by mike.wanliss on topic The Bell Traverse
Serious tribe wrote: Those sliddy sections look cool.
They were brilliant and loads of fun! A lifesaver for the knees too. I'd imagine were were able to slide for about 1km which was great.
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29 Aug 2011 17:17 #3850
by intrepid
Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
Replied by intrepid on topic The Bell Traverse
Just looking at this again I must say I appreciate the all the contributions made by the community. This is a great reference and will prove handy for many others. So thanks Mike, and everyone else who is active on this forum!
Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
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30 Aug 2011 06:11 - 30 Aug 2011 06:16 #3855
by mike.wanliss
Always a pleasure!
Here a few more pics from our trip.
This was the mist that caught us just after we came through Orange Peel Gap.
The long walk up to Buggers Gully
Still going up...
The view back to Buggers Gully from where we descended.
You can see how thick the snow was here.
This was taken from near the Bell, someone can help with what the shot is of though
The Chessmen
The climb up towards Twins cave
A sunset shot from One-tree hill back towards where we'd been.
Cheers,
Mike
Replied by mike.wanliss on topic The Bell Traverse
Always a pleasure!Here a few more pics from our trip.
This was the mist that caught us just after we came through Orange Peel Gap.
The long walk up to Buggers Gully
Still going up...
The view back to Buggers Gully from where we descended.
You can see how thick the snow was here.
This was taken from near the Bell, someone can help with what the shot is of though
The Chessmen
The climb up towards Twins cave
A sunset shot from One-tree hill back towards where we'd been.
Cheers,
Mike
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Last edit: 30 Aug 2011 06:16 by mike.wanliss. Reason: insert last attachment
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10 Jun 2013 19:32 - 15 Mar 2019 00:23 #57236
by intrepid
Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
Replied by intrepid on topic The Bell Traverse
In order to better manage postings about the Bell Traverse, I am implementing the following:
- This is the official Bell Traverse thread. The Bell Traverse is defined by the hike between Orange Peel Gap and Twins Cave. The vast majority of hikes approach Organge Peel Gap from Cathedral Peak Hotel, or vice versa, and so that lower section of trail can also be included in reference to the traverse, to be practical.
- All future discussion should be posted here and any new posts not warranting their own thread will be moved here by the moderators. All historical threads that have no need for new posts have been locked.
- Often the Twins Cave end of the traverse is complimented by the lower section of Mlambonja Pass (ie as a classic 3-day itinerary). Many however also use the upper section of the pass, to connect escarpment traverses either from the South (ie from Cathedral Peak area) or from the North (from the Mnweni). In order to cater for discussion which is more about this aspect, ie the itinerary of a trip which includes the Traverse, the Itineraries for doing the Bell Traverse thread is the one to use (that thread used to be called "Bell Advice"). This is to help those who specifically want to read about the Traverse so they don't have to read through pages of posts which aren’t directly related to the topic.
- Some useful links to other posts on the Traverse:
www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/8-drakensberg-hiking/2516-dont-look-down.html (includes some discussion on the exposure aspect of the Traverse)
www.vertical-endeavour.com/blog/38-drakensberg/passes/152-the-bell-traverse.html (a formal review)
- This is the official Bell Traverse thread. The Bell Traverse is defined by the hike between Orange Peel Gap and Twins Cave. The vast majority of hikes approach Organge Peel Gap from Cathedral Peak Hotel, or vice versa, and so that lower section of trail can also be included in reference to the traverse, to be practical.
- All future discussion should be posted here and any new posts not warranting their own thread will be moved here by the moderators. All historical threads that have no need for new posts have been locked.
- Often the Twins Cave end of the traverse is complimented by the lower section of Mlambonja Pass (ie as a classic 3-day itinerary). Many however also use the upper section of the pass, to connect escarpment traverses either from the South (ie from Cathedral Peak area) or from the North (from the Mnweni). In order to cater for discussion which is more about this aspect, ie the itinerary of a trip which includes the Traverse, the Itineraries for doing the Bell Traverse thread is the one to use (that thread used to be called "Bell Advice"). This is to help those who specifically want to read about the Traverse so they don't have to read through pages of posts which aren’t directly related to the topic.
- Some useful links to other posts on the Traverse:
www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/8-drakensberg-hiking/2516-dont-look-down.html (includes some discussion on the exposure aspect of the Traverse)
www.vertical-endeavour.com/blog/38-drakensberg/passes/152-the-bell-traverse.html (a formal review)
Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
Last edit: 15 Mar 2019 00:23 by intrepid. Reason: removed redundant links
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06 Feb 2014 17:46 #59642
by Paul Neame
Replied by Paul Neame on topic The Bell Traverse
Hi All
Trying to get up to date info on the Traverse between Cathedral and bell cave on way to twins whats the condition of the trail will be going down in April struggling to get answers from Mountain club and Cathedral staff
Trying to get up to date info on the Traverse between Cathedral and bell cave on way to twins whats the condition of the trail will be going down in April struggling to get answers from Mountain club and Cathedral staff
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06 Feb 2014 18:32 - 06 Feb 2014 22:31 #59643
by tiska
Replied by tiska on topic The Bell Traverse
The route from Cathedral to Bell Cave is fairly straightforward, except for the bottom of the Cathedral Gendarme Gully. From the top of the Gendarme that leans against Cathedral Peak (so looking towards the escarpment with CP on your RHS), descend the gully till there is room for a path leading off on the steep slopes of Cathedral Peak. The point where you leave off the gully is loose and can be tricky in wet/ice/snow. If the point of connection between the gully and the path looks tricky, then descend a little further. Once on the path on the slopes of CP, its easy going and about 15 easy minutes max to Bell Cave. The path goes right in front of Bell Cave which is actually on CP not the Bell. If you get to the gap between CP and the Bell then you've missed the cave. Turn round and go back for about 5 minutes.
Last edit: 06 Feb 2014 22:31 by tiska.
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06 Feb 2014 22:03 #59644
by intrepid
Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
Replied by intrepid on topic The Bell Traverse
Hi Paul and welcome to this forum. I have merged your post with this official thread for the Bell Traverse. Have a look at the info here and in the links mentioned above and see if that helps?Paul Neame wrote: Hi All
Trying to get up to date info on the Traverse between Cathedral and bell cave on way to twins whats the condition of the trail will be going down in April struggling to get answers from Mountain club and Cathedral staff
Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
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11 Feb 2014 14:00 #59661
by Paul Neame
Replied by Paul Neame on topic The Bell Traverse
Can anyone tell me what the condition of the Cathedral peak trail to Bell cave onto twins is like at the moment thanx
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14 Feb 2014 11:20 #59684
by relevitt
Replied by relevitt on topic The Bell Traverse
Same question as Paul's recent one, but walking in the opposite direction. Does anyone have fairly recent info on the state of Bugger's Gully, coming back off the escarpment from Twins Cave?
We'll be doing a five day Northern Traverse, going up at the Chain Ladder, so packs of 20kgs or more. If the weather's bad, we'll come down Mlambonja. If not, might try BT, but wouldn't want to get as far as Bugger's Gully and find we have a problem.
Any info much appreciated.
We'll be doing a five day Northern Traverse, going up at the Chain Ladder, so packs of 20kgs or more. If the weather's bad, we'll come down Mlambonja. If not, might try BT, but wouldn't want to get as far as Bugger's Gully and find we have a problem.
Any info much appreciated.
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