Ship’s Prow Pass

We plan to go to Champagne Castle going up Ship's Prow and down Gray's pass.

Day 1: sleep at blind man's corner.
Day 2: sleep top of Ship's Prow.
Day 3: sleep top of Grays pass or KBC depending on the weather and time.
Day 4: back to monks cowl camp

I"m however not sure of the vegetation and other difficulties Ship's Prow pass may have in stall for us.

Any advice or alternative options?

Mod Note- Moved to existing thread

Hello Gardi

There is a forum thread for Ships Prow Pass:
www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/11-drakensberg-passes/55800-ship%E2%80%99s-prow-pass-south-fork.html

I really suggest coming down Ships Prow - it should be a lot easier to find the vague path through the vegetation that way

Gardi wrote: We plan to go to Champagne Castle going up Ship's Prow and down Gray's pass.

Day 1: sleep at blind man's corner.
Day 2: sleep top of Ship's Prow.
Day 3: sleep top of Grays pass or KBC depending on the weather and time.
Day 4: back to monks cowl camp

I"m however not sure of the vegetation and other difficulties Ship's Prow pass may have in stall for us.

Any advice or alternative options?

Mod Note- Moved to existing thread

AndrewP offers good advice. Better to descend Ship's. That's what I did too.

But if you do stick with going up Ship's Prow, then better to get beyond Blind Man's corner on day one so as to make as much progress as possible towards the base of the pass. The troublesome part, as numerous posts will bear testimony to, entails threading your way through the bundu at and upstream of the contour path junction. It's not technically difficult anywhere, but it is tiring because it involves bending over, jumping, hassling, back tracking and so on. Not what you really want to be doing at the start of one of the longest Berg passes.
You will find places to camp upstream of the contour path and towards the base of Ship's Prow.
Good luck.

Meant to add - your Day 3 is only about 3 hrs worth, even if you go to KBC.

This post from Gardi is now in the Ships Prow Pass thread, and you can read all of the information in the preceding pages.

I agree with the advice from AndrewP and tiska, having myself done Ships Prow Pass up and down.

If you have a specific reason to want to go up Ships Prow Pass, I would suggest on your day 1 you get into the Ships Prow Stream and camp there. It is a long, tiring pass to go up, and last year took me and SingleSpeed 7 to 8 hours from tenting in the stream near the contour path to the top of the pass.

Otherwise I would suggest rather go up Grays Pass and descend Ships Prow Pass.

Good day. I intend to do a ship prow and Leslie’s pass loop in March this year. The plan is to head up Leslie’s Pass and down Ship’s Prow Pass.

My main concern is the fitness of one of the hikers in the group. He has done one hike in the Drakensberg during which he has managed to ascend organ pipes pass, via the camel back, and descend Tseketseke Pass at more or less the same level of fitness.

Can anyone give a comparison or comments, specifically referring to the level of difficulty, on descending Tseketseke Pass and Ship’s Prow Pass. Ps. I have looked at their ratings but would appreciate more information.

I have noticed that the introduction on the page for Ship’s Prow Pass mention that it is notorious for rockfalls which have killed hikers previously. I have not seen any incidents being reported on the site in this regard. Have I missed a report or can I assume that no incidents have been reported for quite some time?

I did that loop from Injisuthi (but using north fork) a few years ago. The writeup is at  www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/drakensberg-trips/55941-mini-hike-reports.html?start=130

Both of these passes are much harder than Camel.

Leslies is one of my favourites - I last did it about a month ago. From Marble Baths to the start of the pass, if you can find the valley trail (and manage to follow it), it isn't too bad. The pass itself is big and never ends. I rate its difficulty is generally underrated in writeups - it is definitely harder than, say, Mnweni Pass.

Crossing the ridge on top between the passes also isn't trivial - you have to put on more than 300m to get across that. The valley on top between the passes is also longer than you might be anticipating. On a GT, that stretch between Champagne Castle and Mafadi feels like it will never end!

Ships Prow isn't as much hard as it is very long. If you get onto the trail near the top, it is generally fine. It just takes forever to get down. And once the trail drops you in the riverbed - I hope you enjoy boulder hopping and overgrowth. Also make sure you have a GPS track, the turnoff for the contour path is very easy to miss. Also the contour path is basically impossible to follow through the badly overgrown bits.

Hi HikerParsons,

If you've done a Berg pass before you at least know how much suffering is involved in getting to the escarpment. The approach to Leslies is usually the hard part for me. That section of rock hopping in the riverbed after marble baths cave to the foot of the ridge where Leslies starts takes forever. Make sure you top up with water here, there is no water on the ridge. You might get water higher up when you cross the stream that comes off the escarpment, but in winter there is usually nothing (not when I've done it, in any event).

The Camel is generally easy underfoot, but it is pretty steep. Leslies is also steep, but with more loose stuff to contend with. It's steep and long so you guys are in for some suffering . As Ghaz mentioned, the ridges south of leslies tend to be high, so after the pass you are in for more climbing. 

You didn't mention how much time you have to do the hike in, so difficult to comment on your route selection. If you want to go from injasuthi camp all the way up Leslies and to the top of Mafadi, and then down to Upper Injasuthi cave for night 1, you are in for (in my opinion) a properly tough day. Then, towards Ships Prow pass, where do you plan to overnight? To answer your question regarding incidents at Ships Prow, there hasn't been any in many years. Take the southern fork to be safe, the north fork contains a scree field that could potentially be dangerous, especially after rainfall.

What makes Ship Prow difficult is 2 things: It is high, you start at around 3350m ASL, which is nearly 300m higher that the average Berg pass in the Northern berg. Add that to an already steep and long descent and your legs will feel like jelly when you get to the bottom of the pass. This is where the fun begins. The next 2,5km stretch of riverine bushwacking will stay in your memory for quite some time. I am usually slower in this section than ascending the pass itself. About 500-600m before you exit the riverbed on the left (or you could go straight down still for more vegetation torture if you like) you will find a campsite in the riverbed (further away from the exit point, towards the (as you descend) right side wall. I built a large cairn at the head of this spot, hopefully you can see the 1m high tower over the riverine bushes. The sunrises from this camping spot is, for me, one of the best in the berg. If it wasn't for the bushwacking section I would visit Ships more often, as i really like the pass.

Tseke, by comparison, is an easy pass to ascend or descend. From a navigation point it is also easy, there is only one spot where you have to make sure you don't miss the path. Lower down the pass (after first the grassy section, the the scree fields, and then the sidebanks on the left of the river) you will get to a spot where the sidewalls terminate in a section of the riverbed. In summer there is usually a nice waterfall (maybe 3m high?) at this spot. From here onwards, rock hop all the way down in the riverbed.

Whichever passes you guys use, all of them are awesome and more rugged that the Camel. 

Enjoy!!!

Hi Riaang//Ghaznavid
 
Thank you for your input and advise. The plan is to spend the first night in Marble Baths Cave. The second night on top of the escarpment
and the third night somewhere between Ships Prow Pass and Injisuthi Camp. I will definitely keep the campsite in mind.
 
Regards