Spectacular and one of a kind in South Africa, this Via Ferrata takes you through terrain and exposure that would otherwise be difficult to achieve, with ease-of-use and short access.

Via Ferrata

3-
3-

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FA:
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2023
FFA:
Approach & Descent»
Description »
Gallery »

Approach

(click the GAIA icon for GPX)

From Sentinel car-park, hike up the trail toward The Chain Ladders. At the neck between Sentinel and The Escarpment, hike up the small gully to the neck then trend rightward on grass slopes for 50m to the start of the cable.

Descent

From the summit head North West toward the Escarpment (opposite side to the side you have just climbed). The descent gully is the obvious gully with a path leading down and back to the Chain Ladder Path.

Sector Descent:

Route Description

! WARNING !

This Via Ferrata is designed to be used with the correct equipment. Shock absorbing lanyards are required - DO NOT use climbing slings or static rope without any load absorbing integrations as a fall onto static slings/rope will likely result in serious (spine) injuries.

While this Via Ferrata provides very easy access to some very wild and exposed cliff, it is a BIG mountain, with Big Mountain weather and considerations. Make sure you are prepared for a mountain outing which, once started, will not be straightforward to reverse and may be easier to summit (fail upwards). It will be very unpleasant (possibly life threatening) in a storm. An Electrical Storm would be very serious!

The VF is equipped with a continuous 10mm cable 300m long. The cable is attached in typical Via Ferrata fashion to re-bar or stables glued into the rock, and will necessitate un-clipping and re-clipping your lanyard at each instance; ensure you have 2 lanyards!

This VF is steep in places, and very exposed, be prepared.

Climbing time 2hrs

Alternate Description

Tips & Tricks

Drakensberg Grading
French / South African
YDS

D

E1

E2

E3

F1

F2

F3

G1

G2

G3

H1

3-

9

3

10

3+

11

4b

13

4a

12

4c
14
5a
15
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16

5c

17

6a

18

6a+

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20

6b+

21

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22

6c+

23

7a

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7a+

25

7b

26

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27

7c

28

7c+

29

8a

30

8a+

31

8b

32

8b+

33

8c+

35

8c

34

5.4

5.5

5.6

5.7

5.8

5.9

5.10a

5.10b

5.10c

5.10d

5.11a

5.11b

5.11c

5.11d

5.12a

5.12b

5.12c

5.12d

5.13a

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5.13c

5.13d

5.14a

5.14b

5.14c

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Interactive Icons

GAIA GPS
Click to see the GPX track.
Requires GAIA GPS App
Google Maps
Click to see the Parking Area . Requires
Google Maps

Icons and Symbols

AM Shade
Morning ; Afternoon ; All Day or NO Shade
10B | Ch
Equipped with x number of Bolts & Chains (lower off rings)
Alpine
Area's or routes located in mountainous regions and requiring multiple mountain skills (navigation ; extreme weather ; self sufficiency ; remote )
Ice
Area or Route requires Ice Climbing and associated Winter skills
Sport
Area or Route is fully equipped as a sport climb. Separate distinction for # of PITCHES
Sport & Trad
Area or Route is a mixture of SPORT & Trad climbing styles
Trad
Area or Route requires Traditional equipment and experties
2 Pitches
Indicates the typical # of pitches of the area or route
Special
Indicates that a specialised Rack or Traditional equipment is typically required and will be mentioned in the Route Description BETA
Standard
Indicates that typically a Standard Traditional Rack will suffice. Typically in ZA that is a 8-10 Cams + 10-15 wires/nuts.
50m
Indicates the minimum length rope needed to typically climb safely.
Double
Typically climbed using half ropes
Corner
Climbs or mostly climbs a corner system. This often requires stemming as a technique.
Crack Climb
Follows a crack-system predominantly and may require good jamming technique.
Overhang
Indicates the overall style. Face climbing is steeper than slab usually on small holds and edges, often feeling delicate / insecure.
Overhang
Overhanging, usually involving roofs.
Powerful
Powerful style is often in conjunction with another style but feeling more powerful than is common for the style.
Slab
Usually not quite vertical and requiring smearing and friction techniques.
Steep
Consistently steeper than Vertical but not overhanging / roof-y
Technical
Additional to general styles, requiring careful sequence and thoughtful climbing.
Vert
General vertical climbing with no other defining style.

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