Introduction
A visitor or new to the Cape? See Introduction to the Cape Mountains for an overview and some local climbing tips.
Want to stay alive? Read the Safety pages!
See Background to Mountain Meanders for information on how and why Mountain Meanders was constructed.
See History of Mountain Meanders for information on the origins and who is involved.
Want to make a contribution? See Making Contributions
Using a smartphone or GPS? Read OSM Maps and GPS Use in the Mountains
How to use Mountain Meanders
The areas covered by Mountain Meanders are divided into four main sections: Table Mountain, the Peninsula, Cape Country and Other Areas . Each of these has 4 or 5 sub areas, and in each of these the individual routes are listed. Each section and subsection has maps and photos showing the main areas. Most areas and pages have a link to the relevant OSM map. These maps can be viewed in a variety of ways. See the OSM Maps for more information.
Navigation
There are several ways to navigate to pages of interest:
Menu: The menu on the left which appears on all pages provides a direct link to all routes using the drop down menus.
Within each sub-area e.g. Table Mountain - Atlantic, a full list of routes is provided, together with their grading and star rating. (Regrettably, the links that existed before were not preserved in the conversion to the new Sites.)
Search: By route name or area or keyword or person. (The search icon is on the top right.)
Route Descriptions
Each route has a selection of resources (not all routes have or need all resources):
Location, key statistics, a few key photos and a written route description
A set of photos in a Google Slides slideshow giving an impression of the route. (See note below on viewing these)
An OSM map showing the route. (Note that the new Google Sites stripped off all attachments, pdf maps and gps tracks in the conversion, so now only available on some pages, or on request)
Note: The new Google Sites has a bug displaying tables. They look fine on a desktop or tablet, but on a smartphone they often end up in a small box with scroll bars. Adding white space at the end of the table can help but then the page does not look good on the desktop. We have sort of compromised...
Change Record
To assist users in seeing what is new or changed on the site, a change record is maintained on the page Change Record. This is primarily for new routes. Other changes may or may not be recorded depending on how significant they are.
Note on viewing the slideshows:
On a PC:
Slide timing can be changed by clicking the 3 vertical dots icon in the bar at the bottom of the slide box. Alternatively you can use the forward and back chevrons either side of the box with the slide number showing. Select Full screen to display bigger slides.
On a Smartphone:
No controls are visible. Tap the slide to "open" and controls can then be accessed.
Note on viewing links to Albums:
Many links to Google Albums have been added. These are a form of "comment" and are used to capture recent or current experience with the route. They are usually more personal and more in the form a meet report than a route description, but add useful contemporary information.
Disclaimer:
NB Read the Safety Notes page. Many of the walks and scrambles described in Mountain Meanders are difficult and dangerous. Do not attempt any Grade 3 or higher route unless you are experienced with exposed rock scrambling. This site is the work of many individuals and is not an official part of any club or organisation. The use of any of the resources on this website, or any resources referenced, is entirely at the user’s risk. No contributors accept any liability whatsoever for the use of any of the information that is provided. Given that this is open resource with contributions from many people, the accuracy of any description or map or GPS track cannot be guaranteed and may contain errors. Read the safety notes for more information.
Mountain Meanders is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 South Africa License