From Sunrise to Sunset, Climbers Conquer Platteklip Gorge for Charity

Climbers completed multiple summits of Table Mountain in support of wildfire services, rescue teams and conservation initiatives. Cape Town, South Africa (25 May 2026) – The day dawned clear... The post From Sunrise to Sunset, Climbers Conquer Platteklip Gorge for Charity appeared first on Good Things Guy.

May 25, 2026 - 08:14

From Sunrise to Sunset, Climbers Conquer Platteklip Gorge for Charity

Climbers completed multiple summits of Table Mountain in support of wildfire services, rescue teams and conservation initiatives.

Cape Town, South Africa (25 May 2026) – The day dawned clear and with no wind, despite the warnings of two upcoming cold fronts in Cape Town. It was the day of the 2026 Table Mountain Cableway Charity Challenge.

SANParks Honorary Rangers of the Table Mountain Region not only helped run the event and participated as a Challenge team, but for the first time this year, the SANParks Honorary Rangers were also one of the event’s beneficiaries.

The Cableway Charity Challenge has been running since 2009, and the aim is to complete as many “summits” of Platteklip Gorge as possible, between sunrise and sunset. It is a “race”, but the primary purpose is to raise funds for various charities. For more information, go to Cableway Charity Challenge | Welcome home.

In addition to the SANParks Honorary Rangers (SHR), the beneficiaries this year were Wilderness Search & Rescue (WSAR), Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS), and Ubuntu Football.

At nearly R 1million funds pledged in 2026, the potential is significant. For an organisation such as VWS, for instance, the Challenge can provide up to 25% of their annual funding helping to fight fires all over the Western Cape. All the causes supported are so worthwhile that we hope to see more individuals and teams taking part in the years to come!

Support for the 2026 event was co-ordinated by Wilderness Search & Rescue (WSAR), the SHR and VWS from the “Incident Command” Van. From the SHR side it was expertly organised by Jade Borrett. From the briefing in the morning, the refreshment tent set up and the Radio DJ’s playing tunes – the event was seamless. It kicked off promptly at 7:30 with the first (youthful) runners getting to the start of the Platteklip ascent in about 4 minutes!

This was the first and last time to pass that point. All subsequent summits, after catching the cable car down from the top, followed the contour path (after passing through the refreshment tent providing the participants with drinks and snacks between summits). The first runners came down on the Cable Car within an hour.

The SHR Team included Tania Morkel, Alison McKie, Toby Adams, Kenneth Carden and Johan Hanekom, with some of the team being co-opted at rather late notice.

“Last night at dinner Wezz said do you want to join the Challenge tomorrow…next thing I am part of the team” Allison laughed as she explained her reason for participating.

SHR volunteer marshals were positioned at strategic points along the route together with WSAR and VWS – they carried radios to alert the “Incident Command” of any incidents and took turns to man the posts diligently until the final sweepers passed them by.

While the weather started out clear, typical of Table Mountain, runners and marshals equally faced quite cool and misty conditions during the day. Despite the conditions, only a few minor “incidents” were recorded and the event was a huge success.

The overall winner was Junior, George Nuttall with 9 summits completed.

Our SHR team put in a strong performance with Tania unsurprisingly putting in the longest hours (7H40) to complete 5 summits. Summitting Platteklip Gorge multiple times is certainly a significant challenge worthy of applause, and we are immensely proud of all SHR team members for taking part. As ex-British army, SHR member and Challenger, Johan Hanekom, stated,

“It is such a privilege to be representing SHR, but also doing your duties as an SHR – safety, security on the mountain – and just building awareness that we are involved”.

A special mention of SHR team member Tania Morkel is due, who is currently engaged in her own separate fund-raising challenge, doing 13 peaks a week for 13 consecutive weeks. She laughed when asked if each ascent of Platteklip would count as a peak for the week…not certain if that was a yes or a no? Find more information about Tania’s challenge here https://www.givengain.com/project/tania-raising-funds-for-2-causes-122154.