Pieter Both

This is a very difficult track and rather for experienced hikers/climbers!

This track will bring you up to the shoulder part just before the slender peak of Pieter Both and this is as far as you can go without rock climbing experience and proper climbing gear. Anyway, a rope may come in very handy even if you only want to go until the shoulder. You also should consider the weather conditions as you will have to pass some bare rocks with nothing or not much to hold onto and this can be dangerous when the rock is wet after rainfall.

Follow the track first through bushes and trees, some exposed rocks and then through a steep steam bed. The path is fairly visible and if you keep in the general directions of the GPS log you will not have any trouble. After a steep ascend through the steam bed you will find yourself in front of a rock face. Here, care is needed especially when the rock is wet. Either you go straight ahead using a cleft in the rock to place your hand and feet or you go a little around on the right-hand side. Whichever way, there is not much to hold onto and, although a tall and agile person will find this not too difficult, a rope may be placed to ease and to secure the ascend (and the descend respectively).

The rock face is followed by a V-gully, which is actually the most delicate part until the shoulder. This V-gully offers nothing to hold onto and it may be dangerous to continue if the rock is too wet and slippery. Again, a rope may be brought into use to secure the climb-up and later the climb-down.

A steep grassy slope follows and bears to the right some 20-30 meters before the ridge and becomes a traverse. Continue on a grassy ledge and manage a final steep but easy scramble and you will reach the shoulder (note that the slope as well as the ledge may be very slippery after rainfall, care is needed and a rope may has to be used to secure both the ascend and the descend).

Once on the shoulder you will see the track continuing towards a cleft rock face which bars further way.

If you take a close look at the rock face you can see remains of iron rungs, once set in place to climb the rock. Due to their devastating condition (rust), however, they have been removed some time ago. The only remaining rungs are in the large boulder on the very top and although they still seem to hold, they are severely rusted.

Anyway, if you'd like to go any further than the shoulder part you have to have someone in your party with rock climbing experience and be properly equipped. To my knowledge there is only one company (Vertical World Ltd) offering guided tours all the way up to the top.