DGT solo in 45 hours

On Monday night there was no chance that I would have gone to sleep until Andrew Porter was safely off the Drakensberg. I'd been following his tracking blip for hours as he made his way over the final section of the Drakensberg to complete the Drakensberg Grand Traverse (DGT) solo and unassisted in a staggeringly incredible 45 hours and 8 minutes.

A friend fortunately told me about Andrew's attempt on Monday afternoon so that I could follow his live tracking online. Andrew is an accomplished Drakensberg hiker and climber and as the previous solo record holder, he was on target to better this.

And better it he did! Andrew completed the approx. 210 kilometre distance little over three hours 'slower' than the amazing time set by Ryno Griesel and Ryan Sandes in March last year.

I wrote two pieces for the FEAT website on Andrew and the DGT. You can read them there:

• Andrew on DGT solo attempt
• Andrew has done it
• Also read the lovely piece on Kraig Becker's The Adventure Blog. This was too good for me not to send a note through to Kraig.

What he accomplished is phenomenal!

A superb movie - Travailen - was made by Dean Leslie and his The African Attachment crew of Ryno and Ryan's record-setting run. It is wonderful to watch as it shows the grandeur of the Drakensberg and just how tough it is up there (the top of the Drakensberg is not flat!)