Abandon Your Fears With Mountain Abandon

Q: How long has Mountain Abandon been around?

12 months – Mountain Abandon was launched in October 2020.

Q: What made the two of you want to become guides? 

Pierre: I have a deep passion for nature and the conservation of our beautiful planet. What better way to preserve our natural beauty than by sharing it with others. I love sharing my passion and the little knowledge that I have. Guiding is merely the formal way of doing that.

Nicolette: I do this because I have a passion for sharing my love of the environment and encouraging future generations to appreciate and preserve the amazing natural heritage and biodiversity of SA!

What inspires you about what you do?

Pierre: The hope that I can have a positive impact on someone’s life. Sharing my passion for movement and conservation for all things wild and beautiful.

Nicolette: Educating the youth of today in order to preserve the environment of tomorrow.

Q: How many trails do you do on average a year? (COVID aside!) 

Pierre: All movement that I do is on trails. Whether running, hiking or mountain biking I am always off the beaten track exploring new places. Most of the trails I do in the Drakensberg aren’t official trails, but I have spent more than 30 nights sleeping out on the Escarpment over the last couple of years.

Nicolette: Many! I do hiking trails, trail running trails for training, and I then I race trails!

Q: Tell me about your favourite trails in SA? 

The Drakensberg Grand Traverse by a mile! Or many…We both love the Drakensberg Grand Traverse – I know it is theoretically not an “official” trail – but it simply does not get better than the DGT! It is arguably the penultimate hike in Africa!

Pierre: The Otter trail is my favourite “official” hiking trail – it is truly a one of a kind experience.

And favourite trails elsewhere in the world?

Pierre: I would love to experience the Pacific Crest Trail in North America, the Annapurna circuit in the Himalayas and the Namib Naukluft trail in Namibia.

Nicolette: I’ve run a few international trail races and the Trail Les Templiers in France is certainly top of my list!

And of course trails on your bucket list?

Pierre: The Leopard trail. The biodiversity of the area is simply magnificent.

Nicolette: The Amatola hiking trail, or “Hobbit Trail Run” in the Eastern Cape.

Q. What have been your most scary or exciting encounters whilst on trail? 

Pierre: We have had some pretty crazy weather up along the Drakensberg escarpment. There is really nowhere as remote as being on top of the High Berg at over 3000 m above sea level. We recently headed up the Rhino pass in a snow blizzard and spent the night in Mahsai shelter, which is a small overhang at the top of the Mahsai pass. It reached a minimum temp of -13’C but that didn’t stop us from cooking up a super tasty Trail Food Chilli Con Carne. It was quite the experience, from a complete white out snow blizzard to the most exquisite and clear sunrise one could possibly imagine!

Nicolette: My most exhilarating encounter on the trail was in Maputo Elephant Park (Mozambique) a few years ago. I needed to fit a long run into my December holiday and opted to run from the campsite out on a 4×4 jeep track, and back along the main beach of Maputo Elephant Park. Anyone who has visited the park will be familiar with the inland dense forests, thick bush and hippo infested lakes… The sounds emanating from the roadside on that run will stay with me forever and that I even made it to the beach will forever be a miracle…

Q: Which is your favourite trail food meal? 

By unanimous agreement…the Mushroom risotto.