The Mt Aux Sources - Amphitheatre - Tugela thread

The picture as promised.

{joomplu:378}

Thanks Intrepid

Must have had blinkers on.

I was initially wondering if Temp1e was into that kind of challenge.

Good to hear it is still going.

OOOOOO, this picture is fantastic!!!! This is the view I'm after.

One thing I can't understand. When I'm walking in the gorge amphiteater is on the north with right topmost peak Sentinel and the falls in the middle. When I'm coming from Sentinel car park I'm ascending from the right and the falls must be on the left.
I can't understand how this picture is taken as for me it seems that it's taken from the left?

@ Temp1e

You are right, or is it left

Sticking with N S E W: when you ascend the path from the car park you will head initially in a southerly direction, bearing west below the North face of the Sentinel, and again south to Buttress Gully, west again to the base of the Chain ladder.
Once you have ascended the ladder, you will walk in a SE direction towards the Hut [or east towards the falls]
The picture Sterkhorn has posted is taken from a point SOUTH EAST of the hut.
Standing at the Hut looking south you will see a ridge running down from a high point west called Crows Nest. If you climb onto the ridge and follow it east towards the escarpment edge you should be able to get the same view, if it is the spot that I am thinking of.

Not sure when you are planning your trip, but bear in mind that at the moment there will very likely be little to no water falling over the edge, so if you are after a picture such as Sterkhorn's you should best go in summer.

I'm pretty sure it is east of the massive cleft - I just remember going as far along the ridge as we could. That was in the mid-1970's, so details are sketchy as to exact positions. Yea, the cleft is massive (as are a number of other ones along the amphitheatre wall). My brother and I were caught out on our first hike up there in the mist - totally confused us, even the compass seemed to be lying (no GPS in those days).

Hi guys,
I'm planning to hike Mont-Aux sources with another 3-4 guys around the 3-5th of December 2010. The plan goes like this-

1. Get to Sentinel Car Park around evening on Friday, 03 Dec and camp there for the night.

2. Start out on the trail from there on Saturday, 04 Dec. We want to camp out for that night around tugela falls. We were hoping to do this in one of the caves so that we can avoid carrying the tents to the top.

3. Start back for Sentinel car park on sunday, 05 dec.

With all of the reading i've done on the forums here, it seems like camping at the Sentinel Car Park is fine. I do however need help with plans of camping in one of the caves around tugela falls, especially in terms of the safety and security situation in the Berg. It would be greatly appreciated if anyone can help me out here. Any other inputs to do with the hike are also welcome.

Thanx

Welcome vk

There is one cave on the summit of the Amphitheatre. It is called Crows Nest, and is situated away from the falls above 3000m. Co-ordinates are S28 45.588 E28 53.070 Alt. 3136 m.

The other cave - Sentinel, situated below the summit just off the path and shortly after you pass Buttress Gully is nice, but removed by altitude from your destination. Check it out though on the way in as it may come in handy.

I am not sure of your experience or level of commitment, but December is the time of year when thunderstorms, rain and mist prevail. My suggestion would be to take a tent for shelter, and use the cave only for the experience, if you wish to gain that sort of altitude.

When I last visited Crows Nest a long while ago, it appeared to be well used by livestock, based on the mess.

There also appears to be a slightly higher security risk in this area, possibly due to it's popularity, so make sure you sleep on your kit.

As mentioned, Buttress Gully is a good variation to either descend (better) or ascend as part of your route. It would be difficult to attempt to find it from the top if the weather closes in. Whereas the top of the ladder is well marked with a large cairn and the old steel gantry gear used to place the ladders.

The Berg is no place to take lightly when it comes to the weather. The easy access to the escarpment of the Amphitheatre, and an underestimation of the weather and personal ability has cost some lives, even recently.

The hut on the summit is for the use of EKZN staff and MCSA and is generally locked.

Enjoy. And let us know how it goes.

Thanx for the really valuable inputs dom & ST2! I highly appreciate the help and will surely post the details of how it goes!