Rain, Rock & Re-learning
On a clear day I can see the Langeberg mountains from where I live in Stilbaai. There is a prominent pointed peak almost due north, forming part of the Paardeberg mountain. This peak has fascinated me for the last two years and I wanted to stand on its’ summit…..
This meet was the second to be held in this beautiful area. Romanskraal is a large farm in the Langeberg near Albertinia, ownen by an ex-MCSA member. On both sides of the farm lies nature reserves under the management of CapeNature.
Twelve people turned up for the meet: Derek and Jacomi Odendaal, Tony and Evie Bowen, Clive Louw, Werner Frei, Ed Kay-Shuttleworth, Karin van Niekerk, Gillian Forbes, Elna van der Walt, Dennis Lange (Cpt section), Derine Louw (guest). Brian du Preez joined us only on the first day for botanic observations.
We started off in good weather and headed off into the mountains via an old jeep track. After some 3 km, we divided into two groups: some going east to our base camp spot; others going west to explore an unfamiliar valley. The explorers soon went off-road and had to tolerate rough underfoot conditions. We set up camp in a wide basin, surrounded by impressive mountain walls and peaks. The rain came down during the night. Some discovered that their tents were not rainproof any more….
The next day we walked back the way we came, and further to the east to join up with the others at our base camp. But the rain began to fall again just before we started walking and continued for two hours (with wind). Not nice! According to the weather forecast, the rain should have stopped at 9 am, but it continued to fall at intervals until late afternoon.
The next day was peak day. Fortunately it was a lovely clear day and stayed that way for the whole day. Eight of us set out to scale the pointed peak on Paardeberg, some 900 m up from the camp. I could not find out whether this peak (which I named Paardeberg Spitz) has been climbed before or if it is possible to get to the summit. We soon went off-road again and worked our way up a rough and rocky ridge. In places we had to support one another to get up (and especially to get down again later).
By mid-day we reached the base of the Spitz. The last part towards the summit was along a knifeedge ridge, while the peak looked even more intimidating from up close. On the right-hand side was a sheer drop of hundreds of meters, and you had to keep yourself focussed. Soon we came to a rock band that was too dangerous to ascend without proper climbing equipment. And there was no way around it. We had to retreat.
Even though we could not climb the Spitz, it was a wonderful adventurous day out in the beautiful Langeberg. There is still more to explore in this area, and we’ll be back!
The last day greeted us with thick clouds again, and a light drizzle accompanied us on our way back to the cars. We visited a cave with nice San paintings along the way.
This trip taught many of us a (renewed) lesson on equipment failure: older tents and backpacks are not waterproof any more; a rain poncho is worthless in windy conditions; a good raincoat/jacket is essential (the weather forecast can be wrong); always wrap your sleeping bag in a plastic bag (you might lose your backpack raincover along the way).
It was a wonderful few days in the mountains. But all the weather websites got it wrong!
Derek Odendaal – meet leader