The 9 summits of SA

New Record attempt underway. You can follow them here: 9peaks.sportraxs.com/#/
Sean Disney; Alex Harris, Adrian Savvy and Tian Liebenberg are on the team. Currently about 4 hours ahead of previous group record.

cheers

So they finished in 104h31 - previous record was 112h16, so comfortably faster.

The two rules that I think this record is missing are 1) that you should not be allowed to exceed the speed limit while driving, and 2) should be required to rotate drivers every 2 hours. Simply because this record can be broken or missed based on ones will to risk their life by dangerous driving practices.

Not done yet as far as I can tell. About 2 hours to go maybe.. still ahead of record but only just!

I see they have finished now, looks like 111h59 - but the track ends past the top of Seweweekspoort, so they seem to have hit "stop" after the end point (the timer stops on the last summit, not back at the car).

Yes, their loaded GPS track continues back from the last summit, but I'm pretty sure they recorded/stopped their time at the summit of Seweweekspoort. 111h59m it is!

Not that I'm volunteering, but I'm pretty sure this record can be bettered significantly - this attempt did not seem to be well-timed at all, with icy and windy conditions and most summits being done at night. I think more of a trail running approach with more sleep as recovery would be faster & easier than their non-stop slogging approach. E.g. they took 26 hours to do Mafadi. The FKT is 5h48m, so surely a 10-12 hour time is achievable with the right approach? Which means they would have been down before dark on their 2nd day, drive to KwaDuma and start that in the early hours of day 3 - already a day ahead of their current record. Similar tactics on Namahadi & KwaDuma would shave off significant time.

I notice that the track log goes to the Nooitgedacht peak (which technically is wholly within Gauteng and neither in NW nor on the provincial boundary) - it is a common misconception that the highest point in NW is on the watershed/escarpment when in fact it is at a point on the boundary of the border which is not geographically the highest point. A surveyor member of the MCSA had to resort to a cm accuracy survey GPS (i.e. a R300 000 tool - not your ordinary hiking GPS) to measure/confirm the point as it is not a point you'll easily confirm yourself using a map and compass (there are several "points" / boulders within about 50cm height difference on the provincial boundary that jostle for the "technical" honour of being the highest).

Similarly highest point in Gauteng can also fool 9 peak baggers as there is a trig beacon in Suikerbosrant which can be confused with the highest point.

Also, did they actually get the right peak for Namahadi?? I questioned it on this forum a few months ago and was informed that the peak the visited (and the one labeled on google maps) is in fact Flat top and not the correct Namahadi peak.

@Stijn: true, no one would call me fast, but my day trip up Mafadi in 2015 (where we did Trojan Wall, Injisuthi Dome and Red Wall, yet skipped Mafadi) was under 17h. The road in from Giants also provides quicker access and a better exit via Notties, at the cost of slightly more distance and less vertical (assuming Corner not Leslie's, Judge is worth hours on Leslie's). So I'm not sure why everyone persists with Injisuthi for this.

ghaznavid wrote: So they finished in 104h31 - previous record was 112h16, so comfortably faster.

The two rules that I think this record is missing are 1) that you should not be allowed to exceed the speed limit while driving, and 2) should be required to rotate drivers every 2 hours. Simply because this record can be broken or missed based on ones will to risk their life by dangerous driving practices.

Rule 1 is already in existence. Rule 2 is impossible to track.

Looks like Ryno is going for another record for his collection: www.facebook.com/notes/salomon/ryno-griesel-takes-on-the-9-peaks-challenge/1683006241723295/