This is a blog I’ve looked forward to
writing for more than two years – ever since I first mustered up the courage in
January 2013 to ask Ryno Griesel whether he’d be interested in teaming up for a
mixed record attempt of the Drakensberg Grand Traverse.
His response was immediate – not only was
he keen, but he’d be honoured. Honoured? Good grief, what was he on about – he was
the joint record holder, had years of adventure racing under his belt, and having
climbed mountains around the world, had notched up way more real
mountain experience than I could ever dream of. He was a true man o’ the
mountains. I’ve got loads of trail running experience and have done heaps of
ultras, sure, but that’s completely different from an endurance endeavour the
likes of this. The DGT is in a completely different league from any piddly
trail race, regardless the distance.
So in he was.
And nervous I became.
We stalled our mixed attempt plans for two
years to each squeeze in a few additional ultra-distance challenges. In March
2014 Ryno did the DGT with Ryan Sandes, whipping a solid 18 hours 40 mins off
the previous fastest known time, which had been set in 2010 by Ryno and fellow extreme
adventurer Cobus van Zyl. At an astonishing 41 hours 49 mins, Ryno and Ryan’s
record won’t be broken for a very long time.
And now the time for our mixed record
attempt is here. At 4am on Friday 27th March, I’ll be setting off from
Sentinel car park with the two most capable and highly experienced mountain men
I could wish for – Ryno Griesel and Cobus van Zyl know the Drakensberg escarpment
better than most, and together they set the previous DGT record of 60 hours 29 mins
(April 2010).
The
history of the Drakensberg Grand Traverse
The Drakensberg Trans-Frontier Challenge,
renamed the Drakensberg Grand Traverse, was set by the Raubenheimer brothers,
Gavin and Lawrie, in 1999. They achieved the DGT in 4 days, 9 hours 39 minutes
(105 hours 39 mins). The brothers had drawn up the following criteria for the
DGT:
- Start at the Sentinel car park perimeter
fence, and finish at the Bushman’s Nek border post perimeter fence
- The challenge must be completed on foot
- GPS is allowed
- The following checkpoints must be visited
along the route:
- the Chain Ladders
- Mont-aux-Sources summit (3 282m)
- Cleft Peak summit (3 277m)
- Champagne Castle summit (3 377m)
- Mafadi summit (3 451m)
- Giant’s Castle summit (3 314m)
- Thabana Ntlenyana summit (3 482m)
- Thomathu Pass must be used to descend to
Bushman’s Nek
- Rest wherever you want, for however long
you want…
- Importantly, the challenge must be
completely self-supported – no seconding, no resupply or food caches along the
way.
The DGT in numbers:
Total elevation gain: between 9 500m and 10 000m
Horizontal distance: 205km
Full distance including ascent/descent:
215km
Climbs in excess of 200m: more than 28
Number of unsuccessful attempts since 1999: way more than
30…
Current records (thanks to Lisa de Speville for this info, www.ar.co.za)
Current record (men's group): Ryno Griesel and Ryan Sandes
Date: 24-25 March 2014
Distance: 209km
Duration: 41 hours 49 mins
Griesel and Sandes broke the previous record set by Ryno Griesel and Cobus van Zyl (set 9-11 April 2010) of 60 hours 29 mins
Solo male record: Andrew Porter
Date: December 2009
Duration: 61 hours 24 mins
Women's group record: Laura Forster and Fiona McIntosh (Team Water For Africa)
Date: November 2008
Duration: 157 hours 11 mins
Mixed group record: Team Merrell Adventure Addicts: Graham Bird, Hanno Smit, Robyn Kime* and Grant Ross
Date: 11-14 November 2014
Duration: 78 hours 57 mins
* Robyn is therefore the fastest woman across the DGT route.
Merrell Adventure Addicts bettered the previous mixed group time of 110 hours 57 mins established by Christine Harris and Carlos Gonzalez in January 2010.
 |
| Ryno Griesel and Cobus van Zyl |
Three aspects I’m particularly nervous
about:
- Weather:
As with every DGT, weather will play an enormous role in how we fair. We’ve
specifically chosen this time of year as it’s said to be the most stable – the
summer thunderstorms are more intermittent, and it’s theoretically before the
cold months set in. Note the word theoretically.
This is the Drakensberg, and at altitude the weather can be unpredictable. So,
we can only hope it’s on our side!
- Feet:
Regardless of wet from above, we most definitely will be wet underfoot.
And that’s pretty much for the entire 215km distance. The ground on the
escarpment is marshy, even quite boggy in places, so I’m nervously anticipating
all that’s entailed in having wet feet for +/-70 hours.
- Nutrition:
The longest endurance event I’ve ever done (Grand Raid of Reunion,
174km) took me 44 hours. That’s substantially less than I’ll be slogging for the
DGT. I know all the gastric discomforts one goes through during ultras, and I’ve
tried so many different combinations of foods over the years in the hope of
hitting the one that works for me. And yet I can honestly say I’ve never mastered
my nutrition for ultras. No event and no conditions are ever the same, and
there’re so many factors to consider – the biggest of this one being the ask on
the body: to be pushing the pace, virtually without rest, for 215km, through
three days and two nights (hopefully not a third night…) will put a mammoth
strain on the digestion, let alone the rest of the body. That’s adventure
racing territory, and I’m not an adventure racer. This time, I’ve done more
research than ever, and I’m hoping that the selection of foods I’m taking with
me will see me strongly through the distance.
One thing is guaranteed: whatever next
weekend brings, whatever happens, the experience will be incredible.
* all photos credited to Ryno Griesel
Labels: Andrew Porter, Cobus van Zyl, DGT, Drakensberg Grand Traverse, Fiona McIntosh, Gavin Raubenheimer, Graham Bird, Grant Ross, Hanno Smit, Laura Forster, Robyn Kime, Ryan Sandes, Ryno Griesel
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