This was a much milder route than the one Andrew Beetge led in 2021! In fact we decided informally to rename it Lower Dragoon Buttress, because there are such steep, dramatic towers still above our ‘summit’. The group of young, mainly new members were keen to do this route that might not have been offered before, other than Andrew’s challenging one years ago.
On the outbound route we chose the gentler gradient to the base of the buttress and were delighted to see a herd of Eland on the lower slopes! We had seen their droppings and spoor, as well as those of other buck, right from the beginning, but to see the animals themselves was a real treat. At the same time that they were grazing we saw a mountain reedbuck bounding up to them with its pure white bobtail – too fast to take a photo.
The weather was perfect after rainy days earlier that week. There had been a concern that the path on the buttress slopes might be unstable, but fortunately it allowed us to complete the planned route which is mainly in the shade on the southern side of those peaks. We only felt sun on us at lunch on the jutting buttress and it only cleared the skyline of the peaks after we were halfway down again past noon!
The path on the upper slopes of the buttress itself narrows even more than lower down, and the undergrowth along the upper edge of the path is inclined to want to push us down the steep slopes! Fortunately we all arrived safely at the lunch spot on the buttress, with satisfying views, different to the ones on our ascent. We did pay a visit to the ruin of the Stellenbosch section’s hut ruin, from where we chose a different, more direct descent path through dense fynbos back to the cars.
