Hello all
Sorry to announce that the proposed four-day trail run from Didima to Giant's will not be happening in 2009. We have run many route options and have settled on a plan which is great. Unfortunately, despite the hard work put in by a big bunch of people, KZN Wildlife were not happy with the environmental management and safety aspects of the proposal and have sent us back to the proverbial drawing board to re-plan for 2010.
Planning has started already and we are confident the the same…
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Added by Nic Shaw on September 2, 2009 at 9:05am —
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It is true. As reported in the broadcast message there will be a spectacularly well-organised, team-based, visually stunning, seriously hard, ultimately enjoyable, fund raising, lekker trail run from Didima to Giant's Castle in November 2009. A bunch of us are running Day 1 tomorrow as a recce. Come back next week for details and pics.
Nic
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Added by Nic Shaw on June 5, 2009 at 1:53pm —
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An excellent and inspiring achievement!!!.. We are humbled in your presence, oh great ones. Seriously, the 4 days of perfect weather played an important part but the secret to your success was in your strategy, preparation and perseverance. Brilliant! I admire the way you make it sound like a doddle:)
On a time trial thru the mall this morning I bumped into a colleague from the Mountain Club. Is a moment of weakness she let slip that her husband is working at rounding up a posse to try to catch…
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Added by Nic Shaw on January 2, 2009 at 1:04pm —
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Stijn & Andrew H have taken the right approach & I think it's going to pay off. They are probably somewhere near Giant's Castle right now & seem to be moving fast enough to take the record.
Watch this space!!!
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Added by Nic Shaw on December 19, 2008 at 10:09am —
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The lasses must be pretty close to the Sani flats by now. There is little signal inland so there is no cause for alarm at their lack of reporting. I'll post when I know...
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 12, 2008 at 4:02pm —
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Only those that have attempted the Grand Traverse can fully appreciate the work that Chris has put in since Friday morning. By the time she walks out she will have covered over 100 very hard kilometers, through some serious weather and a lot of it alone. Hats off, gentlemen!
Peter, her husband is walking up towards Bannerman's Pass to walk with her. I feel bad that I was the main proponent of her pulling out but the Bannerman's to Giant's area is known for (cowardly) attacks on small groups and…
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 11, 2008 at 9:55am —
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When I have trained guides or my staff in the past I like to use the analogy that skydivers use. Namely, it's the second bounce that gets you, so grab the ground on the first and you should be ok. I like the analogy because mountains are similar; it is seldom a single event that causes problems but rather a series of two or more smallish "bounces" that accumulate in intensity and effect.
When I spoke to Christine this afternoon I tried to convince her to descend by means of the nearest pass. No…
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 10, 2008 at 7:04pm —
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TWA have passed Mafadi & are now heading inland to skirt around some big ridges before heading eastward again towards Giant's Castle.
Still no news of Chris. Peter & I had some calls from her a couple of hours ago, but we couldn't connect. She must get decent signal soon...
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 10, 2008 at 2:51pm —
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I was away from my computer but received an SMS from Fi at 10h03. TWA Lasses were at checkpoint 3, Champagne Castle. They were feeling strong but still moving a little slow. They were happy to wait for Chris but decided to head for the next checkpoint, Mafadi. Mafadi is the highest peak in South Africa and is exactly 30,95 km west of where I'm sitting in my office. Looking out of my window at the High 'Berg, the cloud is down to about 2800m so they are probably dealing with intermittent sunshine…
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 10, 2008 at 11:53am —
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Mark is waiting at Cathedral Peak Hotel, hosted by Errol Cunnama. Errol has been unbelievably supportive to me and colleagues, first during the search for Michael Heatherington and later in my own rescue. Tonight, he has offered to put Mark up for the evening in his own house. Gavin got an SMS from Sid, Andrew's friend that the Hares were at Injesuthi and safe.
Malcolm is within sight of Cathedral. He's in the pitch blac but is confident that he can get to the Hotel. So...go girls!
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 9, 2008 at 7:00pm —
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At 15h30 Malcolm decided to drop down Organ Pipes. Christine is carrying on in the hopes that she can hook up with the women from TWA. So here goes for the 1st women-only record for the Grand Traverse.
Still no news of Andrew and Bruce. Gary suspects they may have decided to keep going. I hope not as then we have no idea where they are.at all.
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 9, 2008 at 2:43pm —
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Just got word that Mark from TWA has limped into Cathedral Peak Hotel. I know how he feels...
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 9, 2008 at 1:53pm —
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Ever wonder where peope get the ideas for these childrens tales from? Andrew and Bruce were clearly the hares in this race. They made impressive speed over some of the nastiest terrain in the country & through some pretty 'orrible weather . But, they pulled out. Gavin feels that it is better to keep some in reserve for a hard push towards the end and considering he & his brother are only people to have finished this route in under 5 days his word is gospel.
Now, to the tortoises. TWA ar…
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 9, 2008 at 12:51pm —
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Got a call from Christine Harris just after 11h00. Took me this long to blog 'cos I had to take my staffie to the vet. team Blind Mice are near Tseketseke Pass on their way to Cleft peak. They are fine & trying to hook up with Laura and Fi.
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 9, 2008 at 11:44am —
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Just chatted to Andrew in iNjesuthi Summit Cave. He & Bruce were making good time and enjoying themselves until around midnight when the cold just started getting the better of them. I know what it is like, you are battling profound bodily fatigue to start with and the extra energy required to keep yourself warm is just too demanding.
They are catching up on a bit of rest, apparently the sun is shining in Lesotho, so they are warming up and getting dry. They'll head back to Leslie's sometim…
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 9, 2008 at 7:35am —
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Just got a call from Mark fromTWA. They bunked down in their tent during the really bad weather last night and are currently near Tsekestke Pass. Mark has developed an Achilles problem and is coming down the Pass heading for Cathedral Peak Hotel. Laura and Fi are feeling strong and "hyped" so they are going to continue. I questioned this from a harrassment aspect and they are not to be deterred. Fi apparently came out from the UK especially for this event. We'll arrange a ground team to meet mar…
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 9, 2008 at 7:00am —
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Gavin Raubenheimer must be chuckling this morning. He & Lawrie established this record almost ten years ago, it has been repeatedly challenged by a number of highly competent trail- and mountain-runners, and it still stands. According to the SMS I received at 06h00 this morning, sometime in the night Andrew and Bruce decided that the weather - probably the sheer cold - was going to thwart their chances at cracking the time. They wisely headed for shelter, Injesuthi Summit Cave, and they are…
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 9, 2008 at 6:57am —
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Heres where they are
ish
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 8, 2008 at 7:24pm —
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Received an SMS from Andrew Porter. He passed Cleft Peak at 15h58. That means he is a little behind his target but is moving very, very fast. He has travelled between 60 - 65 km in just under 12 hours. We don't know if he is still with Bruce or not.
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 8, 2008 at 3:24pm —
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Well, Laura's working well. Sitting comfortably outside what looks like a B & B in Cathkin. Where the hell is everyone else?
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Added by Nic Shaw on November 8, 2008 at 2:22pm —
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