SAFETY IN THE DRAKENSBERG

Quathlamba

“A mass of Spears. Named thus by the Zulu warriors before the white man came. Today called the Drakensberg, Mountains of the Dragon, a name given by the Voortrekkers. Evocative names, both equally applicable to South Africa’s mightiest mountain range with its spear-like peaks – reminiscent of the saw-toothed spine of a gigantic dragon.”

Panorama April 1966

“Listen to the streams as they gurgle from their cradles and you will hear the story of the mountains. You will hear fascinating tales if only you listen! Lie next to a stream and listen to the song of the mountains. The smiling faces of the flowers, dancing in the wind. Venture into the remote valleys or stand on a peak at sunrise or sunset, after snow has fallen, and you will hear a song that you will never forget - the Song of the High Mountain".

DRAKENSBERG WILDERNESS PHOTOS © WILLEM PELSER

“OUT OF THIS NETTLE DANGER

WE PLUCK THIS FLOWER, SAFETY.”

SHAKESPEARE

SAFETY IN THE DRAKENSBERG

“It must be a poor life that achieves freedom from fear,” said Aldo Leopold, the great American conservationist. To which we might add the words of Henry David Thoreau: “But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.”

Perhaps that is just it. What is needed, we suggest, is a balanced viewpoint. Let us take all due precautions, but at the same time recognize that people need the challenge of high and perilous adventure. You will find this in the Drakensberg Mountains and Wilderness.

The Drakensberg has rich gifts to offer all who come to its soaring peaks and quiet valleys, but all too often the bright anticipation of the morning had ended in needless sorrow and regret.

The Drakensberg continues to increase in popularity as a place for healthy recreation, as a place of escape from the tensions and turmoil of modern life, and as a place for spiritual refreshment. More and more people are coming to the Berg. And of course, because of this, more and more accidents happen.

Ninety percent of these accidents should never happen. They are caused by sheer carelessness and negligence. The Drakensberg is a place of matchless beauty and grandeur. It has rich gifts for the suppliant who comes with humility and respect. But for the casual tripper who could not care less, for the man who goes blithely but mindlessly on his way, heedless of the advice of those who know, it can be a killer. We need to create a greater awareness of the possible hazards, and how to cope with them.

What can we do to avoid these totally unnecessary accidents?

First of all, plan your journey well beforehand. Get hold of the many excellent maps that are available today. Study your map well before your trip and plan your route carefully.

Secondly, make sure you are equipped adequately for the trip you have planned. Clothing and food supplies are largely a matter for personal taste, but there are certain essentials that must never be forgotten. Remember at all times to have plenty of warm clothing with you. Even on the hottest summer day blizzard conditions can blow up with startling suddenness. If you are on a summit trip take two sleeping bags with you, even in summer. Wind in cold weather can be a killer: make sure you have a windbreaker jacket with you. There are excellent jackets on the market. You will often get wet while on the march. Make sure you have a change of dry clothing for when you reach your night’s camping spot. Track suits are excellent for this purpose. Strong leather boots are better than shoes and “takkies” (and better than high heels!). To avoid blisters wear two pairs of socks, the inner thin, well soaped on the inside with soft shaving soap, and the outer thick knitted, with some talc powder between the two pairs.

Food, even more than clothing, is a matter of personal choice, but make sure that what you select is light in weight. There are so many choices in the market that this should prove no problem. There is no point in carrying heavy tins of meat when a few packs of soup powder will do the job just as well.

One very important point: always carry more food than you actually require. This need not be anything elaborate: a few extra slabs of chocolate, extra oatmeal – enough to keep body and soul together for a few days in an emergency.

Always remember to fill in the Mountain Rescue Register at your point of entry into the Drakensberg, and to sign off when you return. THIS IS ESSENTIAL. These registers are available at all entry points. The information is essential for the rescue team in case you have an emergency or get lost. Much valuable time and effort can be wasted as a result of insufficient or incorrect information. The party, for instance, who died in the Ship’s Prow Pass in 1981, had filled in their route simply as “walk up Cathkin” which was both incorrect and meaningless. If there is a likelihood of your deviating from your planned route, you should say so. Even if you are going for a short walk in the Little Berg, an afternoon’s stroll; always tell someone where you are going.

Summit trips to the inexperienced are particularly hazardous. It is wise to embark on these gradually. Don’t make your first trip to the summit a ten-day hike! Make your first trip a single-day one and learn what the summit is like. At Thendele, Cathedral Peak and Giant’s Castle it is possible to reach the summit and return in a day. Then go up and spend one night on the summit. See how you like sleeping out at 3050m. It may not be your cup of tea! After that is the time to plan for longer trips.

It is wise to familiarize yourself with the various passes up to, and down from, the summit. The main escarpment is nothing but a gigantic sheer wall of rock, sometimes 305m high. There are only 12 to 15 well-known passes breaching this rock wall, and it is wise to know where they are. If you are caught in heavy snow on the summit you may want to go down quickly, and your only hope will be one of these passes.

This brings us to the next point. If you are on the summit and the weather does show signs of breaking, it is best to get down as quickly as possible, especially if you have little experience of snow conditions. Sometimes, after days of snow, the passes become choked with snow and ice and it is impossible to get down.

You are in the Drakensberg, the mist comes down, and you are lost. What do you do?

On no account start stumbling around blindly in the mist. You will soon lose all sense of direction and could easily be lost for days. It is best to stay put until the mist rises. Sometimes however, the mist can last for days. Your food is running out: what do you do? If you are in the Little Berg, there should be no problem, especially if you are on a path. Keep to this path. But if you are really caught out, away from a path, and the mist persists, simply follow the nearest stream downwards. All streams in the Little Berg flow roughly from west to east, and will lead eventually either below the mist belt or to a habitation of some sort.

If you are caught on the summit in the mist, it is a little more difficult, for here there are no paths, and the mist can persist for days, especially in summer. It is still best to stay put, to sit it out, for it can be dangerous to start walking about in mist near the edge of the escarpment.

But, if the mist last too long, your food is giving out, and you must seek help, the answer is this. Lesotho streams rising on the escarpment flow west into either the Khubedu or the Orange, both of which flow roughly south. If you follow any of the westerly streams you will, almost certainly, reach help within a day or so. Remember that human beings must have water, and that the Basotho’s always built their huts near streams. The mist will disperse at lower altitudes.

A hiking party should ideally consist of three, one to remain with the victim if an accident occurs, and one to go for help.

Too many people can ruin a party. The pace is always that of the slowest, but more important, there have been many cases of one man being missed in a large group, and his disappearance only noted on the return home that night. If you must hike in a large group, insist on the most experienced person being the last man, and the next most experienced person taking the lead. He must never let anyone get ahead of him, and he must also ensure that he is always within hailing distance of the last man. It is a wise precaution for both leaders to be equipped with whistles.

Never stand on a rock (on the edge of a declivity, or crossing a stream) until you are quite sure it is firm. In climbing, never put your whole body weight on a rock until you have first tested it thoroughly. Be particularly careful in climbing not to dislodge a rock if there are others below you. Remember, Drakensberg basalt is friable.

Make a special study of Drakensberg weather. Learn to interpret the cloud formations, the winds, and the signs that accompany a change in weather. Remember that the Drakensberg weather can change dramatically within a few minutes.

Carry your passport with you if you venture on to the summit. One further word of warning: there have been a number of cases of hikers losing equipment to Basotho thieves. They will filch your boots from your tent while you are asleep! Worse still, there have also been confrontations between hikers and Basotho herdsman. On summit trips always have at least one man in your party, which should never consist of fewer than 3 members.

Never camp for the night in a stream bed. Flash floods can and will be killers.

Hypothermia is another killer. Remember that it is not so much the cold that kills, but cold plus wind plus wetness plus fatigue. Cold alone is seldom the cause of hypothermia. Warmly clad, a person can be quite comfortable at an outside temperature of 0 degree Celsius on a windless day. But let the wind speed rise to only 10 km/h and the result would be the same as if the temperature had dropped to minus 40 degree Celsius without the wind. The same applies to wetness. Water conducts heat away 240 times faster than air!

It is, therefore, essential to stay warm, dry and out of the wind. Stress the importance of carrying plenty of warm clothing on a trip. In addition to warm woollies, a windproof, waterproof outer garment is absolutely essential.

Remember, too, that body heat is lost must more rapidly from the head than any other part of the body. There is a hikers saying: “If your feet are cold, cover your head.”

To treat hypothermia the patient must be moved out of the wind, all wet clothing stripped from him and replaced with warm, dry clothing. He must then be placed if possible in a pre-warmed double sleeping bag. Putting him in a sleeping bag with someone else is an excellent idea. Hot drinks (no alcohol) should be given. Extreme cases may need skilled medical attention.

Know the precautions against snake bites.

We have stressed the necessity for caution and experience in tackling the wonder-world of the Drakensberg. Bu we would not like to be misunderstood. There is another side to the coin.

Man has a deep-seated, built-in urge to test himself against the hazards of life, to pit himself against the elements, and we believe it would be a sad day if the Drakensberg were ever made totally safe. It is the very element of danger that gives mountaineering and hiking its peculiar mystique. Man needs to know that deep satisfaction of discovering the limits of his abilities, of being able to stare, unblinking, into the face of danger, and to know that it was good. There is a risk that overemphasis of the hazards may become counter-productive, and may frighten people off who would become better men and women through having had to face danger and still remain unshaken.

The End.

Safe Hiking.