Is Table Mountain safe in strong winds?
I was very surprised to hear someone state that “Table Mountain is closed today” As a statement it just did not make sense. How can a National Park with free entry and no fences ever be closed? On further investigation I realised that the cable car had closed due to strong winds. Ah hah, that explains it!
The cable car does indeed close when the wind reaches 35km+ speeds. Apparently this is not for safety reasons but for comfort. I can well imagine that one does not feel over safe in a small circular container 1000m above the ground swinging merrily in gale force wind! However, there is absolutely no reason not to hike in strong winds. In fact many areas of the mountain could well be totally sheltered, you just need someone to tell you where to go.
The South East cloud on Table Mountain
