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Mount Kenya Climb 2022

In September 2022, eight of our bravest volunteers took on the challenge of climbing 4630m to the Lenana Peak of Mount Kenya to raise money for Team Kenya. The group comprised of a mixture of Newcastle and Northumbria University alumni who had all volunteered with us throughout their time at University. The blog below was written by one of our climbers, Ellie, as a reflection on the group’s time on the mountain. This blog tells of the inevitable highs and lows faced when taking on such a climb, and how group spirit and team work was what ultimately carried them all through it.

Day 1:

After a long journey from Newcastle Airport, with changeover in Amsterdam, we arrived in Nairobi. It was late, around 11pm, but we were all fuelled with excitement for the days ahead. However, we quickly ran into our first hurdle. After standing at the bag drop for over half an hour with no sight of 2 of our group’s bags, it began to dawn on us that they hadn’t made it to Kenya – DISASTER! We were supposed to be leaving Nairobi to the base of Mount Kenya tomorrow morning. But of course, there could be no climb without all the essential climb equipment!! 3 hours later and we were all very tired and fed up with the sight of Nairobi airport’s arrival area… but we had a plan. It turns out 2 of our bags had been left in Amsterdam during our change over, so KLM would get them sent out the following day. We had to quickly ring up the climb operators and explain the situation. They were calm and accommodating and said it was no problem, we could simply start the climb a day later. Disaster averted. We were transferred to the Nairobi Crowne Plaza next to the airport where we slept very comfortably in the luxurious hotel rooms.

Day 2:

We woke up on Day 2 praying that the remaining bags would arrive that day. We should have been travelling to Simba Lodge, but now plans had changed, so we had a free day to explore Nairobi. Since we had the safari van with us, our lovely driver Jeff offered to take us to a local giraffe sanctuary where we hand- fed and petted some impressive giraffes. It was amazing to be in such close contact with these animals, plus we escaped with only one of our team receiving a giraffe headbutt – pretty good going!

Driving around Nairobi was a whole experience in itself, we were able to see so much without even leaving the car. This would be a common theme with our many hours spent in the van over the course of our trip, it ended up being a great way to observe different parts of Kenya. After receiving happy news of the bags’ arrival, we spent the evening relaxing in the hotel, eating a meal and having drinks at the rooftop pool and bar… not quite how we’d pictured our first night, but we weren’t complaining!

Day 3:

With all luggage secured, we woke up and enjoyed a big hotel breakfast before piling into the van with Jeff and setting off for Simba Lodge. Having all 8 of us, plus 2 weeks’ worth of luggage and climb equipment was a squeeze to say the least! Luckily, Francis our climb operator, said we could drop some of our non-climb related luggage at his house just outside of Nairobi to free up some room for the rest of the journey and to save us taking anything unnecessary up the mountain. We then continued our drive for another 2 hours to reach Simba Lodge, which quickly passed with lots of excited chatter and pointing interesting sights out the window. When we arrived at Simba Lodge, we dumped our bags into our rooms which were a bit of a change from the luxury of the Crowne Plaza. In hindsight, knowing Simba Lodge would be my final warm shower of the trip I would have appreciated it much more! We were welcomed with a drink and dinner and then were met by Duncan, who would be our main guide taking us up Mount Kenya. He gave us some last-minute advice and information about the climb and let us ask lots of questions. He quickly put any anxieties we had to bed with his impressive knowledge and experience. It was then time for a good night’s rest before the real journey began.

Day 4:

We woke up to a glorious morning of Kenyan sun. We quickly had some breakfast and were waiting outside in our first day of climb gear, with all rucksacks packed and ready to go. While for most things, we were able to share our equipment between us to cover any missing items, Molly had forgotten her waterproof trousers so did a last-minute dash to a local walking shop to grab some waterproofs. This turned out to be essential. We jumped back into the van and did a short, uphill drive to the Sirimon Gate where our climb would begin at an altitude of 2650m. Here we were met with a delicious, cooked meal for lunch and our team of wonderful mountain guides and porters – oh, and some baboons!! After a few photographs, we began our ascent on the Sirimon Route. It was a beautiful day and after only half an hour of walking the views over the Kenyan countryside were already stunning.

The group was full of excitement, energy, and optimism. Our first day of walking was pretty straightforward, it only took around 4 hours and the whole walk was paved, so our bags were driven up ahead of us and we stomped on over fairly easy terrain. We arrived at the Old Moses camp at 3,300m around 4pm. We filled our water bottles from the outdoor stream and dumped our bags into our bunk room. We were very lucky with our first night at camp, we had a whole bunk room for solely our group with space to spare. From above the clouds, we sat on the rocks outside the camp and watched the sun set with hot cups of tea in our hands. A pretty magical moment.

The altitude had made a couple of us feel a little queasy, but this was quickly resolved after a couple hours of rest. It had also become very cold once the sun had gone down, so we wrapped up warm in our thermals for the night. Our cook Daniel made us a delicious 3-course meal and we played some card games before heading to bed.

Day 5:

Our second day of walking started bright and early, so we could ensure we reached the next camp before sundown. Daniel made us a huge breakfast to fuel the 8-hour day of walking ahead. We set off around 7.30am, walking over steep grassy terrain. There were some interesting plants and flowers to see on the way, including a beautiful neon orange flower which our guides were able to immediately identify as the ‘Red Hot Poker’. A very appropriate name for the burst of orange and red amongst the heather and shrub!

The first half of the day involved a mixture of steep uphill and downhill, challenging us physically as we climbed higher. Our porters had run quickly ahead of us, making the whole thing seem painfully easy, and after taking a break to look down through the beautiful Mackinder valley, we rounded the corner to find a whole banquet laid out for our lunch. We had fish, curry and chapati, as well as hot tea and bananas for dessert. We sat and enjoyed the stunning views while we ate. I could have easily stayed there all day… but the climb had to go on.

The porters gathered their things and raced off into the distance once more, while we treaded slowly behind with our guides. They reminded us to take it “polepole” (slowly in Swahili) as we walked, ensuring we were adjusting to the extreme change in altitude. Our guides Duncan, John and Patrick instantly became part of the group, being quizzed on Kenyan culture, food, and countryside while we taught them some niche Yorkshire phrases… mush! We spotted lots of interesting birds on the way, as well as meeting a few local hyrax which are small, furry, round animals, somewhat resembling a giant guinea pig. Very cute!

The air had gradually begun to feel thinner, requiring more frequent breaks to catch our breath. After a challenging, uphill afternoon we eventually saw our next camp in the distance. By this time, the beautiful Kenyan sun had disappeared, and suddenly big black clouds threatened the sky above us. We didn’t quite make it to camp in time to escape the rain and so spent the final half an hour running through torrential rain in our waterproofs. It’s no climb without getting soaked!! We finally arrived at the Shipton Camp at 4200m above sea level. We were exhausted, soaked and definitely feeling the altitude by this point. The Shipton Camp wasn’t quite the same experience as the previous camp, with all of us bunking in the main room with many other hikers who were experiencing the same physical and mental struggles as we were. We quickly got changed into something warm and dry and huddled around the electric heater. The altitude and long day of walking had made some of us quite nauseous and given us pounding heads. The evening was spent napping for half the group, while the other half quickly ate and discussed who was going to attempt the summit. With two of us feeling quite unwell from the altitude, it was decided just 6 of us would attempt the 2am wake-up to reach the summit. I was unsure if I was going to make it myself. I went to bed wrapped up tight with my alarm set but was not feeling too hopeful.

Day 6 – Summit day:

Amazingly, after a few hours of rest, I had acclimatised enough and felt I could give it a try, so I joined the other 5 in pulling on our many layers of climbing gear to begin the midnight walk. The temperatures at that height were way below freezing meaning the terrain was snowy and icy, plus it was pitch black, so we began our walk with headtorches on, surrounded by darkness. Feeling increasingly lightheaded and queasy from the altitude made the final walk to the summit the most challenging by far. The darkness and slippery terrain meant we were left with no sense of direction, and the fear that a sudden drop could be directly next to our path. However, our guides were absolutely amazing, and helped to drag us through the final stage. I say drag literally – I undoubtedly would not have made it to the top without John’s hand pulling me along. We walked at a very slow pace, having to stop every few minutes to catch our breath. A couple of our members were unwell on the final stretch but managed to push themselves to the top with our guides’ encouragement. They were leaving no one behind. About half an hour from the summit, we turned around to watch the most beautiful, magical sunrise of our lives. With the clouds miles below us, the view was like nothing else any of us had ever experienced. It was beyond words.

This stunning moment gave us the final push we needed to reach the summit, finishing off with a steep scramble, using the world’s highest via ferrata, and a final clamber up a short steel ladder. And then, we were there. We had summitted the Lenana Peak of Mount Kenya at 4985m. The feeling of reaching the top was incredible – a mixture of pride, relief, pure joy, and exhaustion which led to us all to having a few tears. We hugged our guides, and I cannot even express the gratitude I felt, and still do feel, for their help in getting us up there. We enjoyed the spectacular view of the Gorges and Mackinder Valleys, and the surrounding peaks of Nelion and Batiam. These peaks are higher, and only suitable for experienced, and extremely brave, climbers. We took some photos and sat down for about half an hour before beginning our descent.

The descent from the summit felt long and was difficult to navigate over the steep scree. Some of the group found the adrenaline and joy from reaching the summit helped propel them quickly back down to Shipton’s camp. I, however, was much slower, with my entire body aching from the climb and feeling desperate to get back into bed. Eventually we reached the camp again and were met with hugs from the rest of the group who had stayed behind, shortly followed by a breakfast of champions supplied by Daniel. After eating, we headed to bed for a couple hours of sleep before beginning the descent back to Old Moses camp.

The second descent was long, another 7 hours walk back the way we came to the Old Moses camp. We managed to rally together as a group and keep morale up, telling stories of the summit and chatting to our guides. About an hour from camp, the heavens opened and so we trudged the final stretch of walking quickly through the mud. It was definitely a relief seeing Old Moses appear over the final hill crest. We arrived at camp to find it extremely busy and muddy with wet boots from other walkers. But so long as we had a bed it didn’t matter. Dinner was quick, we all crashed – quite right after having walked for over 13 hours that day.

Day 7:

We woke up on our final day on the mountain to more torrential rain. Since the remaining descent was all on road, Duncan offered to drive those who wanted it a lift back to the final gate. I quickly accepted the offer. We were served our final breakfast from the wonderful Daniel and then packed our bags and set off, half the group on foot, half crammed into Duncan’s car with all the climb equipment. And before we knew it, we were back at the Sirimon Gate where we had begun just 3 days earlier. It felt like a lifetime ago. We said an emotional goodbye to our guides and porters, who had become great friends. They could not have looked after us better, so we promised we would see them again, perhaps on Mount Kilimanjaro… but we were a little too tired to think much about another climb just then. With Jeff’s help, we managed to squeeze all of our things back into the safari van, and we clambered in, wet and smelly, ready for the next part of our adventure in Ndiwha… and a shower!

We would like to thank everyone who donated to Team Kenya through our climb fundraisers. We managed to raise over £10,000 for the community in Ndiwha which will make a huge impact. Thank you all for your generosity.

We would also like to thank our corporate sponsors, especially those at Spot White. Without your support, this climb would not have been possible.