Thursday 24th April 2014 -9Peaks
Thursday 24th April 2014
We woke up a few hours later and
made our way in the wet and icy morning in the dark to our parked vehicles. We
were tired and the excitement of the buildup, lack of sleep and nervousness was
now kicking in. Our adventure had begun and there was no looking back. We made
our way up meandering roads that seem to go on forever in the dark, the lights
picking up the mist and the grey white stone and rock that enveloped us. We
finally arrived at the Sentinel car park to a surprised security guard, signed
the register, paid our fees and said our farewells to our awesome support team
and made our way through the climbers’ gate in the still of the early morning.
We made our way along the winding path with the ghost like dark silhouettes of
the huge mountain range, the metal clunk of our trekking poles over the rocks
echoing in the silence and the mist following our voices and breaths. It was 4am in the morning and bitterly cold.
After some time streaks of light across the sky started to show and not long after
that we were treated to a magnificent sunrise that only the Drakensburg can
produce – it was a show to behold. The reality starting to set in of how
majestic and huge these mountains are as we were dwarfed by their enormous
cliffs and gullies for as far as the eye could see. The mountains’ soul daring
us to challenge her! Most of us stood in silence taking in the breath-taking
views as they unfolded while the sun’s
early morning rays started to light up the mountains, teasing us, preparing us
for the adventure that was to be today.
The biggest challenge for most of
us was going to be the infamous chain ladders – four of them that reach 15m
that is a 5 storey chain drilled into a
rock face with no ropes – if you lose your grip and fall well – sorry for you
neh!! So Kobus had told us that if the wind was blowing then you would need to
climb the chain ladder on the right as it sways in the wind less. Well no fine
– we said. However standing here with the knees knocking hoping the bladder sphincters
holds shut and the heart does not stop beating creates a whole new ball game.
The metal of the chain ladder bites into the hands, the icy wind blowing in the
gulley bites to the bone. As we made our way up slowly the rules of engagement
are simple, a big set of balls and keep 3 body parts on the ladder at all times,
also necessary is to bring along is courage, don’t cry, don’t look down or
around and leave your brain and voice of reason behind. With all of this in
mind I made my way up after giving my son Jordan a huge hug and prayed that we
would both make it to the top alive. I also started to feel that I was perhaps
a terrible and irresponsible mother. How the hell could I bring my 15 year old
son here right now, to run the gauntlet, to run the risk of death or paralysis,
what kind of idiotic parent was I. Kobus had climbed onto the left ladder and
was encouraging me as I made my slow and cold way up. One great tip from Kobus
was to rest your arms in the huge circles and take a break – only for a few
seconds mind you but the relief was great as I was cramping in my hands and I
was really battling to grip the metal rungs and my arms were lame from over
whelming panic. The body takes over the will to survive but it was difficult to
hold on as your entire body is overwhelmed with paralysis quiet a strange
combination. At times when you are taking a break holding onto the rings with
your arms, your eyes closed, your brain shutting down from the crazy unnatural
thing you are doing I can tell you, that your life does not flash in front of
you which is probably a good think as two things would happen, one you would actually
believe that you are about to die and let go anyway and two that you would not
be able to concentrating keeping 3 body points in contact with the ladder at
all times. In future to practice for this challenge I will be getting our fire
engine Ladder 4 to extend the ladder to its max (extends to 11 storeys) then I will climb it in full bunker gear, no
ropes or safety on a windy day as it sways from side to side producing a bout
of sea sickness like none other and grows balls of steel.!!
Once I reached to top of the
first set of chain ladders I then scrambled to a ledge that was safe and sheltered
from the wind and tried to collect myself. Rene had been waiting at the top to
herald our personal little achievements of having survived, I wanted to sing I
will survive from the Bee Gees but the words failed Me.! I had not shed a tear
as I climbed the ladder but once in the safety of this little spot a tear began
to flow freely together with an overwhelming feeling of survival and then I
tried to find one of Freddy Mercury and Queen’s hit the mark the occasion, but
that too failed! The second set of chain ladders were still a little scary but
were a breeze compared to the one I had just come up. They are shorter and this
time the one on the left was far less scary.
The problem with these ladders is that they cling to the shape of the
rock you are going up and at times your feet don’t quite fit snuggly into the
rung forcing you to reach up or down and extra rung. For those that have big
feet it proves to be an extra challenge.
Jordan followed me up and was a real trooper, I know he was terrified
but he encouraged be all the way to the top and we gave each other a huge survivor
hug and clinked onto each other a bit longer that normal from sheer relive that
we had made it in one piece. We pushed the though deep into the back our heads
knowing that in a few more hours we would be doing it all over again in reverse
this time. That brought a new terror deep into my heart that I really did not
want to deal with right now. We were on top of the escarpment where the wind
was howling. The plains were vast and seem to go on forever. Looking down at
where we had come from, the views are simply spectacular. Some of the group made
their way to the Amphitheatre, where the source of the Tugela River can be
found. It was very cold and most of the smaller pools of water had iced over,
black ice was evident all over. The views overlooking the Amphitheatre are a
sight to behold, it is a world wonder. I was both thrilled and privileged to
have shared this first time moment with my son and such a reward after the
chain ladders. We then made our way for a short stop at the Namahadi ruins an
old mud brick dwelling in the middle of nowhere; here we sat sheltered from the
wind to drink and eat and pounder survival and listen to a few jokes from Rene
and Kobus. Rene entertained us with his very funny Austin Powers and piggy
moment and had us all chuckling before we continued our long journey.
We made our way along the escarpment
and had some difficulty with the GPS as it kept on freezing, this was no
small wonder given the extreme cold we were faced with. Luckily Kobus had
brought his trusty map along as some good old fashioned map reading was what we
needed. The group then made the tiring
trek along the very long the valley and up towards the summit. This trek seemed
to go on forever up and down valleys and the spectacular mountain views were
now lost and we were faced with long rolling hills that looked even until you
walked on them. The terrain at times was really tough on the ankles and knees,
which would continually twist as you’re scrambled up and then back down again. As
in most remote summits not frequented by humans it is difficult to find the “X”
that marks the spot which is usually a small pile of rocks (cairn) and your
co-ordinates that herald the exact location. Not all the summits don a trig
beacon or make it easy to identify. As Kobus would say throughout our trip and
it became a bit of a Mountain Anthem “if it was easy everyone would be doing
this!”. We took photos, hoisted the my SA flag that has been around the world
with me, ate chocolate Easter eggs, gave piggy her just due, then made our way
off the bitter cold summit as the wind pummeled our bodies, down a gully of
sorts back towards the chain ladders. We had taken a lot longer than expected.
I had twisted my knee (actually tore a ligament), Sane had injured her hip and
could barely walk and Jordan had re awakened an old back injury. Pamela’s legs
had been worrying her too. So all in all the bunch of cripples hobbled back and
we made it to the chain ladders as the sun was sinking. Not what we had planned
but this was what we had been dealt with and now it was time to play. I chose
to come down without my head light on and coming back down in the dark was not
nearly as scary as coming up – perhaps because I could not see how far I was
going to fall!!
Once again my mountain Heroes Rene and Kobus helped me with my
backpack as it was decided that I was just too unbalanced with it on and that
created a risk on its own. Jordan came down after me. This time I was only slightly
afraid when I was following Sane down and she seemed to get stuck on the ladder
below me so I had to be suspended midair while she was untangled – as I clung
for dear life on the ladder with my face close to the rock face I had time to
take in some deep calming breaths and pray!! Kobus’s voice echoed in the dark
encouraging me all the way down, I love that voice!!!. Jordan again was a trooper
and we made it to the bottom. Shaun was already at the bottom and shone a torch
for the last bit of ladder and encouraged everyone with is reassuring voice as
they came down in the dark. We then had
a long walk in the dark with some tricky sections to negotiate. We stumbled on
the trail a couple of times in the dark and I hit my other knee on a rock
cutting it, Murphy’s Law and then I needed to pee really badly. Really!!!
What was overwhelming and so
welcome all rolled into one was we were spotted the Land Rover lights blazing
across the dark valleys from the Sentinel car park. Once again Meals on Wheels,
the light of the community were bringing us home safely to a warm car, warm
meal and most important hot chocolate. While we were making our way down
towards our support team they were stressing watching our headlamps bobbing up
and down and at times completely disappearing only to reappear to their relief.
This scenario was to be repeated several times along our journey. These poor
guys had been waiting for hours and now in the dark after cooking us a meal and
waiting at the car park for nearly 16 hours. We finally got in after 9pm. We
had a welcoming committee in the dining room of the Witsieshoek Mountain
Lodge. Kevin van den Berg and his wife
Yvonne had made space for one more night’s stay gave us a dinner on the house
and donated R1000-00 to Meals on Wheels. We were then treated to super-hot
showers. The locals and quests had been waiting all day for news and updates
and welcomed us back. I did feel rather
sheepish at all the attention we were receiving but apparently it was the first
time a team of ladies had made it back in one day. In all honesty we only made
it back in one day because we were supported by the boys and in reality we did
start off as Team Blue and Team Pink and Team Support but now after today we
had become one big team and nothing else seem to matter anymore, we were doing
this together or not at all.
While we were eating and getting
ready to pack for the next mountain reports had been coming in all day of bad
weather and heavy snow falls on parts of the Drakensburg Mountains. Hardest hit
seem to be Mafadi our next stop at Injisuthi, this is a 22 hour climb without
the bad weather to deal with. After a nights rest we gathered at breakfast to
relook at our trip. After chatting to
the support team, the climbers and leaning on Kobus’s experiences of the
Drakensburg mountains, taking into account a rescue was already in progress
with a reported death on Mafadi and what equipment and experience that we had
with us I made the decision that we needed to be mature and responsible and
bypass Mafadi (if there was time we would come back before we headed home) and
travel directly to our next mountain Kwa Duma.
I was not popular amongst two of the ladies but I did feel that it was
have been suicide to continue and this climb would have most certainly ended
the 9 peaks challenge before it even started and we owed it to the sponsors and
our supporters to finish this as best as we can. We cannot control the weather but we can
control the responsible decisions that we need to make no matter how unpopular
they are.
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