“He undertook to do his self imposed task between six in the morning, and six in the evening, and finished with an hour and ten minutes to spare. In each ascent he was accompanied by a friend as pacemaker, Mr. E.V. Bentley and Mr. C. Otto sharing this duty, while Mr. G.M. Anderson officiated at the Johannesburg Hotel, which was the starting post and finishing goal from which Mr. Schneeberger had to start and return to each time.”
The Cape Register – Saturday March 13th, 1897
A Legacy
Over a Century in the Making
It began in 1897, when 25-year-old Carl Wilhelm Schneeberger dared to summit Devil’s Peak, Table Mountain, and Lion’s Head, returning to Long Street after each ascent. He completed the challenge in under 11 hours and was awarded a gold medal for his effort. Thirty years later, Sandy Trimble rekindled the spirit of the event, improving Schneeberger’s time and receiving his own medal from Schneeberger himself.
In June 1977, 26-year-old Geoffrey Pitter “came across the reminiscences” of Trimble’s friend, A.B. Berrisford, who had recounted the event in the 1963 Mountain Club of South Africa Journal. He decided that the 50th anniversary should not go unnoticed and on the 25th of September, 1977, 50 years to the day, he commemorated and emulated the feat, completing the three successive climbs in 6 hours and 51 minutes in the process.
The tradition continues…
In September 1997 Don Hartley, an experienced mountain climber and marathon runner – twice the winner of the Two Oceans Marathon in the early 1970s – initiated and organised a 100-year commemoration of Schneeberger’s achievement. Eleven of the thirteen starters completed the ‘inaugural’ Three Peaks Challenge which was won, appropriately, by Hartley. Intended to be a one-off affair, it revived a tradition that has since entrenched itself amongst the toughest physical and mental challenges of its kind.
With its intriguing blend of mountain and city, culture, history and adventure, it has become a truly quintessential Cape Town event.