Gray's Pass - Ships Prow Pass Loop

No scrambling down Ship's. Gray's may have one or two sections on rock - not really scrambling, as far as I recall, but definitely nothing difficult. The final gully is rock and might require some scrambling.

Thank you for the replies. Another question - how good/bad/difficult is the path from Keith Bush to Cowl's Fork via Cowl Cave? If I remember correctly, I have read somewhere that the section between Cowl Cave and Cowl's Fork is very difficult and requires quite a bit of scrambling. Is that the case?

See this thread . Cowl Cave to Cowl Fork (or vice versa) is said to be much harder than Cowl Cave to KBC (or vice versa). I doubt there'll be much of a path on either side. Also, bear in mind that the cave is not in that saddle, if you're thinking of sleeping up there (see here ); there's what looks like a very exposed traverse to Cowl Cave. Up and down in one day would be fairly strenuous, not necessarily unpleasant, but I imagine knees might suffer on the way down.

Thank you Dave for the pointers. Very informative threads.

@Swordfish:

What path? There is no real path from Cowl Fork to Cowl Cave or down to KBC
Regarding scrambling up Grays pass, there is one rock slab you will need to scramble over and it could be a bit slippery when wet, but nothing serious or difficult. Note that if you miss the turnoff close to the cliffs and carry on straight along the rockband (vs climbing higher to the base of the cliff face) you will get to a point where you are in for some "interesting" scrambling. If you get to this point, just backtrack for about 50m or so and look for the path which would be on your right leading up to the cliff face. I made this mistake once (kern was broken down and path obscured) and had to traverse across a very slippery rock with just enough space to put half my boot (width) on it, and had to take a jump to clear the last meter or so. If you slip here you are in for quite a long slide/tumble.

Riaang, is this the spot you are talking about?

Also, would it be possible to do Gray's up and Ship's down with a 6 years old kid? My friend wants to bring his kid along. The boy is used to hiking.

Swordfish, I'm not entirely sure what we're looking at in your picture, but the path for Gray's goes straight up the slope above Keith Bush, then turns right into the gully. Don't try to go left.



The part Riaang is talking about is a false path leading beyond a little cut-back. You should realize if you've taken it (I've taken it both times I've done the pass), as it soon becomes exposed and unclear where to go. Don't worry too much: it's not a difficult pass.

As for taking a six-year-old down Ships, I would be wary. It's not exceptionally hard going down, but it's still a long descent, and the walk out back to Monk's Cowl is not short. The child may be fit, but I would think this would be a serious exertion for any six-year-old. Perhaps someone with kids can advise.

The picture is a zoomed image nearly at the top of Gray's pass, where Riaang warned about the difficulty. It's taken from Wikiloc: Up Grays Pass We don't plan to walk all the way to Monk's Cowl in one day. We plan to go from KBC, up Gray's, down Ship's and camp somewhere by Cowl Fork, then continue to Monk's Cowl the next day.

I'm not a super fit hiker, but starting from the top of Ship's, I still took a whole day to get down - though I lost an hour or two in the riverbed - and to get to my clumpy camp-spot on the ridge before Cowl Fork, which I made just before dusk. Bear in mind that Cowl Fork is mostly rock and bush and will probably be wet too after the recent rainfall. I saw nothing resembling a camp-spot when I passed through there. All this just FYI so you don't have a trying hike.

Hi Swordfish,

Nope, your pic is north of the actual rock gully of Grays. As Dave mentioned, don't go into that gully. Chat to AdrianT on the forum if you want to find out what the gully is like, he's been partially down it by mistake at night, and he told me that he is not doing that ever again.

No, the incorrect path is, I would say, probably about 200m South of the actual gully. You will clearly notice that you have walked wrong as you will walk into a straigh and steep rockface. It looks like a dead end. Just backtrack about 50m and look for the upper path that should now be on your right, leading up to the cliff face. When I was there in Dec the correct path was clearly visible so you are unlikely to miss the turnoff

A 6 year old down Ships? Wow, obviously doable but in my opinion (and this is just my opinion, ok, and my wife's) a definite NO. My kids are quite fit and strong, easily outpacing most grown-ups we've taken to the Berg, and this includes multiple 4 day 100km+ hikes up on the escarpment (they are now 11 and 13 and carry all their own gear and packs), and I haven't taken them to Ships yet.

Problem with Ships is that it is high, so by the time your legs are already tired on a normal descent, but you know the lower berg is near, on Ships you still have another 300m ASL to descend. Which isn't too bad, but then the river bundu bashing section starts, and this is the real difficult part of any Ships hike, not the pass itself. Not sure a 6 year old will have the stamina for the bushwacking down below. Also, finding sleeping spots in the river bed can be tricky, so if you guys miss the flat spots in the riverbed you have a long walk out to Cowl Fork stream or on top of Shada ridge.

Just my 2 cents worth.