Five rescued after snow traps hikers and caretaker on South Africa’s Sentinel Peak
Snow and bitter cold sealed off Sentinel Peak in South Africa’s Drakensberg this week, leaving four hikers and a caretaker stuck in a hut after
Snow and bitter cold sealed off Sentinel Peak in South Africa’s Drakensberg this week, leaving four hikers and a caretaker stuck in a hut after their vehicles became bogged down in the whiteout. Rescue teams were still pushing up the mountain on Thursday morning, using a specialised all-terrain vehicle to reach them.
The group was safe and in contact with rescuers, but the weather had turned the popular hike into a waiting game. Heavy snow made the access road impassable, cutting off the route to the hut near the start of the trail in Royal Natal Park.
Rescue operation in deep snow
Search and Rescue South Africa, known as SARZA, mounted the operation after the group was forced back to shelter when their vehicles got stuck about 1.2 kilometres from the hut. A Sherp all-terrain rescue vehicle was sent in to negotiate the snow-covered terrain. Four-wheel-drive vehicles fitted with snow chains were also on standby.
The rescue teams were working against severe winter weather that brought cold, wet and windy conditions across parts of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. In the Drakensberg, the snow was enough to lock down the area around Sentinel Peak, a 12-kilometre round-trip hike that usually takes four to six hours, depending on fitness.
A hut at 2,400 metres
The stranded group sheltered at Sentinel Peak Hut, a stone base office and stop-off point at about 2,400 metres above sea level, below the Chain Ladders near Tugela Falls. The caretaker is normally stationed there, while the hikers had been on a trip in the area when the storm closed in.
Volunteers from SARZA and paramedics kept in touch with the group and raised concern about the extreme cold, wet clothing and limited food supplies. By Wednesday night, the five were evacuated safely and medically cleared before being given food and taken to safety, according to rescue team head Kyle Nesbitt of Gauteng.
The operation ended with a hard-won recovery from one of South Africa’s best-known mountain routes. The Sherp, built for rough ground and deep snow, did the work that ordinary vehicles could not.
