tunariaan Posted August 2, 2011 Share After some snow last week me and my wife decided to go see on Sunday if we could get some snow on the top, unfortunately no snow next to the road only right on the topHere's some picsThea still with her pj'sIt was cold on the top and windy but not down on the -'C sidehttp://i51.tinypic.com/2u72c0n.jpghttp://i55.tinypic.com/1rdtmg.jpgStarting right on the top on a bit of a koppie next to the parking spotThis is the view to Prince Albert sidehttp://i54.tinypic.com/xcw4z5.jpg1585m above see levelhttp://i56.tinypic.com/2nkndk1.jpghttp://i56.tinypic.com/2zrnyc8.jpgWe went down from here Outshoorn side, taking photos on the way down and just chilling, got to the tar road about 9km later, turned around and climbed all the way up again http://i54.tinypic.com/2ly20qr.jpghttp://i51.tinypic.com/313svf5.jpgTurn around point-some snow still ontop of the mountain Edited August 2, 2011 by tunariaan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted August 2, 2011 Share Magical Place, Magical Ride (Capital letters Intended) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunariaan Posted August 2, 2011 Share Shttp://i52.tinypic.com/b6ev45.jpg%5B/img http://i51.tinypic.com/mccegx.jpghttp://i53.tinypic.com/155jjn9.jpghttp://i51.tinypic.com/sxow29.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunariaan Posted August 2, 2011 Share http://i53.tinypic.com/r8wjs8.jpg http://i56.tinypic.com/soxxsn.jpgWhen we got back to the car i decided to go off on the other side, my wife was a little bit pissed off cause she had to drive and i had all the fun down , halfway i stopped before the main last section going downTold here to get dressed again and ride down , we would later fetch the car with a lift (plenty of tourist around)We flew downhill, i avarage the last 6km on 40km/h Got to the bottom and send some time waiting for a car, manage to get a lift with some gemans and i send my wife to go get the car Going down-check the road right at the bottom http://i54.tinypic.com/do1a47.jpg waiting for a lift at the bottomhttp://i56.tinypic.com/14domco.jpg Lekker chow in Prince Albert afterwards http://i54.tinypic.com/307or61.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underachiever Posted August 2, 2011 Share I am sooooooo jealous!!! Swartberg Pass is one of my favourite rides!!! Always rode the Pass from Prince Albert side, still need to do from the southern side one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigGuy Posted August 2, 2011 Share Cool. That's what life is all about. Doing what you love with the ones you love. On my to-do list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reteid Posted August 2, 2011 Share just looking at those pictures makes me want to ride.glad you enjoyed it.i have been up there with the mtb before but it was pissing down and windy.still better than any day at the office though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubeless Posted August 2, 2011 Share That breakfast looks like being at Lazy Lizard........... good hey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banna Posted August 2, 2011 Share I am sooooooo jealous!!! Swartberg Pass is one of my favourite rides!!! Always rode the Pass from Prince Albert side, still need to do from the southern side one day. Yup. The To Hell and Back in Day race always started in Prince Albert. A full 120km in out of Die Hel in one day... I've never been so relieved to see a town again. But ja, magical place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motard660 Posted August 2, 2011 Share WOW....this looks absolute stunning. Great way of doing things together! :thumbup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Bornman Posted August 2, 2011 Share That pass is one of our national treasures. It is also the place where I've been the coldest in my life. Nice ride report. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big H* Posted August 3, 2011 Share http://i53.tinypic.com/r8wjs8.jpg The pass was built by Thomas Bain, a legend and genius in roadbuilding in 1880 to 1890. They used convict labour to build the pass. The picture shows the dry packed retaining walls. These walls were constructed without using any cement or concrete and was built by hand. Edited August 3, 2011 by eccentric1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted August 3, 2011 Share http://i53.tinypic.com/r8wjs8.jpgThe pass was built as an alternative route for the Karoo farmers to transport their produce to the harbour at Mosselbay. The only 2 other routes go through Meiringspoort and Seweweekspoort respectively. Both these were (and still are) very prone to flood damage and often remained closed for weeks or months while washed away roads were repaired. In the last 100 years since the Swartberg pass was completed it has never been closed for more than a day or two at a time, and then mostly because of heavy snowfalls. Truly the final masterpiece of Thomas Baines. Currently the sad situation is that routine maintenance is not being done. Especially on the Prince Albert side they have not cleaned out those culverts under the dry stone walls. These get blocked and storm water then runs over the road in stead of under it and washaways occur. Sad to see. Lets hope the Prince Albert Municipality wakes up to the fact that this is a major tourist magnet for the town and do something about it soon. Otherwise it will go the same way as the Baviaanskloof road. Btw, Seweweekspoort is another super (but easier) mtb ride. Meiringspoort unfortunately carries a huge volume of traffic and is tarred, and would have made a super road ride if it wasn't so dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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