Cape Town - Hiking was beginning to lose its shine for Torben Wiborg until he set himself the challenge of climbing the old Western Cape’s highest peaks measuring 1 600m, a mile.
That was in 2010, since then he’s ticked off 100 of the 180 on the list, repeating some because he likes them so much, making a total of 159 summits. This roughly equates to over 2 000km of hiking with a total ascent of over 100km, the equivalent to climbing Mount Everest 20 times from base camp to its summit.
“It’s nothing new, others have also climbed them,” said Torben after a recent presentation, dubbed The Mile High Club at Century City. Little did he know when he began that he would inspire many others to join him. At the heart of these are some of Torben’s closest hiking friends, now known as the “fab four”. Graham Bellairs and Trevor Rennison are married while Sandy Macdonald and Torben Wiborg are single.
They’ve spent many long hours in the mountains together. All have years’ of experience. As a teacher at SACS, Torben takes advantage of school holidays to climb a few easier peaks alone, however most are climbed with a broad mix of present and past members of the Mountain Club of South Africa (MCSA), Meridian Hiking Club and Cape Union Mart hiking club (Cumhike). Recently retired, Sandy can point out any peak and tell you its height and is known for snowboarding on cardboard. Graham may be a lawyer during the week but at weekends his adventurous streak comes through as well as a wicked sense of humour. Trevor works as a technician for the City of Cape Town and is their go-to tech guy who does much of the research and recording.
So what determines these ‘named’ peaks? The list is taken from Mark Wilson’s 1996 article published in a mountain club journal and includes 133 peaks within the old Western Cape, from the Cederberg in the north to Montagu in the east.
Torben extended the list to include all named peaks in the Cape Fold Mountains within the boundaries of the ‘new’ (since 1994) Western Cape. The peaks now number 180, each with beautiful views from the summits, each uniquely different from another.
Seweweekspoort Peak in the Swartberg is the highest at 2 325m, while Matroosberg is the second-highest at 2 249m and can be ‘climbed’ by any couch potato who has a four-wheel drive vehicle. Within the ‘old’ Western Cape, six of the top 10 mountains are located in the Hex River Mountains, between Worcester and Ceres, while the highest Cederberg peak is Sneeuberg at 2 027m.
Some peaks are straightforward to climb as a long day hike, such as Wemmershoek Peak starting from Franschhoek Pass. Others can be climbed over a weekend, two or three at a time. Meticulous planning and research are essential, using various maps, guidebooks, GPS tracks, waypoints and photos from previous trips, internet blogs and trip reports of others. Local knowledge is also important in deciding when to go – especially regarding water availability, long-range weather forecasts, and when was the last fire. Land ownership and access arrangements are another challenge.
Setting up camp mid-winter, sometimes in snow or rain, what drives the fab four to leave the comforts of home? Apart from what an early Everest climber said, “Because they’re there”, Torben enjoys the rugged, remote beauty of hiking in Western Cape and also its botanical delights. Trevor also enjoys the challenge. “Climbing all of these peaks in my lifetime is something I can’t ignore and planning each trip is half of the fun,” said Trevor. He got into hiking through the Cubs and later as a Scout after his family immigrated to South Africa in 1974.
Sandy was about 10-years-old when he realised he enjoyed being in nature, specifically in the mountains. While studying at UCT he joined their Mountain & Ski Club and got to know, and love the Hex River Mountains (restricted areas on UCT properties).
Graham grew up in Newlands with its forest as his playground. After doing the Otter Trail he went on to do most of the long trails in South Africa and Namibia. “A natural extension is to summit as many peaks as possible, many done over weekends, involving off-path navigation, GPS and camping deep in the wilderness,” said Graham.
For Sandy it’s probably Waaihoek, which he has done often - and has even skied there. Also in the Hex River range is Milner Peak with its beautiful campsite on the vlakte. Another favourite is Somerset Sneeukop, because of its views of False Bay (even though at 1 590m it misses the Mile High list by 10m).
Trevor chose Fonteintjiesberg and Trident Peak, Hex River, because he would never have imagined that crampons would be needed in South Africa. These metal contraptions are attached to hiking boots and worn for grip in ice and deep snow.
The ‘old’ Western Cape peaks are closer to home, accessible as weekend trips from the Mother City, and with no altitude sickness - and normally no serious snow or ice. And it’s not elitist – any fit hiker can do it – instead the list is a guide and incentive to other would be explorers who should join a hiking organisation and take it from there.
But don’t get too excited. “I’ve also composed a list of peaks above 1 000m and I’m tackling them on the side”, said Torben. From Cederberg in north to Swellendam in the east there are 355 peaks of which he has climbed 145 so far. “If I tackle one new peak every month for the next 18 years at age 60 I’ll retire and do the Whale Trail,” he laughed.
Karen Watkins, Cape Times
l Watkins is the author of Off the Beaten Track.