Leslie’s Pass

I have a group of approximately 20+ people, we plan to hike up to Mafadi from the EKZNW Injisuthi camp over the Easter weekend. My initial plan was to go up Leslie's pass and come down Judge or Corner pass or vice versa. I have done quite a few hikes a bit further north but haven't done any in this area. Furthermore there are a number of people for whom this will be their first hike. I saw now that Corner pass involves some scrambling so that plan won't work and Judge pass has Basotho traders and is labelled 'rock' so I don't think that's a good idea either. Do you think it is a feasible idea to take this many people up and down Leslie's in a 4 day hike and find sufficient space to camp? (it's not necessary for us all to camp close together)

I am under the impression that there is a size limit for groups in the berg and that limit is 12. Thus the group should be split up and the various groups travel independently to different destinations. Can anyone clarify this?

Hi Kraig

I have not hiked from Injasuthi nor done any of the passes you mentioned, but Leslies Pass is often done in conjunction with Grays Pass (Monks Cowl) so look for hike reports and consider that as another option.

To manage your (very big) group safely and to minimise ecological impact I suggest you split into 3 clearly defined sub-groups with a spread of competencies within each group (i.e. don't put all the strong, experienced hikers in one group & all the rookies in a different group). Each sub-group should be self sufficient (maps, food, tents, etc) with an experienced leader so that if they get separated as a team they can look after themselves. Spread the sub-groups out a bit when you camp (but still within sight of each other if possible) and hike in your sub-groups, aiming to meet up all together for lunch etc. That way you will still be a group, have safety in numbers, but be more accountable to a smaller team and not put so much pressure on what is a very fragile ecosystem.

If your experience is anything like 'normal' you will probably have 30% of your hikers drop out before you even start, in which case you may want to hike as one group but break up into 2 groups with some space between them to camp.

Hope this helps.

Several nests of litter along the pass at the mo (tins, bones, foil, etc.) - I'm guessing due to Basotho heading home for xmas? We collected what we could, anyone inclined should probably go armed with a black bag or two.

To my eye the eroded bits are looking a fair bit worse than around a year ago, too - are there any private initiates doing path maintenance in the Berg?

There is the Drakensberg Trail Project , which is still in the proposal stage with EKZNW. The focus at this stage seems to be contour paths more than passes.

Good day all,

I am planning a trip to the Berg somewhere around new year's and was planning on including Leslie's pass as one of the passes to do. Does anyone have some recent info on the pass? I can't seem to find any, let me know if I am missing something. 

Thank you in advance.
 

Hi Edward. I think there is a forum on Leslie's here already and quite a nice overview too. But anyway, I did the pass 2 weekends ago and I honestly found the 3km of bush between marble baths and the base of the pass to be the hardest part. Definitely add in an extra hour for this section! The pass itself is fairly straight forward and there's a path the whole way up. You start off by climbing steeply up a ridge on the right side of the river(the true left). At about 1/3 of the way up you leave the ridge and cross the river. The section just after the river crossing is quite badly eroded and full of loose rock, so just watch your footing (nothing incredibly dangerous though).

(Looking up the pass before crossing the river)
After the eroded section it's a simple slog to the top!!

Hi Edward,

Welcome to VE!

There are lots of info on VE relating to Leslies pass, both in trip reports but you can also find gps tracks in the downloads section. There's even a writeup on th epas itself under the Drakensberg passes section.

But, let me give you my view of it briefly.

Leslies pass is often used in conjunction with Corner or Judges pass to do a 3 day loop which includes Mafadi. People often stay over near the base of the pass at Marble Baths caves (there are 2 of them). Nice spot near the river. If you go up with Corner pass you can sleep over in Upper Injasuthi cave overlooking the Eastern Buttress immediately below you. Impressive views from this cave. Corner has 3 scrambling sections that, depending on the weather conditions, can be a bit challenging, especially in the snow, however, it's not technically difficult. The Trojan wall can be a bit of a bugger when you go up from the camp to UIC cave in a day, as it's near 400m vertical ascent stands between you and the overnight cave.

When I do Leslies pass I typically break it up into the following sections:
1). The bushwacking section: This part lies between Marble Bath Caves and the foot of the pass itself. The path (if you can find it) winds in and out of the river, but mostly stays on the right hand side of the river as you ascend. Often very overgrown with lush vegetation, and up and down rocky sections, this part can be a bit tiring towards the end of summer.

2). The ridge part: At some point (about 2.5km from the caves) you will exit the riverbed and climb on the ridge to the right of the river. It's fairly steep initially and gains height quickly. Once on top, it vectors gradually back into the riverbed, but higher up. A brief downhill section brings you to the river, which yu will now cross to be on the left of the river again.

3). Africa. This bushy section kinda has the shape of the African continent. The start is very steep and lover very loose, rocky ground. Definitely easier going up than coming down. Nice green bushy plants to pull you up and through this section. As you get to the top of Africa, you are approaching the next section.

4). The cliff face: As you exit Africa, you will be walking through loose rocks strewn all over the mountain. By now you've made good upward progress and the sun would be high in the sky, and it is becoming hot. No shade anywhere on this pass unfortunately. As you get to the cliff face itself, towering majestically above you, you will turn right and follow the path that leads to the top.

5). The top: The end is in sight. This last section is not too steep and the breeze from the top of the pass is refreshing. Once at the top its not too far down to the river below you where you can rest and top up with water.

Overall I normally enjoy this pass. It's steep and a bit rough, but has so much variaty that it never bores me. I'm sure you'll enjoy it a lot.

Enjoy the Berg!!!

I took my running club on a 3 day loop of up Around the Corner down Leslies in May. Incidentally Leslies Pass is now considered a swearword in my running club

The pass is fine, but the steep section above the river crossing halfway up can be very slippery, and the pass is long and steep.

Story with some pictures here:
jonathantheghaznavid.wordpress.com/2022/09/16/mafadi/

Riaan has given plenty of info, so I don't have much to add.