Gxalingenwa Ridge

This is without a doubt the coolest ridge I have done in the Drakensberg without a rope

I recently went to Cobham (for only the 2nd time).  As I was hiking into Spectacle Cave with Tony, I was looking ahead at the skyline for my mission the following day.  I had been planning to tackle Masubasuba Pass and the various Amakehla variations.  But, I got distracted when I saw the skyline north of Masubasuba and promptly said to Tony that I was going to have to change my plans.


The next morning, I set off with a lightweight day bag.  I found Gorge Cave and the Hole in the Wall, but missed Fingall's Rock.  I reached the ridge near The Hub.  The ridge heading up to the skyline was clearly hiding a few tricks, but looked worth a shot.


As a general rule, I kept as close to the crest of the ridge as possible, but occasionally had to divert onto the right-hand (northern) slopes to bypass a rock band.

At one point, a really cool rock rib presented itself.  I of course bounded along it (carefully, there was a pretty strong wind that day) and it is certainly the highlight of the ridge.  Technically you can bypass it on grass slopes to the right, but this is after all the whole point of the exercise.  And, anyway, if you struggle now, things are going to be harder later on.  I broken off the rib to the left, about 10m before it ends.


After this, there is a very steep bump which I tackled from a point fairly close to the right-hand skyline.  It goes more easily than I expected and I was soon on top of it only to realise it is a gendarme and that I was cliffed-out.  I back tracked a bit and dropped down a bit on the northern slopes.  A more efficient line would be to follow the advice in many a Drakensberg rock climbing description and to go up and right through miscellaneous rock bands.

If you get it right, you will pass under the gendarme and reach a narrow grass gully leading up to a narrow saddle.  I took this gully until a grass ledge breaking out right shortly before the saddle itself.  This ledge gets you to a broader grass gully leading up to another saddle.  At this point, things are looking pretty bleak and you would be right in asking why I was even bothering to push on.  You are now below the final rock bands and there is very clearly no break through them.  I really did not feel like going all the way back down, so I plodded up to the saddle in desperation. The final summit gully can be seen off left.


From the saddle, I made an obvious step across move to gain a narrow grass ledge, now on the left / southern side of the ridge.  This leads you around the final gendarme and with some exposed moves you can gain another gully.  You might be able to drop down to a lower, less exposed ledge but those moves did not look too appealing to me.  I took the high line shown.


It is now time to drop down about 5-10m onto a broadish ledge that works its way beneath the cliffs above.  Ignore the “it might just go” break above, it does not. Continue until you see a narrow gully leading to the summit.  I had to scramble up to a higher ledge to get into the gully.


The gully itself presents no obstacles and you are soon on top.

You might be able to traverse northwards along the flats, but if you want to head south to Masubasuba Pass like me, you now have to gain another 200m and all but tag the summit of North Hodgson Peak.
 

That ridge does look cool.