During December 2018, following the 16 days of Activism, mountaineers Saray Khumalo and Marlette Hegyi will be taking on the South African 9 Peaks Challenge.

The 9 peaks Challenge entails completing the nine highest peaks across South Africa’s nine provinces in the shortest amount of time. There is currently no record for females taking on the challenge, and the current pair record stands at 4 days, 18 hours and 1 minute, according to the 9 Peaks Challenge website: http://ninepeaks.co.za/fkts.html.

Saray and Marlette are challenging the 9 Peaks women’s group record in South Africa, which has never been done before, as well as the pair record. As part of the challenge, the team will need to self-drive to and from all the 9 peaks within the stipulated time and climb the peaks in all nine provinces, and will be tracked from start to finish. The start date for the team is midnight, 11 December 2018.

The peaks are as follows:

Iron Crown 2 126m, Limpopo

De Berg 2 331m, Mpumalanga

Seweweekspoort Peak 2 325m, Western Cape

Nooitgedacht 1 816m, North West

Mafadi 3 451m, Kwazulu-Natal

Toringkop 1 913m, Gauteng

Kwaduma 3 019m, Eastern Cape

Namahadi 3 291m, Free State

Murch Point 2 156m, Northern Cape

On the day that the team climbs Mafadi, they will climb with the women from Kwazulu-Natal who are earmarked to undergo training as part of the bigger project. The goal is to create guiding jobs for rural women and youths, raise awareness of climbing and tourism opportunities locally, and to encourage mass participation in trekking and climbing. This is all part of the Climbing with a Purpose initiative, which aims to make a difference in our communities.

Saray Khumalo

· Award-winning mountaineer and speaker

· Mandela Libraries ambassador


Mountaineering expeditions include:
· South Summit of Everest – currently holding the record for the highest altitude climb for Black African females

· Kilimanjaro

· Elbrus

· Aconcagua

www.saraykhumalo.net

www.expeditionsist.org

FB: Summitswithapurpose

Twt: @Ubuntueverest


Marlette Hegyi

· Mountaineer and professional speaker


Mountaineering expeditions include:
· Kilimanjaro

· Elbrus

· Denali

· Aconcagua

· Everest attempt during the 2015 avalanche and earthquake

www.mollyandthemountains.co.za