Corner Pass

It was spectacular and my best berg experience so far!

We started off on Saturday at 11am (I imagine I saw Magan at the hikers parking when we arrived at Injisuthi), and reached Centenary Hut at nightfall.

We followed the contour path in the night, but lost it at a stream crossing and camped beside the next stream (very rough sloping spot but we wanted to be out of sight in case a train of smugglers passed on the contour path).

Corner pass was covered in snow and the highlight of our trip. We ploughed through knee-deep snow most of the time, and occasionally disappeared to our waists!

The snow on the escarpment hampered our progress severely and pained our eyes - the southern slopes was mostly covered in shin-deep snow with drifts more than a meter thick. The ridges and northern slopes were much better.

We ran very late, by 17:00 Monday afternoon we were at the top of Leslie's pass instead of back at camp. We descended the first steep section before the light failed, then we camped in the pass - had the most spectacular sunrise the next morning!

Afterwards, we decided the following about the route:
1. You DO need four days (hehe) to properly enjoy the route (esp. the escarpment top).
2. In snow you need five days.
3. Mafadi is not worth the while. Rather follow the escarpemnt ridge - longer route but much more rewarding.

I can post some pictures if anyone is interested.

It was still very climable, but it takes extremely long (We climbed 7 hours from the contour path to the escarpment). There was no hard ice underneath - even though we climbed it a week after the blizzard. The snow wasn't powdery, but not ice-hard either.

At shin to knee-deep, your foot will stop, but many times, as your other foot almost finds it next step, you'd suddenly sink to your thigh.

Also you have to probe each step to check for rocks and holes that can cause injury, which was the main time consumer.

Two patches of a few metres long each were iced hard and could be walked over, but that was it.

The boulder blocking the gully proved quite dangerous. It seems that when dry it should be an easy scramble, but the protruding rocks were covered with snow and ice and extremely slippery. One member soloed this and fastened a ski-rope some place higher up. Then we hoisted up the packs, and the two of us remaining climbed up using the rope for safety.

You should really try this pass in snow - despite the duration it was a very pleasant climb and for all of us the highlight of the trip.

I should add that all this was in perfect weather, and the air temperature wasn't too cold.

I haven't forgotten about the photo's, I'm busy sifting through them!

Uploaded some pics to the "First snowfall for 2009" thread in the Drakensberg General forum:

vertical-endeavour.com/forums/drakensberg-general/597-re-first-snowfall-for-2009-season/Page-3.html#592

Can't find a place to add pics to the galleries, I suppose that'll only be after the site upgrade.

Phuwaaaaaa, I really want to be back up there!!!

Having done Mafadi this weekend with my wife and two boys aged 12 and 14 via corner pass , i noticed a well walked path going off to the left just before the gully on corner pass.It seems to traverse just bellow the cliff.I was wondering if anyone knows where it goes,i could not make out at all where it would lead as we summitted in heavy mist,what a pity as we missed out on all the views.

Thanks to a great forum with lots of useful downloads the GPS took us straight to the top.
Hiking in the berg in misty conditions with a GPS certainly gives one peace of mind.

Hi Antony,
do you mean at the top of Corner Pass on the left when looking down the Pass?

Hi mnt_tiska
The path i am referring to is mid way up the pass on the left, just before the rock gully when going up from the contour path.

Interesting.
I've never noticed the path and I've been up and down half a dozen times. The first time we went up we looked pretty carefully for any path - thinking we might have missed one. The second time was in thick mist and we were looking out sharp in case we drifted out of the pass without knowing - and still didn't see it. I wonder if it is new?