Hiking Weather in the Drakensberg

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Weather & Mountain Conditions
(If coming from the northern hemisphere: Remember in the southern hemisphere the seasons are reversed.)

Weather & Mountain Conditions, June till September

KwaZulu-Natal and the Drakensberg:

The weather in this region generally be very stable with long periods of sunny weather, warm day temperatures and cool to frosty nights. Dry conditions will prevail in the Drakensberg for most of the time. At high altitude Day time temperatures will rise up to a maximum of 20 C. Night and early mornings will be very frosty and at times could go down to – 15C.

Periodically cold fronts will move in from the west bringing snow to the high peaks. Snow and blizzard conditions usually last from 1 to 4 days in duration before clearing and warming up again. Cold fronts are preceded by a build up of high Cirrus clouds from the west and strong “Berg Winds” causing hot dry conditions. These occur about 24 hours before any really bad weather can be expected. This is followed by a gradual accumulation of thicker Altostratus clouds, rain and then snow. Snow can be wide spread causing traffic disruptions into the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal. These bigger storms often occur in early September.

Rest of southern Africa: Autumn in the Cape Town and Cederberg area is likely to be cold and often wet for up to 5 days at a time. Strong winds are common.

The Magaliesberg area near to Johannesburg and the sport climbing areas near Harrismith will all be in good condition with warm sunny days and frosty nights. High winds at Harrismith can be a problem for climbers at this time of year. These winds are the fore warning of a cold front. Mt Everest Resort usually has at least one light snow fall each year.

Rock Climbs in the Drakensberg

In winter most rock climbing routes will be in condition making for ideal climbing. Routes that face south will be dry and climbable. South facing rock can however be very cold when in the shade. Routes such as the “S” Route on Rhino Peak and Monk’s Cowl Standard Route do not receive any sun.

The following Classic climbs should all be in good condition by June:

* Sentinel Angus-Leppan. Climbable all year. Warm and sunny. Watch for ice in the approach gully.

* Pyramid Standard Route Climbable all year Warm and sunny

* The Column Escarpment Arete. Cold and shaded for much of the route.

* Devil’s Tooth. Climbable all year. Warm and sunny climbing.

* Monk’s Cowl Standard Route. Cold and shady but dry.

* Monk’s Cowl Barry’s Route. Cold and shady

* Giant’s Castle. Schole’s Route Cold when in the shade

* Injasuti Western Triplet NW Ridge. Climbable all year. Warm and sunny

* The Bell Hooper’s Route. May be wet or icy on the first proper pitch, can be very cold)

* The Bell. Wong’s Route, Warm and sunny

* Cathedral Peak SE Chimney, . Cold and shady

* Rhino Peak S Route. Watch for ice on the approuch scramble, cold and shady.

* Rhino Peak E Arete. (Climbable all year) First pitch cold and the rest sunny.

Ice and snow routes

As of the beginning of June there has been no major cold fronts and the mountains at present are dry and devoid of snow. Sani Pass needs to have a good snow fall before routes become climbable. It is best to wait for 10 to 14 days to allow the snow to melt and run into the drainage systems where it then refreezes forming good steep ice falls.

This waiting period is also true for snow gully routes. A good snow fall followed by warm sunny days and cold nights allows the snow to settle and harden. Most snow gullies remain frozen well into September, even when the rest of the landscape is hot and sunny already.

Conditions will most likely be as follows:

Giant’s Castle
All will be climbable in at least average conditions and thickness. Best climbed from mid June till mid August.

Main Loteni Couloir. Always climbable year after year.

Makaza. Always climbable.

The Main Event. Always climbable.

Eastern Gully Giant’s Castle, (snow route) Needs good snow fall about 10 days before. Once established it will stay climbable till mid August.

Sani Pass area.
Watch the weather and climb this area about 10 days after snow. Once the ice has been established it will stay like that till early September.

Black Mountain area. Needs good snow fall. The ice melts soon afterward.

Rhino Peak area.
Rutting Rhino Route. (water ice route). Needs a heavy snow fall. Will form and then melt again soon afterward.

Mashai Pass. A great snow climb/walk soon after good snow.

Mlambonja Couloir. Wait ten days after snow. Will stay in condition till mid September.

Mashai South Face Route. Same as Mlambonja Couloir.