Ice, ice
b A by
You don’t have to head overseas to try ice climbing, as adventurer Fiona
McIntosh discovered while tiptoeing up the Drakensberg’s frozen waterfalls.
Surrounded by snowy peaks and
frozen waterfalls, I imagine myself in
the European or New Zealand Alps.
It’s hard to believe that I’m in South
Africa, but here, on the south-facing
slopes of Giant’s Castle in the high
reaches of the Drakensberg, are vast
amphitheatres of vertical ice.
We’re standing at the top of Makaza,
the most famous of the falls, about to
abseil down to its base. For the next
couple of days we’ll be honing our
ice-climbing skills with ace mountain
guide Gavin Raubenheimer of Peak
High Mountaineering. This is no
beginner’s meet, mind you: that we did
on the easily accessible ice cliffs of the
Sani Pass a couple of weeks ago. This
is definitely the advanced class, for fit
enthusiasts only. The walk in, carrying
heavy packs, took eight hours and
our campsite is a windswept, frozen
terrace at the top of the falls.
Having learnt the skills we’ve gone
big, renting the technical gear –
evil-looking spiked crampons that
give traction to our plastic boots
and sharp-pointed ice axes – for a
weekend in South Africa’s premier
winter climbing playground, “the back
of the Giant”. The air is cold but we
soon warm up as we kick the tips of
our crampons into the ice, knocking
off icicles as we pitch our ice axes
clumsily into the shimmering falls. It’s
seriously scary and exhilarating, but
watching Gavin effortlessly run up the
ice curtains, I’m hooked. I too will one
day be that graceful.
GET CLIMBING
Peak High Mountaineering offers
beginners’ ice-climbing courses,
as well as guided ice climbs. Their
snow-climbing courses, held on Rhino
Peak in the southern Drakensberg, are
great fun and the ideal preparation for
novices planning to climb Mont Blanc,
Elbrus or any of the Himalayan peaks.