Mnweni Pass

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In mid January an all VE member group of Sabine, Hermann, Grandeur (Steve), Getapix (Rian) and tonymarshall made a 3 day weekend trip in the Mnweni, ascending Rockeries Pass and descending Mnweni Pass.

After ascending Rockeries Pass on the first day and overnighting in Mponjwane Cave, we spent the next day exploring, photographing and relaxing, and overnighted in Ledges Cave before descending Mnweni Pass on the third day. Walking out along the spur next to the top of Mnweni Pass, the view across the Mnweni cutback is spectacular. Manxome Pass is the long straight grassy slope on the left, Pins Pass is the gully on the right, Pins Buttress is the high point to the left, with the Mnweni Pinnacles at the centre of the photo and Black and Tan Wall at the right background.



Looking down the pass from the same point, most of the pass is visible, with the top eroded boulder strewn section, middle grass traverses and zig zags, and part of the lower bushy section visible.



The top of the pass is quite obvious with numerous trails converging into the pass.



The group near the top of the pass in the eroded, boulder strewn section. Mnweni Pass is one of a handful of passes in the ‘berg that can be done the whole way with donkeys, and that no doubt has contributed to the severe erosion.



Numerous spires and towers line the sides of Mnweni Pass, creating a wonderland surrounding, and making this one of the most scenic passes.



A view down the pass to the transition from the eroded criss cross trails to the grassier traverse and zig zag section.



The group on the upper traverse with the view back up the pass.



The grassy slope traverse, with the ever present view to Manxome and Pins Passes.

Looking back along the grass slope traverse.



Looking down the grass slope zig zags



A view back up the long zig zag section.



The group taking a break on the pass, fltr tonymarshall, Grandeur, Sabine, Hermann and Getapix.



Negotiating the lower section of Mnweni Pass, another transition zone between grass slope and flatter, bushier terrain.



The view down to Chichi Bush Camp, a campsite area consisting of several isolated flat spots in the river bed gravel at the confluence of the Pins stream and Mnweni River.



Lower downstream the path follows the true right side of the Mnweni river for a while, with the awesome background view of the Mnweni cutback.



Just upstream of the confluence of the Rwanqa and Mnweni Rivers, the path crosses to the true left of the Mnweni River.



Further downstream, near the next river crossing just upstream of the confluence of the Mbundini and Mnweni Rivers we had lunch, before completing the walk out back to the Mnweni Cultural Centre.

Hello all. 

I need help identifying and any info y'all may have on a possible pass that is between Mnweni Pass and Hanging Valley Pass. Apologies if this is not the right thread but I don't know where else to post.

If looking up while at the bottom of Mnweni Pass it looks like the very next pass to the right of Mnweni. Here is a photo of it that is from the start of Manxome Pass from last year (I don't have a wider angle image of it unfortunately but you can see a distinct arch in the top left corner):


Looking at the paper map of the area I'm guessing it's this pass marked with blue line:


Has anyone done this pass before? Do you know if this is a passable pass with very basic rope gear? Do you have any tips on how to decent it? Does it have a name?

Thank you.
 

My first thought was that it was Mnweni Buttress Pass, which AndrewP has done: www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/drakenberg-passes-amangwane-mnweni/56151-mnweni-buttress-pass.html

But that's the gully that runs from west to east and tops out near your X on the map. Not sure about this other pass - fairly sure AndrewP would have checked it out by now?

I tried going up that gully several years back. The rock arch is a useful reference that we are both talking about the same gully.


I seem to recall trying it when water levels were high, probably late summer

Low down, I encountered several obstacles that I avoided easily enough. At one point, I moved out onto true right and did a fairly obscure and tricky scramble in some bushes.

At 2700m, I reached a waterfall I could not safely pass. There is a 20m high sand bank with embedded boulders, like the ones you often see on banks of the larger rivers. It will in theory go, but would be really bad news if it collapses on you, so I aborted the attempt as I could not see any other possibilities.

On the way down, it took a lot of effort to find the way down the bushy scramble even though I knew what to look for.

If you have 2 60m ropes,  you should get down with at most 2 abseils, as long as you can find suitable abseil points.

Thank you Stijn and AndrewP for your replies.

Andrew, you said that I'd need 2 60m ropes. We're planning to spend about 10 days starting with Bell Traverse and doing 5-8 passes in Mnweni area so 2 60m ropes are gonna be a heavy load to carry. Do you think there is a minimum rope option if we don't have to deal with waterfalls in the middle of May?