Spionkop Ridge and Loaf Mountain

Spionkop Ridge II and Loaf Mountain II

July 10, 2009

Mountain heights:                                    2576 m, 2640 m
Total elevation gain:                                approx. 1700 m
Ascent time to highpoint west of Roche: 3:00
Traverse time to Spionkop summit:          2:30
Traverse time to Loaf summit:                  1:30
Descent time from Loaf:                            2:20

Solo scramble.

Traversing the lengthy ridge of Spionkop is a trip I’ve wanted to try ever since Mark and I reached the summit of Mount Roche (the far east end of the Spionkop Ridge). A recent trip report by Sonny Bou renewed that interest.

Like Sonny, Bob, and Dinah, I used the alternate descent route to gain the ridge, but opted to go directly to the first highpoint west of Roche, instead of visiting the summit. Stopping to photograph an enormous variety of colourful flowers ensured I wouldn’t be breaking any speed records (that and my slow, lethargic pace!) Knowing each type of flower only as either “blue flower”, “yellow flower” or “purple flower”, I vowed to do some research to find their correct names.

Gaining the first highpoint was quite entertaining. A spectacular red argillite rock-band, with a surprising vertical drop on the north side provided access to the summit ridge. The summit was a short distance away and revealed most of the remainder of the route. It looked to be very easy, except for a narrowing of the ridge some distance along, followed by a significant rock-band right after.

The first part of the traverse was dead easy and gave me plenty of time to enjoy the best aspect of the trip throughout: phenomenal colours – in the rock, the sky, and the flora. The view along the equally lengthy and parallel ridge of Loaf Mountain was incredible from beginning to end.

The closer I got to the aforementioned narrowing of the ridge and the rock-band, the more it appeared the ridge wouldn’t go without climbing gear. Suddenly several notches appeared in the ridge and the rock-band would definitely have to be circumvented, not ascended. The right side was a dead-end and the slopes on the left side looked extremely steep, with cliff-bands below. However, as Rick Collier is fond of alluding to, “you gotta get your nose right up against it” – great mountain wisdom! Unfortunately, human perception not being quite up to that of legitimate mountains denizens, we really need to be right there to properly assess the feasibility of a potential route.

Mr. Collier’s axiom proved to be spot-on – the notches were inconsequential and the slopes on the left side, not at all steep. In fact, traversing the “not-so-narrow” ridge and circumventing the rock-band was a stress-free and wonderfully scenic affair. I then regained the ridge and continued on to the highest point of Spionkop Ridge, at the far west end. With fairly clear skies, the view from the summit was absolutely outstanding. Looking down the red, parallel ridges of Loaf and Spionkop is a view that shouldn’t be missed.

Given that I was not going to be able to make it out to the mountains for the following two days, I decided that the summit of Loaf was worth another visit. The traverse over was easy and expectedly scenic. For descent, I followed the wide and winding ridge of Loaf east for a while and then escaped down the south side of the mountain to Spionkop Creek Trail.

One of the most colourful and scenic trips I’ve ever completed.

Mount Roche (left) and the highpoint west of Roche