Cockade Pass

Hi Tim. In April 2022, when my wife and I were going up Cockade pass, we encountered a waterfall that sounds like the one you described. The first night we camped in the Xeni valley, a few hundred meters from the contour path. Early the next morning, we started our way up towards the Cockade/Xeni junction. After about an hour of navigating the boulder bed, we encountered a tricky waterfall to surmount. There were two ways to get around it, either up a steep rockface or on a ledge of unstable vegetation. We weren’t keen on either route so we tried to exit out of the boulder bed and get onto the embankment. However, the exit turned out to be steeper than it looked. After another unsuccessful attempt at the embankment further back down, we decided to return and chance the ledge section to the true left of the waterfall. This was mostly ok except for the last part which involved awkwardly lifting oneself up next to the waterfall whilst pushing against many dead tree branches - attached picture. We were happy to make it past this section and decided there was no turning back. I imagine it has become worse since then.

I was considering using this pass to get to the summit some time in Jan, however think I will go via the Camel.  I went up here in 2010 and found it not an issue, however there is to much unstable rock now in that section to make it dangerous.  Climate change is going to have an impact on these passes as rain events get extreme.  The damage to this entire section down to the contour path is a case in point.  Good thing there was no one camping in the pass otherwise there might have been a repeat of the Ships Prow disaster.

The latest Slingsby map references an overhang on the true left hand side of the pass.  Any ideas of how good it would be for an overnight bivy?

Yes, that overhang was in the waypoints and tracks of Cockade Pass that I provided for the new maps. When I first did Cockade Pass, I recalled that it was mentioned in one of the berg books, and went to have a closer look and recorded the waypoint. It was not fantastic shelter and isn't a named or popular cave, so the intention of having it on the maps was more as a landmark so people seeing it could know how far they are on the pass, and for possible use as an emergency shelter or bivy. I would say it would be suitable for an overnight bivy for two people, with the prior knowledge that it isn't luxurious, although I don't know if the floods that changed the Xeni and Cockade Passes have had a negative affect on the overhang. I can't remember if I took photos of the overhang or not, I may have, and if it would help you I can look in my archives and see if I have any photos of the overhang, and neither have I looked through the previous pages of this topic to see if anyone has posted a picture of the overhang.

Hi Tony
I had a look though most of the posts on the the Cockade ans outh C threads, I didnt see anything relating to an overhang.  I have done the pass once and found it quite easy, this was b4 the flood disaster, though i dont recall seeing anything that looked like an overhang, but then, I wasnt looking for one   If you have a chance to look at your records that would be great.  I was thinking of youing the pass sometime, but that recent damage make me wary.  I might choose to go up Mlambonja and then around to the Cocade/Zeni cutback.  Any thoughts on the two options, though I guess the damage changes the answer somewhat.  I remember Dog being tiring!

Yes bush on a hot summers day can be a might bit frustrating!

I have found some photos I took of the overhang on Cockade Pass, and they are posted below. 



My gps coordinates of the overhang are S28° 58.665' E29° 08.052'.

Earlier this year I went down Xeni South Pass with The Real Dave, which was the first time I was in this area after the floods. The changes to Xeni South Pass were quite considerable, with the upper section that I remember being quite a lot of grass now very eroded and rocky. Many of the rocks are loose, not having settled or become stable yet, and there are several extra scrambles on rock in the eroded section. The major difference I noted, as posted by several others in the preceding posts, is that the section downstream of the Xeni - Cockade Junction is very different, and it is now very difficult to get from the stream bed up to the terrace above or vice versa, necessitating some extra scrambles at the waterfalls which could previously be avoided by bypassing them on the terrace above.

Hi Tony

Thanks a stack for the images.  I know that spot of vegetation, but dont recall seeing the overhang as I am sure I would have photographed it.

That is a fairly decent overhang with enough rock material to build a good wall.  Is just a pity that the passes in that cutback have been so damaged.  I am now quite wary of loose boulders, having been almost crushed to death by an approximately two ton brute that looked quite stable.  This was in a river valley earlier this year.  I was lucky to escape with a really badly bruised shin and a new respect for loose boulders.