PEAK HIGH Mountaineering

The Mountaineering and Rock Climbing in South Africa Blog

Pitfalls of South African Climbing Expeditions

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I was recently in an aircraft accident caused by very bad pilot error. The pilot had a minimal number of flying hours and owned the helicopter himself. He used it just for playing around in and sometimes to go to work. It was in effect a very expensive toy of a rich man. In speaking to a friend and aviation instructor, he said that in that industry there is a saying and it goes like this: beware of pilots with thick wallets and thin log books.

There is a similar phenomenon in the world of climbing. [Read more…]

Rope Types for Rock and Ice climbers

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Climbing and abseil ropes are very complex items with very specific specifications. All proper climbing equipment, including ropes and other nylon and metal gear has its specifications lay down by the international mountaineering body (U.I.A.A). Use only equipment that carries the U.I.A.A. mark on them.   Products made or sold in Europe also carry a quality certification mark shown as an “EN” i.e. European Norm. [Read more…]

Encounter with the Mamakhorong in Lesotho

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The highlands of Lesotho are a remarkable area of huge rolling mountains, part of which forms the border between South Africa and the mountain Kingdom. Along this eastern boundary of the two countries is an area only visited by hikers and climbers who enter the region over High Mountain passes on the Drakensberg. To the west of the border, Basutho shepherds are the only inhabitants of the region. They live a semi-nomadic life style while tending sheep, goats and sometimes cattle. For the average shepherd, life is about hardship, hunger and cold and a life of basically boredom. Many hardly see the inside of a school classroom and are committed to a life of poverty in the high mountains of the Moluti Mountains. [Read more…]