To find out more about the 13 Peaks Challenge , read more ‘ run reports ’ and check out the various leader-boards , go to https :// 13peaks . co . za .
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Images : Jared Paisley & courtesy Juliana Ambrosi
What is the 13 Peaks Challenge ? By Ryan Sandes
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Peaks was born from the idea of me wanting to link up some of my favourite peaks on Table Mountain and in the Cape Peninsula area . One evening I sketched those peaks out in my notepad and linked them up in a logical route that would make for a great adventure . I wanted the start and finish to be in the same place , to mimic the famous “ rounds ” in the UK , so I put the start and finish at Signal Hill , with the tagged peaks in the following order : 1 Signal Hill 2 Lions Head 3 Maclears Beacon 4 Grootkop 5 Judas Peak 6 Klein Leeu Kop 7 Suther Peak 8 Chapmans Peak 9 Noordhoek Peak 10 Muizenberg Peak 11 Constantiaberg 12 Klassenkop 13 Devils Peak
The distance between peaks did not look too far on my sketch , and I guesstimated it to be about 55km . I convinced my buddy , Kane Reilly , to join me for this fun day out , exploring the Cape Peninsula on foot , and 19 hours later , having covered over 100km with 6000 meters of vertical gain , we made it off the mountain . We only summited 12.5 peaks due to our headlamp batteries dying , but we both described the 13 Peaks experience as one of the most epic mountain adventures we had been on .
There is something really magical about the Table Mountain area , and to be able to experience it on foot takes it to a whole new level . Kane and I didn ’ t complete the full route that day , but we both promised to go back and complete it . This got me thinking … how cool would it be if more people could experience the 13 Peaks .
For most people , completing the route on foot in one day is not doable , and that is why I created a one day , two day and multi-day category to make the 13 Peaks possible for everyone – both hikers and runners . It ’ s about getting out there and exploring our beautiful wilderness areas .
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