Nine Peaks Challenge is not for the faint-hearted

By Citizen Reporter

This challenge involves climbing to the highest point of each province in South Africa. It is governed by strict rules with the clock starting at the bottom of the first peak and stopping at the top of the last peak.

It was developed and first challenged by a solo individual (Kobus Bresler) in 2011 who completed all nine peaks in eight days, six hours and 52 minutes.

There are seven different challenge categories: solo, pairs, mixed pairs, male team, female team, mixed team and cycle challenge.

The thrill for most adventurers climbing the Nine Peaks is to challenge themselves to achieve the fastest known time. This has been attempted by a number of adventurers, including myself just two weeks ago as part of a mixed team with three other adventurers, Mrs South Africa Nicole Capper and two males Erik Vermuelen and Adrian Saffy who had both climbed the Nine Peaks as part of a male team in 2017.

The mixed team record was set in October by husband and wife Jurgens and Christel Hanekom at four days, 18 hours and 45 minutes.

The four of us set off, with our first peak being Iron Crown in Limpopo. Within the first 24 hours we had tagged the first five peaks – Iron Crown, De Berg, Nooitgedacht, Toringkop and Namahadi in this order. We climbed Namahadi through the night, something I hadn’t done since summit night on Kilimanjaro in July 2017 as part of Trek4Mandela.

The climb up Namahadi was fairly easy until we reached the chain ladder section against a cliff. I didn’t realise that I had developed a fear of heights until this point. We had to climb two separate chain ladders 30 to 50m long. I was grateful that we attempted this section in the middle of the night so I did not see exactly what we were climbing. We did however return down the same chain ladders at sunrise the next morning and I was able to see the enormity of our task.

During our Namahadi climb, team leader Erik Vermuelen developed flu-like symptoms which progressively got worse. Upon returning to the vehicle, the team doctor attended to him and declared him unfit to continue. This meant that our attempt as a mixed team of four was no longer valid.

As adventurers, we are always pushing the limit. The three of us, alongside our support team (photographer, doctor and driver) then decided to attempt the sixth peak, Mafadi, which is the highest peak in South Africa at 3 451m above sea level, led by adventure racer and athlete Adrian Saffy. This particular peak is often attempted over three to four days by regular day hikers but we decided to climb it non-stop as though we were still part of the record attempt.

We started the climb from Injisuthi Camp in the Drakensburg and went via Centenary Hut. The climb towards centenary hut included “heartbreak hill” which is roughly a 3km climb that is approximately angled at 45 degrees from start to finish. From centenary hut we hiked towards Judges Pass. With exhaustion creeping in, we took a decision to rest on the side of the mountain for 90 minutes before attempting Judges Pass.

Although we were yet again tackling this climb in the middle of the night, the two sections got the better of my nerves and I struggled to get through them. Descending at this point was not an option and the only way was up. Having personally completed so many different physical challenges over the past few years from the Comrades to the Absa Cape Epic to Survivor, Fear Factor, The nine-day Joburg2C, Cape Pioneer and so many others, this was indeed the first and biggest mental challenge I had had.

I managed to overcome my frazzled nerves and continued climbing. We reached the peak of Mafadi at sunrise after a 14-hour overnight ascent.

This was not the end, the descent back to Injisuthi Camp was ahead of us. Our tired knees and battered toes took a knock as we descended and our trekking poles became our best friends, assisting us with each step. The Judges Pass descent was much faster than the climb up the night before but I still found it challenging and required the assistance of my team members to help me down.

Nicole Capper had an amazing climb until her feet became so battered she walked the last few hours in her socks, proving that she’s not your ordinary Mrs South Africa. The total round trip of Mafadi took us 26 hours to complete.

All in all, our mixed team Nine Peaks Challenge record attempt was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. We completed six of the nine peaks. Nicole and I will definitely tackle the remaining three. Who knows, we may just tackle all nine again in the future. Until then, the Nine Peaks await a new breed of challengers.

The nine peaks are: