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Cold play for hot adventure
Drakensberg Tropical Ice Adventure
Climbing a frozen ice gulley, Giants Castle
On the Southern edge of the Giants Castle Massif, in the Makaza region of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal lies a frozen 300m high ice-gully that cascades down in near-vertical 20-40m ice walls, with your name on it.
Offering the best water-ice climbing (water-ice routes form as a result of summer streams and seepages icing up) because it remains frozen from late May until at least late August, Giants Castle’s ice cascades promise epic mountain thrills that are safe from avalanches (there’s no heavy winter snow falls) so you’ll score an exhilarating combination of water-ice ascents along with breathtaking winter scenery.
This astonishing cold play is for experienced climbers only – it’s a Grade III WI4 route, meaning it’s a minor expedition requiring a few days’ round trip; but in return you’ll experience camping or bivvying at high altitude in a remote mountain wilderness and spend your days negotiating spectacular icicles, exciting cracks, cauliflowers and bulges on the frozen ice-faces; along with multi-pitch, sustained climbing with panoramic views across the gorge.