Tag Archives: hiking
Thaba-Phafane West
Where is the line between a hill and a mountain? When is a summit significant and when is it just a high point on a ridge? There is no one correct answer to these questions, and definitions vary from country to country and region to region. In Scotland there is a list of roughly 277 […]
Blouberg
Ga-Monnaasenamoriri, also known as Blouberg, is a 2051m peak with 1014m topographic prominence in Limpopo. It is best known for its multi-pitch climbing routes, but has been on my radar for a number of years due to it being one of the 24 mountains in South Africa with at least 1000m topographic prominence. I had […]
Poon Hill and Mardi Himal
In 2022, after completing the Three Passes Circuit in the Everest Region, I went to the Annapurna Region to complete the Annapurna Sanctuary hike. About 8 weeks later, the exact aircraft I had flown in crashed just short of Pokhara Airport in the worst Nepali aviation disaster in over 30 years. Coming into land at […]
Ama Dablam part 3: Second attempt
Ama Dablam Basecamp is a beautiful place to rest and recover. As a result, plenty of hikers not attempting the mountain come and visit each day. However, some of them fail to recognise that walking up to someone’s tent and taking a photo inside without asking first is incredibly rude. Others come want to come […]
Ama Dablam part 2: First attempt
Leaving Pheriche to head to Lobuche Basecamp meant one thing: I was about to walk past a spot I rate as one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Cholatse is a strong contender for the most beautiful mountain on earth, and on this day I would spend a lot of my […]
Ama Dablam part 1: start to Nangkartshang
I first became aware of the existence of Ama Dablam when a friend had just returned from Everest Basecamp, and showed me their photos from the trip. It immediately became one of my favourite mountains, and one of the primary reasons I wanted to visit the Everest Region of Nepal. Fast forward to 2022 and […]
Leqooa Ridge
Only three ridges in Southern Africa rise above 3400m. The northern two of these both contain country high points and are hiked more frequently as a result. If measured from the escarpment edge, in a reasonably straight line, to the point where the drainage basins these ridges separate finally combine, the Mafadi/Makheka Ridge and the […]
Groot Winterberg
When I first looked over the list of summits in South Africa with at least 1000m topographic prominence, my reaction was that the list was not worth attempting due to how remote some of the peaks were – in particular, Groot Winterberg in the Eastern Cape. With no major roads nearby, no information available online […]
Iron Crown Trail Race
One of my minor ongoing projects is to climb all nine province high points in South Africa. It isn’t something I have pursued with much urgency, it arguably started when I stood on top of Mafadi – the highest point in South Africa – more than a decade ago. Another of my ongoing projects is […]
Cockscomb
I first identified the list of mountains in South Africa with at least 1000m topographic prominence in 2020. I had realised my planned trip to Nepal wouldn’t be happening due to Covid travel restrictions, and had also realised that I would need to take some leave soon if I was going to use all my […]
Ghaznavid Hiking 
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