Report - Maloti Mafatle Range 3-peak challenge

I’ve been talking for about a year now about combining some peaks in the Goldengate Highlands in what I called back then a “4-peak challenge”.

Some additional scrutiny had me realize this is only a 3-peak challenge, as the Generaalskop frontal peak really forms part of the same peak massif as Generaalskop itself. (As photos from Ribbokpeak side definitely shows).
The challenge basically entails doing a solo summit challenge on the three most prominent peaks on the Mafatle Range that forms the southern border of the park. The range in question is also the watershed between the Caledon and Little-Caledon Rivers. The peaks in question are relatively high free standing peaks connected by a series of hanging valleys and knife edge ridges, with some incredibly spectacular scenery.

The route presents a couple of challenges meaning that it’s not something to be underestimated:
- There is no water along the route, meaning one has to carry all water for the route with you.
- Whilst the lesser two of the three peaks are relatively easy climbs with relatively straight forward ascents, the higher of the three, Mafatle Peak, also known as Ribbokkop, is not straightforward by any stretch of the imagination. Having said this, it remains a climb that can be done non-technical, if you can find the routes via the daunting rockbands.
- It is a long one-day’er: better be fit to some extent, with a good head for some very real vertical exposure.

Lastly I got the opportunity to combine this challenge with a small charity drive for a Care Centre in an area we do a lot of work together with one of the big mining firms. All the motivation one needs…

So, at 07:45 Wednesday morning last week I started up the route from the Generaalskop viewpoint on the Blesbok route. The start of the route traverse around a hill and then heads straight into a rocky gully that is one of the sources of the Little Caledon River (This is however not the main source, the main source of this river is to the left (see photo below) directly below peak number 1 of this challenge, as such this peak is named “Little Caledon Peak”. Anyone who has visited the park and driven up the Blesbok route will have seen this one, it towers above the viewpoint and in fact most people erroneously believe this peak to be Generaalskop.



Once on the ridge I decided to follow the Ribbok trail and avoid walking right on the ridge, as it was a rather windy day. In effect it meant missing Little Caledon Peak, as my intent was to do this one last on the day. I would also be skipping Generaalskop enroute to Mafatle peak to focus all my energy on this daunting peak with an eastern route of ascend yet unknown to me.
There are some tremendous vistas along the way, the photo shown below does not do the majesty and ruggedness of the cliffs, slopes and valleys justice.



The trail climbs to about 2550m ASL beyond Generaalskop (also known locally as Katule Peak), before it drops down and starts undulating up and down the knife edge ridge until one reaches the foot of Mafatle Peak (funny how this is written in the stroke of the pen, yet this was a rather unrelenting 8km, 3hr slog with a sum of ascent of about 750m (400m gain in actual height).
Sitting at the eastern foot of this peak it reminded me again how similar it looks, and indeed is in ascent, to Cathedral peak. It features several large vertical rockbands, some easy, some rather scary with few routes up. It even comes complete with its own little “Orange Peel Gap”, in this case called Ribbokpass, ending in a neck between Mafatle peak and the unnamed peak East-North-East from it.


(Head of Ribbokpass as seen from lower slopes of Mafatle, Katule peak in the background (Here one clearly sees the frontal peak of Katule (Generaals) being part of the same peak massif))



(Mafatle peak as seen from the head of Ribbokpass)

After a short rest I headed straight up the east facing ridge of Mafatle. A 360m ascent lay ahead over about 450m horizontal map meters, with the middle part of the climb way in excess of diagonal. The first part is easy, besides the sustained ascent. At about 2640m ASL the rockbands start in all earnest. I decided to gulp down some water and an apple, and left my daypack in a protected cubby below rock band nr 2.

The first and second rock bands gave themselves up easily with some steep grassy sections that breached the rock bands in some places. The third one however was not to be breached so easily, and indeed turned out the toughest of the day. After some scouting for a route I decided to, rather precariously for a solo climber, smear up a diagonal lip protruding from the rockface, in a place where the rock was not vertical. Hmmmm. About halfway up I realized I was taking some serious risk, but there was no turning back. About ¾ of the way up the climb eased up into some “baboon climbing”. However, once I was up and beyond this rock band the realization dawned on me that I would need to get another route back down, this one to be descended would be deep, very deep, into the DFU zone…

continued in next post.

(Route up rockband 3 as described in previous post)

A final slog up steep terrain and via some easier rock bands brought me to the peak. It is not the first time I have stood on this magnificent place, but earlier ascends were from the western side as part of a multi person party. To solo it this time around, using a different and unknown ascend route felt like a bit of an achievement, although I knew the descend still waited….



On descending I decided to explore for easier ways down the southern slopes of the mountain. From previous visits I knew these slopes may have more grassy sections, but also that it is incredibly steep grassy slopes which in itself would be tough to descend. So at around 2700m ASL I took a right turn and headed down a very steep grassy slope looking for a break on the massive third rock band. Eventually heading back west, doing some steep side hilling, I finally found a way down, not completely grassy but at least down some rocky sections that did not have too much risk. This did however mean I had to traverse on a contour around back to the east side, doing some rather unpleasant side hilling in the process, not too far above a major vertical drop-off.


(Some unpleasant side hilling on very steep grassy slopes, very exposed in places).

I eventually ended up at the cubby where I left my pack. All the tough work for the day was done now, but unfortunately I also used up about 90% of my water. 2.5 litres clearly was not enough. Getting up Katule/Generaalskop slopes would be made tougher by this lack of hydration, but alas…
Walking back along the Mafatle Ridge I could breathe in the scenery of the Caledon upper catchment valley. This is a beautiful setting, with farm houses and quaint villages scattered along the river that snakes through the hills. In the far background the Sentinel and Devil’s tooth are two prominent features.

(Upper Caledon catchment).

The slog up the ridgeline and to the top of Generaalskop was indeed brutal with so little water. Fortunately, in this case, it was rather cold so at least I was not dehydrating via sweating as badly as would’ve happened on a hot day.
I ascended Generaalskop via the standard route at 15:40. By now the wind was ready to blow me clean of the mountain so this stay was for no more than three minutes. I descended as quick as I could and headed over to Little Caledon peak, this time not following the Ribboktrail but instead choosing to hug the ridge line so as to not loose too much unnecessary altitude. I reached Little Caledon peak at 16:35, with tired legs now cramping due to the dehydration and with the wind now really freezingly cold. From here on fortunately it was not a long way although the final descend did feel like an eternity. I was back down at 17:20.

All in all a great trip that really pushed my limits on several fronts. For me this definitely counts as an epic one day’er, others may not see it this way (I am also sure there are many tougher epics in the Berg itself, probably beyond my means).

Herewith some stats to close the report out.


Three peaks GPS markers (iPhone about 6m optimistic on all heights)

Total time: 9hrs 30 mins.
Total kCal’s burned: 7960 kCal.
Average heartrate: 151.
Total kms: 17.1km.
Total summed ascend: 1,510m.