Burned by the Berg
26 October 2023
To put this post in context, please read my post Brandberg on 28 September 2023
Königstein. Brandberg. Namibia. Did we summit? NO
Did we quit? NO
The word ‘quit’ means to stop doing something. And yes, we stopped. We stopped trying to summit Königstein. Quitting conjures up negative connotations in my mind. But the decision that was made was not negative. It felt right. It was easy.
I returned from Namibia with almost 100km in my weary legs. Three days of stop-start running and navigating. No triumphant summit picture. Only a heap of sandy lessons and checkered memories. But on reflection, the trip gets more and more beautiful. For is there not beauty in imperfection?
The Brandberg is desolate. It is littered with eroded mountains, hills and koppies. It has ‘boulders’ so big that you’re terrified to clamber up them - for fear of not being able to climb back down. This was critical in the decision to stop and call it a ‘third’ day. The summit day. What if we continued up, could not summit or traverse, and then had to return back down this very way? The route that we were on was not a well-known route. It was not marked. We were relying on a GPX file that was behaving badly. The heat was scorching and the pitch-black rocks could fry an egg in seconds. Group decisions are also very different to individual decisions. There were many factors at play. We started climbing before sunrise. After a nine and a half hour up-down, I know the right call was made.
The first and second day were spent circumventing a large portion of the Brandberg. These days were more laidback. A support vehicle was always nearby for anyone who wanted to call it a day. The terrain was varied – rocky, dusty, open and dry river bed. I loved these days. But lion was definitely on my mind. I couldn’t help myself. Only now have I just googled ‘lion and Brandberg’. I’m glad I didn’t google before the trip.
The trip was intense. The terrain spectacular in a strange way. Too little time. I need to go back. To summit and savour.
Thank you Bill and Shirley of Nyati-x
