Nicholas Mulder and Ryno Griesel of the Cyanosis adventure racing team are in the final steps of preparation for taking on the Drakensberg Grand Traverse. The pair will take on the challenge on the weekend of 22 to 24 January. Weather permitting, they will also be aiming to beat Andrew Porter’s current record of 61 hours, 24 minutes for the 210km high altitude traverse of the Drakensberg. The route starts at the Sentinal Car Park, climbs up the chain ladder and then visits 6 of the highest peaks along the Drakensberg range before finishing in its southern regions at the Bushmans Nek border post. The entire distance must be completed unsupported according to Grand Traverse rules.
Both Nicholas and Ryno have extensive experience in adventure racing and mountain trekking and are eager to do well. However, as this is their first attempt at the traverse, the lack of knowledge of some parts of the route might prove an interesting challenge. “The problem is not knowing how runnable much of the terrain is in places, particularly early on in the north.” says Nicholas, who did extensive field work for his Masters Dissertation in the southern part of the Berg. “It will be difficult to gauge what pace we need to start out at in order to stay strong across the whole 210km distance”. As challengers are allowed to make use of GPS devices for navigational and safety purposes, the real challenge will be the weather. Nicholas comments, “One good thunderstorm will set you back a couple of hours in any record attempt. There is a bit of luck involved in getting perfect weather conditions across the whole route; a prerequisite for such an attempt”.
The pair are two of the four-person Cyanosis adventure racing team. As such they are hoping to capitalise on their non-stop racing experience, pushing through in tough terrain and weather, no matter how difficult the mental challenge. If everything runs according to plan, they expect to sleep less than 2 hours along the entire route. The adventure racing team has shown their high calibre on numerous occasion both locally and internationally, with the 4-person squad recently competing in the World Adventure Racing Champs in Portugal last November. As such, cold night-time winter weather and mountainous terrain are still fresh in their memories. Other experience for Nicholas and Ryno includes the Cape Odyssey 5-day, 200km trail run, which they ran together in 2008 and placed 2nd overall. Ryno has subsequently shown further form by finishing joint first in the 2009 Mutter Trail Race over 85km in the southern Berg.
“We’ll be in regular but intermittent contact with our race crew via cell phone, sending them updates and reports as we progress.” notes Ryno. Websites that will be tracking the pair’s attempt include the official Grand Traverse website (drakensberg.ning.com), the South African AR website (www.ar.co.za) as well as Cyanosis’ own site (www.teamcyanosis.co.za).
“We believe we’re in good form to take on the record following the World Champs.” mentions Nicholas. “And we also have some great support from our sponsors who’ve ensured that we go out there with the best possible equipment to make this record attempt. If all goes perfectly well, we hope to break 50 hours. However, luck with the weather and injuries can play a big part, so we’ll take it as it comes. At worst, if we get forced out of the mountain early, it will be good preparation for a second attempt. Whatever happens, this will be a great experience.”
Team Cyanosis is proud to have the following sponsors supporting them:
– First Ascent outdoor apparel, Foodstate vitamins, Island Tribe sun lotion, Salomon and Crocs adventure, trail running and casual footwear, Petzl headlamps, Wiley X sunglasses, Mule Bar 100% natural energy bars.
– Form and Fitness sports supplements, Kreature.co.za outdoor and survival shop, O’Neill wetsuits, Specialized bikes and accessories, Summit Cycles in Midrand, Suunto field compasses and wristop computers.
Photo: ARWC Portugal