The highest altitude pub in Africa— Sani Mountain Lodge— resides at the top of Sani Mountain Pass, along the border of Lesotho and South Africa. At 9,429 feet (2874m) above sea level, the pub is a bonafide high-alpine refuge.
Despite the high altitude, it's unusual for deep snowfall to accumulate on the pass, but September of 2024 has been anything but usual for Sani Mountain Lodge. See below.
Multiple inches of snow accumulate at Sani Mountain Lodge, Africa's highest pub, on September 20, 2024.
Photo&colon Sani Mountain Escape
Just in case you need a refresher, South Africa is located in the Southern Hemisphere, and recently experienced their Spring Equinox. Meaning, Spring has sprung across southern Africa, but Mother Nature is clearly holding onto winter for at least a little bit longer.
Sani Mountain Escape, the Facebook page that represents the Sani Mountain Lodge and the other activities available on the pass, shared on September 21, 2024 that the Sani Pass Border road would remain closed until further notice. The company cited heavy rain, snow, and ice as the reasons for the extended closure on both the Lesotho and South Africa sides of the pass. As of September 24, the road remains closed.
As mentioned before, the September 20th storm isn't the only one to hit Sani Mountain Lodge this month. The lodge and pub were also buried back on September 10th, 2024. Check out a compilation of images from both storms in the gallery below.
Covering the snowfall at Sani Mountain Lodge is admittedly a bit unusual for us at POWDER Magazine , but the thought of enjoying a cold beer at Africa's highest pub surrounded by fresh spring snowfall was so enticing that we had to write something.
With that said, let's turn our focus to our bread and butter, you know... skiing!
Southern Africa is home to just two ski resorts— Afriski in Lesotho and Tiffindell Ski Resort in the country of South Africa. Both ski resorts are small in size, and depend on snowmaking due to low annual natural snowfall averages.
Afriski, at 10,570 feet (3,222m) above sea level, took to social media on September 21, 2024 to celebrate the fresh snowfall. Their Facebook caption tells you everything you need to know, "The snow gods have blessed Afriski once again – we woke up to a magical winter wonderland this morning and it is still snowing!"
Fresh snow stacks up on an outdoor picnic table at Afriski on September 21, 2024. The ski resort's lone slope can be seen in the background.
Photo&colon Afriski
Afriski had already closed for the season when the spring snowfall arrived on September 20, 2024, but the occasion was worth celebrating nonetheless. The resort guarantees snow from June-August thanks to ample snowmaking along the their lone ski slope, but a storm of this magnitude, especially in late September, is quite surprising.
POWDER has yet to see evidence of any skiers from South Africa or Lesotho scoring fresh powder turns from the storm, but we can certainly hope. It's unlikely that there's a plethora of ski touring gear in the region, but if there's a will there's a way, as they say.
Finally, to wrap up POWDER's coverage of the unprecedented snowstorm across South Africa, let's all enjoy the jaw-dropping sight of lions at the Glen Gariff Conservation in Harrismith, South Africa strutting through the September snow. Don't worry, the snow has since melted, and the GG Conservation has confirmed that the lions are all fine. "Lions are survivors & warriors - they can handle anything that’s thrown at them with dignity & pride," the conservation center said.
Video: Lions in Snow at GG Conservation, South Africa
Lions in Snow, South Africa, GG Conservation (2:20)
Not to be dramatic, but if it's snowing multiple inches in South Africa, don't you think it's time Mother Nature turned on the natural snow here in North America? Just a thought...
Keep it here at POWDER Magazine for all of the skiing news, entertainment, and Gear Reviews you're looking for as the Winter '24/'25 season approaches. It will be here before we know it, and we hope the sight of fresh snow at South Africa's highest pub helps hold you over in the meantime.
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