A helmet, a harness and rock climbing shoes!

Mt. Kenya Batian attempt (I)

I didn’t come this far to only come this far! I kept telling myself over and over these past weeks. A post by a friend with photos at 5,199m asl prompted me to immediately take the leap! Phone contacts were exchanged and I dug deeper onto what had been holding me back for this long! When is one ready to climb Batian anyway? This question had been lingering on my mind for the past one year.

7 summits at Point Lenana in 9 months may not be it, neither 1 outdoor rock climbing at Lukenya Hills is a ticket for a go ahead! Add 8 indoor rock climbing classes at CampBlueSky in Nairobi Kenya with Sam – who by the way, is a very good instructor and never let’s go of the rope until you sweat it out! My NY friend Nancy introduced me to this sport 5 years ago at The Cliffs at LIC and I never looked back. Most avid rock climbers, like Nancy have a good story to tell about their hands – fingers, a reason to keep that lotion at bay all the time.

Simon, a technical guide on Mount Kenya listened to me and was ready to grant my wish where we set the dates and this was followed by a list of what was required. At least 2 nights at Shiptons Camp was one of them. This was the scary bit as I had never imagined myself sleeping on the Mountain, neither the cabins nor pitching tents outside, but I had to come to this realization sooner than later. It also meant a long drive from Nairobi, something I do not quite enjoy, however it was the only convenient way given the amount of luggage I had to carry including picking the crew from Nanyuki.

Wednesday, August 24, I met the crew – Charles (CK), Justo, Marsh-a (an avid climber too!), Chef Simon and the big boss for the mission Guide Simon (Kinyanjui)! When shopping for supplies – it needs to include the whole crew for the number of days you are on the mountain. The Chef shared the items and I was comfortable to shop myself. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) charges at Sirimon Gate included a 4-days package + the car based on a 24-hours basis. If you clock in at 9.30am for instance, your departure time on day 4 should be before 9.30am. Thereafter, a daily rate applies.

The trek started from Old Moses Camp to Shiptons Camp. I did not have any luggage to carry so I enjoyed the 14km hike. However, I kept imagining how much porters carry for over 14km along Mt. Kenya routes for guests (not exceeding 14kg is the rule), and this can be quite a tedious workout. As this was not a one day dash to Point Lenana, I constantly kept stopping once in a while to take photos of the birds, the rocks, the scenery with Guide Charles who kept cracking lots of jokes given his age and experience in guiding. Day One ended with a sumptuous dinner and I snuggled in my sleeping bag in a bunk bed layered as much.

Day Two, I started with a 40mins strength workout, breakfast was served afterwards and Guide Simon took me out for more abseiling practice together. He told me am still a beginner and he wanted to be sure and comfortable about my experience before the big day. This session also entailed communication and getting to know and trust each other better. Safety is key for any climb, it comes first! One’s health is another important factor, and when climbing, if you do not feel well, say it out immediately. The weather, which none of us can control is a dependent variable. The sun was out during our practice, the sky was clear of clouds, and this is the kind of great weather we all needed for Day Three. What is more important above all things, is to have fun and enjoy the climb! The Sunshine Yellow in me, kept reiterating this in my mind. In the afternoon, I immersed myself in a good non-fictional book – Outliers – The Story of Success! Oh, so you know, there is no phone network coverage at Shiptons Camp. I also had an early dinner and said all my prayers for a great weather – especially for the sun to be out all day!

4.30am on Day Three we were all up! A light breakfast at the camp and by 5am each one with a headlight started our trek to the base at Batian. On our left, we could see the guests who had left 2 hours earlier towards Point Lenana aiming for the sunrise and on a clear day, I understand one can catch a glimpse of Mt. Kilimanjaro! The wonders of nature! A few minutes after 6.30am, Simon, Marsh-a and I were all geared ready to start our Batian Climb! The drill? [Rope Free! This is Cate! Anchor to safety! Climbing up! Climbing down! Safety! Rope down!] One has to also watch each one’s safety as our lives depended on each other. The trad at Batian is very different from what I experienced at Lukenya Hills. The weather was rather cloudy and cold, but we were all hopeful the sun will come out in full for a clear sky. I was so eager to get to Ampitheater to see for myself what I had been imagining for years! You don’t need any ropes here! Just walk watching closely where you are stepping as it has loose rocks and gravel. Little did I know that this would be our lunch stop later during the climb.

Firming tower base was the next climb, my body was responding well, no headache, still strong and both Simon and Marsh-a were pleased with the progress. It was also getting tougher, and those classes with Sam were paying off at these points of difficulty. Right hand up, left hand next, trust your left leg, push your body up, and move your right leg up! At 11.22am, the weather suddenly changed! Knife edge looked so different from what we all expected. There was snow on the rocks, and poor visibility that one could not imagine where we were heading to! The sky looked very gloomy and as much as we all wanted to continue, Simon asked me the question that I tried to avoid all this time. “Cate – do you want us to continue?” Deep down, my heart knew the answer however deep down inside my mind – I was affirmative. Often runners would deviate from the normal route exploring unplanned tracks not thinking about themselves! This was the contrary. We were already over 4 hours since the start of the climb. A battery of thoughts racked my brains while flakes of snow covered my face. After about 30 seconds, I stared at Simon in the face, and sadly told him, “You make the last call Simon.”

We all knew what that meant, despite the good progress made so far, it was time to abseil. Soon after, Simon set the ropes, I shed a tear and Marsh-a sensed what this meant for me. However, our safety is important and given the weather was out of our control, we knew the wise decision made was for our best interest. There will be another chance and when it’s meant to be, I kept singing to myself as a consolation. With clear instructions given to me by the guide the day before on abseiling, I enjoyed this even more. We stopped at Ampitheatre once more for our little lunch break, enjoyed the scenery and continued our climb down. I still had lots to share about my “2nd outdoor climb” knowing that my 2nd Batian attempt will definitely be on South Face where I might just climb both Nellion and Batian legendary summits at the same time! Will you be there?

I want to thank Simon because of his deep climbing experience. I also did not get any injuries and I still used my hiking shoes – Asics Gel Trabuco 9 given the ruggedness on the sole. I carried my climbing shoes too just in case! My backpack contained emergency wear just in case we ran out of time and couldn’t abseil in darkness meaning sleeping up Batian.

Happy to share contacts: Technical Climb Guide - Simon Maina (Kinyanjui) contact: +254 721 973 869