Breathless nights and four in a bed - must be 'Carry on Climbing Mount Kenya'
on It began in Africa (Kenya), 01/Dec/2011 16:07, 34 days ago
Just a reminder that we are hoping to raise some money for our organisation,KAIH, through our climb of Mount Kenya. It isn't too late tosponsorus! Please email for details of how to donate and thanks to those who have already contributed.For those interested in arranging a mountain trip Mohammed is the guy for the job and you can reach him at mohaclimber@yahoo.com/ 0733 340849/www.mohakinclimbers.comWe made it! Team awesome had a 100% success rate and zero fatalities taking on the summit of Mount Kenya. Boy was it tough though - definitely the most difficult physical challenge I have ever taken on (although admittedly my main exercise goal is to still be able to cut my own toe nails when I'm 80, so I am perhaps not the best measure).Our adventure began with a 4x4 journey up the dirt track to the national park gates, with porters, guides and kit in the back threatening to fly out at every pothole. Here's the team - Amol, me, Eddie, Erin and Heather - looking all clean and keen at the gates:As we set off from our starting point of 2650 metres a steady drizzle set in and I could already feel the altitude a little (yes, I know, I'm a wuss). We headed up along a fairly easy mud track and as we emerged at the top near our first night's accommodation at Old Moses Camp we could have been in Scotland (well, apart from the elephant poo).Old Moses Camp, 3300 metres above sea levelWe arrived mid-afternoon, so plenty of time for drinking hot tea (which may or may not have contained whiskey - we couldn't possibly comment) and attempting some stretches. Doing yoga in a wool hat and mittens on the equator is definitely one of my weirder African experiences.The next morning we woke to find that the rain had really set in but we headed out on our 15km hike with spirits high. These rapidly disintegrated as we discovered that a big chunk of the 15km was through completely waterlogged paths and bogs. Boots that had seemed so confident the day before soon began to seep water, and by lunchtime our clothes were drenched and our feet squelched. Aided by a traditional African fire-lighting technique called "chuck kerosene on wet logs" our guides did manage to get a lunchtime fire going and we had hot soup and a chance to dry out before slogging on to our mountain hut.We climbed steadily all day so by the time we reached our destination we were at 4200 metres above sea level and breathing was requiring proper concentration.Shiptons Camp, 4200 metres above sea levelThe mountain huts we stayed in were very basic, with dorm rooms, no heating and no hot water so arriving with drenched boots was a problem. Our only solution was to drink a lot of hot tea and chocolate and go to bed early, where it was so cold that four of us shared two beds pushed together to keep warm (thanks snuggle-buddies Eddie, Heather and Erin!). That night was the first time in my life I had been out of breath just lying still but luckily we all escaped proper altitude sickness.The next morning we woke to snow on the ground and went on an acclimatisation hike to test out how we were doing. The landscape here is impressive with huge white mountains peeking out from behind the clouds and strange primordial-looking alpine plants. Funny little critters called hyrax hang out here too. Harold the hyraxThe team had a lot of fun making snowmen and snow angels out on our hike, before we headed down to drink yet more hot drinks and try to play cards without taking off our mittens.The best part of the day, though, was when our head guide, Mohammed, arrived with two additional members of our group (Claire and David) and... charcoal!!! This meant dry clothes and damp (rather than sopping wet) boots. Our team of guides, porters and cooks proved themselves to be complete champions during our trip; doing no more than raising an eyebrow at the seemingly endless amounts of tea we drank, telling us soothing lies when needed ("Oh, it is very close now, just a few minutes away") and keeping an uncomplaining spirit flowing. Then came the exciting bit. On the fourth day we were woken up at 2.30am to climb the last section of the mountain using head torches. Pushing ourselves uphill through the dark we were relieved to see bright stars, promising a clear dawn. We emerged onto a plateau as the sun was coming up to some truly breathtaking views (no, really - I couldn't breathe because of the altitude). It was so cold and high I felt light headed, but we still had another big climb to reach the very summit, the last section involving ladders and ropes. Then at the top, at nearly 5000 metres and after four days without washing my hair and wheezing like I had emphysema, Ed proposed!!! Of course I said yes (or probably more like ye-e-e-es through my chattering teeth!). It was a huge surprise to me and in fact about half way back down our climb I started to wonder if I'd hallucinated the whole thing through lack of oxygen! Here we are just after I'd said yes:We were obviously super happy and grinning like maniacs, but with a foot of snow and no feeling in our toes we couldn't hang around to savour the moment, and before long we were headed down - first to Shipton's camp for breakfast, then another 15km back to Old Moses camp where we'd spent our first night. As one of the slower walkers in the group it was a long day for me, with over 12 hours solid walking so we were tired but happy by the time we made it down.On our final morning hot showers and clean clothes were calling but I suddenly felt very sad to be leaving the mountain. Our team of guides, porters, cooks and friends had been such easy people to get along with and the camaraderie had been so much fun that I could have stayed and done it all again (well, after a couple of days at any rate). And of course I will always have some very happy memories of Mount Kenya.A big thank you to Amol, Erin, Heather, David and Claire for being great company, and to Erin and Heather for allowing us to steal their photos - many of which I have "borrowed" here. Huge thanks are also due to Mohammed and his team for a great trip - for those interested in arranging a mountain trip Mohammed is the guy for the job and you can reach him at mohaclimber@yahoo.com/ 0733 340849/ www.mohakinclimbers.com