Your most difficult 4x4 route driven.

[Panda]

well having done a few.........

Trail..
Carnage canyon, especially when wet.
DVR Falls... it just carries on after 3days of wheeling you are as pap as an Uno fire engine. and if you slip up.... you are gone. today is 34 degrees and tomorow -2. no warning

obstacles.
1. Monkey puzzle @ DVR falls.
1. it is a side slope
2. if you don't follow instructions you are gone. makes the slope at SUPERMAN look like Stuart little.
3. it is on sandstone with patches of grass. the grass tends to give way on that surface.
2. Klipdrift @ Moegatle
3. Hells hoogte @3prov it was cold and wet.
4. Koos se klim. it is a mental thing and you better make sure you have thread on your tires. ne PIERRE....

[Mike Nel]

How do you rate the difficulty of a route?

Is it the amount of damage you incurred or potentially could incur?

Is it the amount of time you would spend on it? Short distance that takes a good few hours?

And is that rating objective in light of the points above?

[Shane]

I think by the number of skids on your jocks!

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[Paul#25]

I'd say some of the passes we did on the Mountain Passes trip were quite hectic with Ben MacDuhi being the top of the pile. This was a big one for me as I had got the Disco soon before the trip and was very much a 4x4 novice driver.

[Mad Manny]

How do you rate the difficulty of a route?

Is it the amount of damage you incurred or potentially could incur?

Is it the amount of time you would spend on it? Short distance that takes a good few hours?

And is that rating objective in light of the points above?

Difficulty & How Scared it made you are two different things.
To me, difficulty means how technical.
Obviously there is stuff I now find neither difficulty or scary but 10 years ago I was both scared & struggled to complete it.
So each person's rating will be different...

[Mad Manny]

Years ago, around 2012 or so, we arranged a big GTG at Jobedi near Vaalwater.
The event was arranged by RyboB & Puff & they invited Dirk of the 'other' Forum as Guest of Honour.

On the Saturday we did the trail, the trail is basically a long boring drive with two difficult obstacles.
We all did the first obstacle TIERKLOOF & continued with the boring drive.
When we got to the top of the 2nd obstacle, KOEDOESKLOOF.
MOST of the guys (about 12 vehicles) in the group decided to turn right & take the route that gradually heads back to camp.

RynoB (Puma 90) Dirk (Loan Wrangler), Eurard (Modded Triton) & I (Fearless) decided to do the obstacle.

You basically head down a long steep ravine - nothing too hectic, but you have got to go slow, it's very loose & it winds down, if you start sliding you run the risk of rolling into the revine.
When you get to the bottom, you cross a dry river bed & go up the other side.
The 'other side' is a steep climb with a few rock steps about knee high. I think there were 4 or 5 steps, one after the other.
Like a big concrete staircase.
It was about 32*C that day.

We got down at around midday but struggled for an hour or so to get out. Constantly retreating to the river bed to let someone else come past & try.

Eventually we decided to let Dirk go in front & we would all help Dirk as he had the most capable vehicle, he would get out & then go fetch help as there was NO WAY we were getting out.
So we packed rocks in the blazing heat & then with great spotting by Eurard & with Ryno & I pushing & helping we eventually got Dirk past the steps & up.
After checking there were no surprises ahead we sent Dirk off to get help.

Then we tried to get Eurard out - he had a lifted Triton 3.2with a chip & good tyres.
We packed rocks (each attempt pushed the rocks down, so we had to repack each time).
Eventually, exhausted at peak heat we gave up, Eurard had nearly made it a few times. So close. But no luck.

Ryno suggested we go back the way we came as that was probably easier. But I pointed out it was extremely slippery (big & small rocks with that fine baby powder dust everywhere).

Ryno left & Eurard & I tried one last time, but then we accepted that, unless he had 37"s he would never make it.

We then heard revving & tyres squealing & Dianne screaming & we turned to head after Ryno. We climbed up the hill & sawthe horror!

Ryno was on a large flat smooth rock, the rock was larger than a bakkie, smooth & lying at a slight angle up.
He had dropped the back wheel off & the Puma90 was at a very precarious angle.
Eurard & I arrived just in time, we drank the last of our cold-drinks that Dianne had & then by packing, bracing the vehicle with a recovery strap & with Eurard's guidance we got Ryno up.

Next was Eurard, being longer he had major issues at that rock, we secured him with the Puma the got a Hi-Lift jack to lift his back wheel so we could pack rocks under it.

Eurard was holding the bottom of the highlift, I was jacking & Ryno was making sure the Hi-Lift didn't dent Eurard's back door.
Next thing Ryno tells me to stop jacking I look up & we've trapped Ryno's forearm between the jack & the door.
Ryno had his arm there to protect the door but the jack got closer to the door the higher we went.
We packed rocks, freed his arm & eventually Eurard was out.

By now we were so hot & tired - not to mention dehydrated, we were almost falling over with exhaustion.

We got fearless out using 2 Pofadders tied together & then headed back to camp, getting back in the late afternoon.

I remember walking into the bar & asking Fanatic to buy me a beer, he looked at my face (hot, parched & bleached) in horror & handed me his beer which he had just ordered.
I downed that beer in seconds & as I finished he turned from the barman with a new beer & I grabbed that & drank it too.

That was definitely the toughest 4x4 day I've ever had - the day on Road to Hell when we recovered Martin for 5 hours runs it a close 2nd.

I always make sure I carry more than enough refreshments since that day.

Here's the video of Ryno doing the last bit of the return, we still had to go get the Triton & then Fearless...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWIFXPGqiv0

[Martin de Jager]

Having done three of the most extreme, it is difficult to compare.
1)Road to Hell was epic, do not know why? Shit man sitting where I was was sitting it felt like a nightmare that will never end. Remote in the hand, Radio in the other hand , on the edge all the time. four hours of endless effort to recover me, in the end an awesome team effort a lot of patience , paying the bill for all the repairs for the all replaced was a breeze.
2)Baboons Pass, this was n difficult one, so much at stake, again I was at the tail, sweeper. My navi was in the front with Victor to move rocks. At times my left hand mirror facing down on the edge was my only yardstick to measure and gauge me. Again this was a true team effort. 26km climb over 990 meters of climbing , this was as tough as it gets. But it all went as planned.
3) Matroosberg Pass, 800 meter climb over 10km , tough yes very. difference it was me and the wife, no support. Climbing to the lookout point was a breeze, from the Z-drive up, it was at 38 deg plus all the the way. The side drop off constantly on your mind, no room for error.
Loose rock , step-up no time to stop, choose your line and commit. Going up meant coming down the same way. Will I do it again for sure!

What they had in common? Never , never land was your ultimate end if all went wrong. On the edge all the way.

One of my most memorable trips, leading a convoy up Ben Mcdui. 2nd time round What a view.

One of the ultimate Source tree , these climbs all vary from 35deg to 46deg, I did the 35 deg, something else.

One of the most extreme obstacles Sandwani, Lift off.

[Shane]

How do you rate the difficulty of a route?

Is it the amount of damage you incurred or potentially could incur?

Is it the amount of time you would spend on it? Short distance that takes a good few hours?

And is that rating objective in light of the points above?

Difficulty & How Scared it made you are two different things.
To me, difficulty means how technical.
Obviously there is stuff I now find neither difficulty or scary but 10 years ago I was both scared & struggled to complete it.
So each person's rating will be different...

Exactly. I think it will obviously depend on your experience and therefor be different for every person.

Me being relatively inexperienced means that I find trails more intimidating/difficult than those who have done this much longer.

So while you may not flinch at my "difficult" trail, it's just as nerve wracking (to me)as one you find tough.

Vehicle damage, to my mind, should not be a yardstick. Some guys are cowboys and can damage their vehicles climbing off the curb...

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[LesseW]

All obstacles are relative and also subjective to the person driving them.

If vehicle damage is the measuring stick then my most difficult obstacle was a flat sand airfield in Marble hall...


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[grips]

My top trails.

1. Biesies se Berg.
2. Road to Hell.

Obstacles there are so many.
Had many briekmerk moments while building overhead lines.
One that left me with soaked with sweat were where I took a 5t transformer up a waste dump with a Samil 50. Very narrow road with a huge drop on the left. The 5 tons on the back made the Samil almost running out of power on a few occasions. I knew if it came to a halt I would not be able to pull away again.

Then Road to Hell at that step where Martin broke the CV. The Cruiser acted as an anchor for Pierre to get the Syncro over that step. Pierre pulled me a few meters backwards with his winch in his attempt to get the Syncro over the ledge. If he have lost it I would have gone over with him.

[NINJA]

Haven't been out enough to try a lot of trails so its difficult to name a serious difficult route.

The 2 Close calls I had were on Rebellie Kloof route almost tipping over my Ranger and at Moegatle almost tipping my Jeep.
Both on down hills.

[Martin de Jager]

Remembering the road to Hell: I remembering my recovery. Look at this video and you will understand how difficult this pass is.

https://youtu.be/ulbx4WwXOIc
https://youtu.be/dtQ-Y7zAjE4