Mount Kenya

I am a big fan of writing chronologically, but this time I'll make an exception: I'll start with our adventures of the last week, when we climbed Mount Kenya. A lot can be said about this trip, however, I can't describe everything that happened and have therefore decided to give my experiences of the trip only. Read Inga's blog to get her story, which is quite different from mine.

Monday morning we started off from Nairobi, us being Ingeborg, her boyfriend Pablo, our good friend Kari and me. Our guide for the trip was George whom we met in Naivasha a few months ago. After sorting out where to stay for the night in Nanyuki, when and where to meet the following morning, and paying for everything, we went to bed. Tuesday morning we drove off from Nanyuki to Sirimon gate, an hours drive away - should be less, but large quantities of rain had turned the last 9 km of the road up to the gate into a gigantic mud slide, going in the wrong direction. Our 4WD got stuck several times, but finally we made it. We started our walk around noon, the first day is a short walk, approx 3 hours only on broad mud roads. Constant rain the first day was boring, but not much can be done about weather issues like that. We arrived Old Moses hut in the afternoon, and our chefs and porters prepared food for us, tea/coffee, popcorn and biscuits to start with, later dinner and fruits. The hut was cold, no need to take of any clothes except boots and jacket before jumping into our sleeping bags.

Wednesday we were woken up at 0615, had our breakfast, packed our things and set off again. No rain that day, but heavy clouds limited our view most of the way. A much longer walk this time, it took us about 8 hours to reach Shipton hut. The landscape was beautiful, but, being a Norwegian, I can't honestly say that it was more stunning than a walk in, say, Ryfylkeheiene. What was amazing was the view of the mountain peaks, completely different from the Norwegian mountains. And knowing that you're 4000 meters above sea level also adds a thrill to it all.

Thursday morning we were woken up at 0300 (!). Kari had got a serious attack of altitude sickness (as mentioned, a lot more can be said about this trip than what I'm telling here) and had to go down immediately, and Inga and Pablo decided to go with her and George the guide. I continued to the top with George's co-guide Wilson. We started walking at 0345 and reached the top, Point Lenana (4985 m above sea level), at 0605. The moon was almost full, meaning there was no need for a torch. Climbing Africa's second highest mountain in moonlight and complete silence was incredible, definitely the highlight of the whole trip. At the top pictures were taken while we watched the sunrise. Amazing. Recommended! From there it was downhill all the was back to Sirimon gate, with stops at Shipton hut for breakfast and lunch at Old Moses hut. I met with the Inga, Pablo and Kari back in Nanyuki, and luckily, Kari had fully recovered as soon as she got to a lower altitude.


To me, the trip was excellent and recommendable, but, understandably, not that great for the rest of my group. So take great care if any of you consider doing the same thing. And another warning also: An agressive, male elephant has made life miserable for several tourists lately, even in the last week while we were there. He is also said to have killed two people, but you shouldn't rely entirely on that information. Anyway, we didn't meet him at all, so he was of no trouble to us.