Corner Pass / Judge Pass, Mafadi, Leslie's Pass Loop

Hi Riaang
Thanks for the advice

Guys,

Thank you for the advice, much appreciated.

@Diverian will be sending me the GPS information of Judges Pass which we will consider depending on the snow/ice situation in Corner Pass.

Regards

Henk

Hi Everyone,

I read the whole thread, and there is a lot discussed about Leslies, Corner and Judges pass. But I would like some opinions about a Ships Prow – Leslies loop?

On paper it seems perfect for a 3 day hike:
Day 1: Up Ships Prow (with an early start from the camp site)
Day 2: Short walk to top of Leslies
Day 3: Down Leslies and drive back home

Any opinions?

I agree with Smurf, and would also caution against underestimating Ships Prow Pass

On the August long weekend, SingleSpeed and I did the Van Heynigens Pass - Shada Ridge approach to Ships Prow and tented at the 'campsite' just upstream of the Contour Path crossing of Ships Prow stream. The next day we ascended the pass, which took about six and a half hours, and that was using the little known and rarely found trail up the pass - it would have taken longer had we not used the trail. Bear in mind too that the ascent from the 'campsite' at 1970 m to the top of the pass at 3285 m is over 1300 vertical metres. We would really have battled to do from the Injisuthi office to the top of Ships Prow Pass in one day, and were pretty shot by the time we got to the top of the pass on the second day, even though we are both fit and strong (and admittedly, older) hikers.

After a day of summit exploration and ascending khulus, we returned down Apes Pass on the fourth day, and walked out from Marble Baths on the fifth, although the last two days could easily have been combined into one day.

Last year, Hobbit and I did Friday evening to Marble Baths, Saturday to Nkosasana via Leslies and Sunday down Cathkin Mountain Pass. Aside from a really bad storm that ended with us shivering in our sleeping bags for hours while badly dehydrated, it was a pretty good weekend out. Actually, to be honest, probably one of the scariest hikes I've ever done - simply because of how exposed we were crossing Bothlolong Ridge in that storm.

This loop is doable in 3 days, but definitely not the easiest route around and not good for the average hiker. Nkosasana to Injisuthi is a reasonably solid push, especially with the state of the contour path below Ships Prow. We were walking around 6AM and only reached the offices at 4PM, and we jogged a fair amount of Shada Ridge and Van H Pass. We finished the hike in under 48h, which we were very happy with, and bagged 3 khulus along the way.

The reason everyone opts for Corner/Leslies has something to do with that arbitrary flat topped bump that is important because of an imaginary line drawn by some politicians about 100 years ago.

All 3 passes in question are worth doing, with Leslies having some of the best views out of any pass I have done. Just Ships Prow is killed by the overgrowth on the contour path, and the horrible design of the general contour path in the area.

I have descended both Ships Prow gullies (north is not an issue for someone with experience of route finding on unstable ground, provided you have good weather to see the line - if you aren't experienced with this, or have to find your way in the mist, it could turn into a death trap) - I rate both are better to go down than up. I wouldn't go up Ships Prow from the car in a day with a heavy pack - if I did something like that, I would start at 3AM and carry a day pack. It isn't the fastest pass in the Berg by any stretch of the imagination.

Hi guys

So ............. I have read almost everything in this Forum regarding Mafadi etc.Really hoping this hasn't been covered.
I want to know, how tough is this hike?
Let me give you a clear idea.

We are 4 guys heading down 23-26 November ( 4days/3nights ).
Injisuthi camp - Centenary hut , Upper Injisuthi cave via Corner/Judges pass (still deciding) , Marble baths via leslies pass , back to camp.
We all are pretty accustomed to the outdoors, serious mountain bikers and I would rate our general fitness at probably a 8 / 10. BUT very limited hiking experience.
We plan on being very well prepared and informed and have everything we need + a bit more.

Now, for someone with no comparable hiking equivalents, how tough is this hike?

Thanks
Bru

Hi Bru,

Any hike to the top of the Drakensberg is tough by hiking standards.

The route you plan to do is tough by Drakensberg standards, so to answer your question, this hike will be tough.

Don't let this put you off though.

This is a popular route done by many hikers of differing experience and abilities, and I'm sure many who are less experienced and fit than your group have completed it, so there's no reason your group shouldn't. You have the advantage of being fit, and are researching the trip which already counts a lot for you. The only aspect you are lacking, by your own admission, is hiking experience, so take an opportunity to get better experienced.

Since your planned hike is two months away, I would recommend the four of you do an overnight training hike between now and then, it doesn't have to be difficult, to get used to the weight of the pack, learn how all the gear works, try out food to see what works for you, see how your group dynamic works during a hike, etc. This will also assist to prepare you mentally for the four day hike, which being serious mountain bikers you will understand the importance of. You will then also have some basic hiking experience to improve your experience level from limited, and will go into the Mafadi hike better prepared and more likely to enjoy it.

@GerritHuman: Gerrit, getting up to the top of Ships Prow from camp in a day will be a SERIOUS (did I mention SERIOUS!!!) push. The bottom section of the pass is SERIOUSLY overgrown (any arsenists out there reading this thread?) and even walking on the faint trail will be quite tiring and slow work. The pass itself tops out very high, if memory serves me correct over 3300m ASL so you are looking at an average of 300m ASL higher than the average Berg pass. The rest of the route is easy.

@Bruere, MTBing fit and hiking fit is quite different (I do both). Having 20odd kg's on your back and doing constant 30 degree+ angles for the better part of the day gets to you when you are not used to this kind of effort. I would say that ascending a typical Injasuthi area pass is about twice the amount of effort of say that lekker loooooong uphill climb on the Sabie challenge, and much steeper.

BUT, if you pace yourself it is very doable in 3 days. 4 days would be a fairly leasurely hike. My kids did a section of this route earlier this year (they went further) but in reverse, your planned section they did in reverse in 3 days (D1 camp to foot of Leslies, D2 Leslies to UIC and D3 from the cave to Bannermans cave). They are 10 (daughter) and 12 (son) and carried 7,5kg and 11,5kg's respectively.

Let me put it this way - The Centenary to Leslies hike in 3 days is easy compared to Gerrit's Ships Prow hike in 3 days. However, as with all things in life this is very subjective. Give it a shot and put in your trip reports afterwards guys

Riaang wrote: The pass itself tops out very high, if memory serves me correct over 3300m ASL

3287m iirc - to the best of my knowledge, 3^rd highest pass top in the Berg.

Top 5 passes in terms of summit height is something along the lines of:
- KaNtuba Pass 3307m
- Cathkin Mountain Pass 3295m
- Ships Prow Pass 3287m
- Injisuthi Pass 3237m
- Nhlangeni Pass 3220m