Mountaineering

It’s only when the elements are against you that you appreciate your good gear.

During a recent Team Vertigo visit to The Drakensberg and Lesotho, the temps dropped, the wind blew and the gear earned its keep.

Pictured: Wayne Gorton & Alan Hills nearing the top of the Via Ferrata on Beacon Buttress, Northern Drakensberg.

Via Ferrata, Amphitheatre - Northern Drakensberg

Below is a list of the gear that Wayne, Alan, Chloe, Elizna, Tristan and Lloyd were thankful to have had. Notorious for severe weather (and how situations can rapidly become serious), the first week of November delivered - SNOW and blizzards, not sun and thunderstorms!

Clothing wise we all layered in slightly different manners, but we all had the following base level gear.

Waterproof shells (Puez Lite being the winner here as it is tiny in your pack as an emergency shell)
Synthetic or Down insulators (because they are inherently windproof and thus do not require additional windproof like fleece does)
Harness (the tiny Ortles was the winner here) + Via Ferrata set (super important so as not to break our backs if we did fall)
Approach shoes were very, very handy as they are more comfortable than climbing shoes, but climb far better than running shoes
Small pack for food, shell, water and an extra insulating layer (and to carry the harness + VF kit on the approach/descent)

Pants were the only area none of us had fancy shell options. This choice was due to the relatively low commitment of the outing. We were confident that a severe turn in the weather or an incident and we could be back in the car park in a matter of hours.
One mountain guide, two search and rescue members (both with local area knowledge) in the team helped with that assessment/decision (we had a 30m x 8mm "confidence rope" with us which provided a downward escape option as well).

Live life (to its fullest)
Experience is the best teacher (also, gives the best advise)

We had a great 10-day road trip (culminating in The Northern Drakensberg), pop in store (or drop us a message) to chat with us about Bouldering in The Eastern Cape, Lesotho, and climbing the most exhilarating Via Ferrata in Africa!