After a warm night in our down sleeping bags, we packed up the following morning and headed up to the top of Cleft Peak, quickly discovering that snow wading up to thigh deep in places is quite tiring, demanding frequent rests at that altitude. 
Reaching the top of Cleft (3277m) at about 11am we stopped to admire the view and have tea. The wind was picking up from the Lesotho side, cooling the air. It was much easier snow trudging downhill so we decided to head over to Cockade Pass to have a look at how much snow lay in the pass. The berg ahead looked thicker with snow and the next little hill was hard work. 
At almost 1pm we headed back down to the stream for lunch, sheltered from the wind, surrounded by snow. After lunch we couldn’t resist making a snowman, assisted by another single guy, John, hiking alone on the berg.

Due to the wind and thickness of the snow we decided to head a little down Tseketseke Pass and camp that night at a slightly lower altitude, sheltered from wind and snow. The snow was almost knee deep heading for the pass and when we reached the gully deep snowdrifts caught us up to our waists and deeper. 
However, sliding on our bums meant that one could stay above the snow, guiding with hands and feet. We covered distance quickly like this, doing about a kilometer in the next hour or so.  
Sometimes a gap in the snow showed the depth of what we were happily bumsliding over – 2m deep at times.
With frozen hands and bums we reached the end of the snow and picked our way further down through boulders and recent rockslides, wary of frozen streams that were steep and slippery.  
Suddenly George halted, faced with a split in the gully – this was not familiar. I hung back on a less steep grassy bank while he checked the way ahead. He came back, a worried frown on his face. Studying the map we realised the mistake we had made – we were not in Tseketseke Pass but one to the left. It was a dead end with sheer down drops ahead. 
The thought of trying to climb through the thick snow above was daunting. We tried the cellphone but discovered no signal. Resigned, we turned around and headed back up the slope towards the snow filled gully.

About 300m up George tried the phone again and this time we got a signal. He got patched through to Mountain Rescue in Pietermaritzburg and asked their advice on what to do. The competent voice on the other side of the phone quickly assured us that the best option was to sit tight and wait for assistance. Trying to clamber up through deep snow could take days. 
It was 4.30pm already and cooling down fast. George assured him we had warm clothing, sleeping bags and enough food. We were told to switch off the phone for a while to conserve battery and wait for their message later. 
Finding a spot on the side of the mountain to spend the night became our next task. There was nothing level. We stacked some rocks at our feet to prevent from sliding down, made something to eat and drink and eventually climbed in our sleeping bags semi-inclined. 
By 7.30pm no message had come so we decided to get some sleep. There were thousands of stars above and far away we could see the lights of some settlement twinkling. Surprisingly, we both got in a good few hours sleep, probably due to the hard walking during the day. 
Wide awake as it started getting light we switched on the phone to see what time it was and if there was a message. The beeps alerted us to open the sms, stating that we must be packed and ready at 6am for airlift at 6.30am. It was 5.54am. We bolted into action, packing gear into our backpacks as fast as possible. 
The last thing we wanted to do was lose thousands of rands of good hiking gear! Within minutes we were making our way down to a rocky outcrop 300m below, the best spot for a chopper to access.

Just after extracting a neon pack cover to wave we heard the thump of the helicopter engine coming around the mountain. Within minutes the huge 8 ton Oryx Air Force helicopter was hovering overhead, spotting us with little difficulty. 
We had provided them with GPS co-ordinates which enabled them to come to the correct area straight away. A cable descended with Colin, our assistant. The 2 ton downdrafts were so strong it felt like we would be swept off the slope. I clung to clumps of grass, deafened by the noise. 
The chopper moved off a little for Colin to give us the drill and get the harnesses on. As it came back in, the cable descended again and Colin snapped the clip on my harness and within seconds I was yanked into the air, swinging from the cable. I enjoyed that short trip up and into the chopper, doing exactly as told it all went smoothly. George and then our backpacks followed. Colin came up last and we headed for the Didima camp area.
They landed on the soccer pitch next to the campsite and we all enjoyed some hot coffee and a chat for a few minutes before the chopper took off again for home. All that remained was for us to go down and sign out on the mountain register.

1. Sign in the mountain register with all info including route.
2. Take a cellphone with a charged battery.
3. Carry enough warm/rain gear for extreme weather.
4. Have enough food for a possible extra day or so.
5. Have enough water at all times, at least 2l each.
6. Carry a decent map of the area and if possible, a GPS.
7. Do not go alone.

Following these few simple rules could make a difference between life and death.