Thuthumi Pass

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Last weekend, Sabine, John, Neil and tonymarshall did a hike up Organ Pipes Pass and down Thuthumi Pass, overnighting in Roland’s Cave with it’s view over the upper section of Thuthumi Pass. The ledge on the left of the photo below is the approach to Roland’s Cave, with the peaks of the Cathedral Range just visible above the clouds in the background and the path at the top of Thuthumi Pass at the centre of the photo.



A similar view after the clouds had dropped to reveal the Cathedral Range, and the area south of the Amphitheatre in the far distance. Cleft Peak is the high point on the horizon.



Thuthumi Pass has a false summit, seen in the photo below taken from near the top of the Pass looking down the pass, with one of the Lower Ndumeni Caves at the right of the photo.



The photo below is taken from near the top of the false summit looking up to the grass sloped top of Thuthumi Pass, with Organ Pipes Pass visible to the right and Cleft Peak and Castle Buttress the peaks on the right skyline.



After cresting the false summit we descended the other side and were soon at the level of the cloud. The photo below shows the Smugglers Pass route path going over the ridge to Organ Pipes Pass, and Thuthumi Pass goes down the misty gully to the right. The path follows the true right side of the stream the whole way down the pass.



A view back up the pass during a rare moment of the cloud and mist clearing.



Most of Thuthumi Pass has a path, but in places it is quite eroded,



and in other places easy to lose on overgrown sections.

A view up a misty Thuthumi Pass, the path on Thuthumi Pass alternates between flattish, contouring sections and zigzags on the steeper sections which enable the path gradient to stay relatively flat.



Once we emerged below the cloud, visibility ahead improved, although by then we were on the lower section of the pass following the flatter path along the stream.



The route crosses the Thuthumi stream and contours along the valley slopes to join the Contour Path at The Nek. For some reason the new hiking maps show the route following the true right of the Thuthumi stream all the way to the junction with the Didima River, at the bottom of Phillip’s Folly, but this is incorrect (the older Slingsby map shows the correct route) and I am not sure that this path even exists. The photo below shows the Thuthumi stream crossing in an overgrown area.



We had our lunch break at the stream crossing, tonymarshall, Sabine, John and Neil.



The route after the stream crossing contours gradually upwards to The Nek, crossing several side streams and passing through vast areas of blue wild agapanthus.



A view back up the Thuthumi valley. The Organ Pipes route follows the ridge above to the right of the photo below, and at the times the mist would clear enough for us to glimpse the Thuthumi Hut (Old fire lookout) high above to our left, although it was too indistinct to photograph.



There were several bushy areas around the side stream crossings on the path to the Nek.



Unfortunately the cloud prevented photographing Thuthumi Pass from a distance, so I have included this photo below of Thuthumi Pass, taken in September 2012 from near the bottom of Phillip’s Folly.



We used the Vertical Endeavour Thuthumi Pass gps track to aid with navigation, but it should be noted that the track from the top of the false summit to the Thuthumi stream crossing is not totally accurate and can be used as a rough route guide, but not as a detailed step by step route.

Hi Guys

I have looked at the cave info on Berg.co.za, but there might be later information on water points on the forum.

What is the possibility of there being water in Thuthumi Pass near to the one of the Lower Ndumeni Caves (LNC)?  I noticed in one of Tony's pics that there was a small pool of water in the saddle between the false summit and the actual summit.  This was summer, so it may have just been rain that filled up a puddle?  Any trickles near there?

I did see that Riaang mentioned water about 250m from the top of Organ Pipes Pass, would this be the headwaters of the Kakoatsan River heading into Lesotho?

Given that there is the Smugglers variation that links further down Thuthumi Pass, any idea of the security risk in one of these LNC? Would they bypass these caves by using the variation.  How about the UNC, these would still be on-route from a security threat

Thanks
Karl

That little pool in the photo is more or less where the Thuthumi stream starts flowing. It is a long way from the caves, quite a way down from the false summit on the main pass (not between the false summit and summit), where the path linking Thuthumi Pass to Organ Pipes Pass branches off, visible in the same photo.

I can remember some trickles around the Lower Ndumemi Caves in summer, but unless you get lucky with a lot of snow melt water in winter there will not be any water nearby.

Thanks guys.

Yes I see now that you mention it, and i peer very carefully through the my mist defeating x-ray glasses that what i took for the summit of Thuthumi, could likely be the false summit.  Ok so definitely to far from the caves to be a useable source of water.  Just have to fill up in Lesotho an walk back to one of the sets of caves.  

Will just keep a weather eye open for anyone in the vicinity.  if anyone has got any views looking north/NW from either sets of caves that would be useful.

Thanks