It was 2.30am and I could see my breath in the cold air as I struggled to put on thermals in the warmth of my sleeping bag. It was summit day and everyone was nervous, not least because there were a couple of extra guides in case some of us didn't make it. Outside it was pitch black except for a tiny necklace of lights, the head torches of another group in the far distance. We started walking at the speed of the slowest in our group as a cruel wind whipped around us.
We had begun our ascent of Mount Kenya, the country's highest mountain, and second highest in Africa (after Kilimanjaro, about 250 miles/400km south), four days before. There are a few classic routes, but we were following the little-used Burguret trail and would return on the Sirimon route. For two days our porters had been hacking back the overgrowth. Added to the huge amount of kit carried by our 27 porters, cooks and guides for 11 of us, were chainsaws and machetes.
Mount Kenya is an extinct volcano, where glaciers have tumbled over the ancient lava and the peaks are snow capped. The two highest peaks, Batian (17,057ft/5,199m) and Nelion (17,021ft/5,188m), are almost vertical in parts and are classed as technical climbs. Batian was first climbed by Sir Halford Mackinder, an Englishman, in 1899. Our goal was Point Lenana at 16,350ft (4,985m).
Read more: The Telegraph Travel
I definitely wanted to write a simple note to express gratitude to you for these fabulous strategies you are giving on this site. My extended internet look up has at the end been honored with useful know-how to exchange with my family. I would claim that we readers actually are quite blessed to dwell in a remarkable place with many awesome professionals with very beneficial tactics. I feel pretty privileged to have discovered your entire web page and look forward to really more cool moments reading here. Thank you once more for all the details.
ReplyDeleteIncome Tax Return Folder - Client Copy