Mount Kenya

From Saturday 11th to Wednesday 15th June I was on Mt. Kenya. I climbed 4985m in 5 days and came down again. There were some organisational and communication problems with my guide, and this for 5 days. But I want to reach the top.

Saturday 11 June: although at 8:30 am I am already in Nairobi, I reach Mt. Kenya at 6 pm. The entrance of the park lies at an altitude of 2800m, I need to climb 500 m to reach Camp Old Moses. I am really tired when we reach the camp at 9pm. But the first track has finished well.

Sunday 12 June: at 7:20am we leave for a track that should take between 7 or 8 hours. I walk slowly, compared to other people. But I enjoy the scenery. And at 13:20 I have reached Shipton’s Camp, at 4200 m. There is enough time left to explore the surroundings. At 4pm follows another acclimatisation walk: climbing up 300m, watch the camp site from this hight and than walking down again. And in the evening it is time to mingle with the teachers of the school group staying in this camp.

Monday 13 June: as I fear that I will be sensitive at this height, I have plan a whole acclimatisation day. This means: sleeping out, a track of about 400 m to climb and than going down. The scenery is beautiful, it seems to come out of an animation film. I enjoy en relax.




Tuesday 14 June: Today I need to reach the top before sunrise. This means we need to start walking at 3am. The walk is ok, especially because my porter is with me and regularly he gives me a cup of hot thee. It is -15°C. Only the last part is a bit of a hell: this is not walking but real mountain climbing. I need to pass some rocks. It goes very pole pole, but at 6:20am I have conquered the last rock: Point Lenana, 4985 meter. I am at the top. The sun rises. Wonderful.

Going down is more stressful than I thought: I am walking down with trembling knees. I don’t like it. At 9:30 I am back in Shipton’s Camp. After breakfast I take a nap for one hour and than we walk down further to Old Moses Camp. It is about 5pm when we reach the camp, we are dripping because it has been raining very hard. Also the schoolkids are there, dripping.

Wednesday 15 June: at 7:30 we leave for the last walk, back to the basis. With the sunlight I realise how dangerous the First day has been: now I see the holes in the street. At about noon we reach Nanyuki, where the climb started. I am glad to be back in the civilised world with toilets and clean sheets and a shower with hot streaming water. But this is an unforgettable adventure, worth these privations.