UKC

Because of the weak pound a trip to the Alps is going be outrageously expensive this summer.

I’ve been thinking of more exciting places, where I could spend ten weeks for the same money or less. I’m considering going to Mount Kenya instead.

I’ve been doing a spot of goggling to no avail.

Could anyone who’s has been there give me some beta please?

• How warm is it? Will I be ok with a cheap synthetic bag for the valley and lightweight down bag for any bivis?

• How do you get from Nairobi – I assume this is the best place to fly to? – without hireling a car?

• Are there wet or dry glaciers?

• I assume plastic will be far too warm? Will I be ok with Trango S boots or is a stiffer boot like the Trango Extreme a better bet?

• Where is a good cheap place to stay? A tent? Or are there cheap bunkhouses/huts?

• Is there any good rock climbing nearby?

• I assume a set of nuts, a load of slings and krabs, plus a few Friend will be more than ample for most routes?

• Can you get screw top gas? Or is a petrol stove a better bet?

• Are double ropes a good idea? I understand a lot of the routes have fixed abseil descents. Are they rigged for 50s or 60s?

• I got the impression that most routes are mainly rock. Will I be ok with a pair of crampons each and pair of light axes like BD venoms, split between two climbers, for most things?

• Can the climbing on most routes be done up and down in a day?

• Will I be warm enough in a pair of stretchy trousers, thermal top, thin fleece and wind shirt. With buffalo Mitts and a light duvet jacket as extras?

• Is the weather stable? Or will I need waterproof clothing?

• Is it worth taking a pair of proper tools and half a dozen screws on the off chance that the Diamond Couloirs is in?

• Is there any other ice or mixed routes that require two axes?

• Can you recommend a good map and guide book?

Any other tips and hints would be gratefully received.

Cheers,

TCR

In reply to the cassin ridge:

• How warm is it? Will I be ok with a cheap synthetic bag for the valley and lightweight down bag for any bivis?

-7 synthenic was warm enough on mt kenya

• How do you get from Nairobi – I assume this is the best place to fly to? – without hireling a car?

high speed peugeot to either chogoria or naro moru


• Are there wet or dry glaciers?

dry

In reply to the cassin ridge:

• I assume plastic will be far too warm? Will I be ok with Trango S boots or is a stiffer boot like the Trango Extreme a better bet?

i wore scarpa sl's which were great

In reply to the cassin ridge:

• Can you get screw top gas? Or is a petrol stove a better bet?

either , gas is available but petrol stove is probably better

In reply to lost1977:

• Are double ropes a good idea? I understand a lot of the routes have fixed abseil descents. Are they rigged for 50s or 60s?

double ropes are a good idea (i think we used 60's)

In reply to lost1977:

They are just ordinary walking boots right?

In reply to the cassin ridge:

• Will I be warm enough in a pair of stretchy trousers, thermal top, thin fleece and wind shirt. With buffalo Mitts and a light duvet jacket as extras?

(With buffalo Mitts and a light duvet jacket) probably wouldn't bother


• Is the weather stable? Or will I need waterproof clothing?

waterproof clothing advised i have experienced every weather type possible in less than a hour up there

In reply to the cassin ridge:
A search on here will produce beta.
V seasonal north/south mountain. I've only been to the N side; if you go UK summer, you'll want the S side. It gets seriously cold: instant frost on outside of the tent as soon as sun goes down. Plan for minus 20 if you are thinking of bivvying on the summit. I found a Rab Summit 900 not too warm.
Bus -- if you dare!
Dry when we were there in summer on N side.
It's warm in the sun and comfort is important for the fairly long walk in. We climbed in fairly stiff boots on Nelion VN: one pitch of UK 4a, several of VDiff. Crampon capability essential if you are crossing glaciers and intending traversing Batian-Nelion.
See guidebooks.
You're not a troll: see guidebooks! Basically, it's a (set of) peak(s) of generally excellent igneous rock with some good shorter routes on subsidiary peaks.
Alpine rack for normal routes. Don't forget, you'll probably be bivvying, so you'll want to cut weight and time to a minimum.
MSR
This has been discussed on another thread recently, but we took doubles. The descent of Nelion was bolted about 10 years ago.
Single axe unless you are planning on an ice route.
Not unless you know the mountain well.
Plan for cool alps.
Poured with rain a lot of the time we were there.
Check MCK website for current state of the DC.
Yes, see guidebook.
There's a comprehensive MCK guidebook (by ?Howells -- haven't got it to hand), Andy Wielochowski did a v useful map/topo. Avoid the American guidebook: describes Nelion VN in about 20 pitches but this is completely the wrong approach. It's an alpine route that needs to be climbed alpine style.

HTH

In reply to the cassin ridge: If you're interested in saving money, be aware that you have to pay a substantial daily fee in US dollars just to be in the Mount Kenya national park. There are no facilities for buying food within the park, so for a ten week trip you would have to hire porters to carry food in - you would not be able to carry it all in yourself.

In reply to John2:
There was a film on one of the FIVE channels yesterday called The Ascent, it was based on a true story called No Picnic on Mt Kenya about an Italian team that escaped from a UK POW camp to climb Mt Kenya and place the Italian flag on top.
It was heavily dramatised with Ben Cross playing the camp commander who also wanted to climb the mountain (not true) but showed some good footage actuslly shot on Mt Kenya.

In reply to Al Evans:

Was it The Ascent which had people rather implausibly doing tyroleans on Mt Kenya?!! Or perhaps it was another film of the same book.

To the OP:
There are a couple of inspiring coffee-table books in addition to the guidebooks:
Mt Kenya by John Reader good photos and narrative of ascending Nelion VN.
On God's Mountain by Mohamed Amin et al. has excellent photos, as one would expect from Amin, and good text.

In reply to Solaris: It is the one with the implausible tyroleans, who set up the other side of it, I did say it was heavily dramatised But the book itself was interesting, the way they made crampons by beating tin cans into shape, other improvisations. I am sure the book was heavily dramatised too but not as much as many, and as inspirational in its way as the book (not the film) of Seven Years in Tibet.

In reply:

$50 per day per person park fee.

A friend climbed Diamond Buttress about a month ago. He said Diamond Couloir would be in 'mixed conditions'. Email me if you have interest in this route and I could put you in touch.

In reply to TonyM:

That is if you are planning on walking. If you are doing "Technical Mountaineering" then it is $70 for three days including camping fees. I spent 3 weeks on the mountain using this method in 2006. Things may have changed since 2006, but I would imagine they still have a special mountaineer's rate.

Mehmet

In reply to the cassin ridge:

I went in early Jan last year. We got one frost at American Camp. Higher, i.e. around the base of the routes, lakes were partially frozen, as was the waterfall. Nice and warm in the day in the sunshine though.


Taxi or matatu. The latter is much cheaper but also much riskier. We were lucky with drivers but some just don't care and are quite dangerous. We saw one matatu at the side of the road heavily bloodstained, windows smashed in and bodies littering the seats and the ground outside. This slowed down most of the drivers for all of 30 seconds before they were overtaking in the face of oncoming traffic again.


Dry.


I wore my Nepal Extremes which were unnecessarily heavy and rigid really. If you want to do an ice route or traverse between Nelion and Batian what you suggest would be sensible. If you just want to rock climb then a pair of Brashers with strap-on crampons for crossing the glacier would be sufficient.


There are huts, but I don't think they're very conveniently placed. American Camp seemed well placed for us.


These days there's ONLY rock climbing nearby. Rock quality varies between routes, from the second-scariest block I've ever dealt with to perfect solid granite. Mostly I experienced the latter.


Depends on the grade of the route and your ability. But yes, a standard UK rock rack will get you up the popular routes no problem. For less well-travelled ones I'd be inclined to take pegs and a hammer. Up to you.


We took petrol stoves. My partner had been before and didn't even consider the option of trying to buy canisters.


Yes, double ropes are useful. Some descents are equipped, this can be ring bolts or just tat and old pegs. Rigged for 50s IME.


You won't need tech axes. You might not want an axe on the glacier either -- we thought having them was unnecessary.


Yes, the mountains aren't huge. Nelion has quite a nice bivi hut which could allow you to do harder and more time-consuming routes. This is what Ian Howell built it for.


When I was there you would have been fine in those.


We had afternoon thunderstorms, or at least clag, the first few days and our tent got flooded out once. Then the dry season really set in and the weather was perfect. I don't know if this is typical.


Our summer is the wet season on that side i.e. when it's most likely to be in. Some Swedes did it a few months before we were there but I think dry-tooling on the initial pitches is becoming de rigeur. If you really want to do it and can afford to lug the weight (or get an extra porter maybe) then I don't see why not. Success doesn't have to be assured or even likely for it to be worth taking the gear and having a go. Up to you.


A few; I think most are based around the DC area. Look at the guidebook.


Ian Howell's is fine. There's another whose name escapes me and is also useful. I'd only be Googling for you so you'll have to act on your initiative from here on.


We took the short route to and from the mountain, which was nice and we saw some good animals. However, it is apparently the least picturesque route and when I go again I'll take one of the longer paths and enjoy that part more. You could even look at the cost of having a cook in your party who'll stay with you the whole time and serve fried eggs and chapatis when you get down. Being masochistic skinflint misanthropes we took two porters for the carry in and thereafter did our own thing, including the carry out which is the way we like it. It could have been a bit less painful and we would have eaten better but we would probably have been pissed off all the time (we also wouldn't have had the flexibilty to pay a ranger £20 to drive us from the Met Station all the way to a bus stop in Nanuki). Depends what you like.

In reply to Alex C: Oh, and the mountaineers' rate was still in effect last January. Ring or email someone to check -- sure the number can be found online somewhere.

In reply to the cassin ridge:

It should be warm enough as long as its a winter bag. Above 4,000m (Where some of the huts including Shipton's and Austrian are) it goes below zero every night. It also depends if you are planning on camping or staying in the huts. You won't need as warm a sleeping bag in the huts.


There are regular matatus (sp?) that is the usual public transport and takes a few hours to Nanuiki, Naro Maru or Chogoria. They are fairly cheap but can be crowded. If your bags have to go on a seat they will charge you the same price as a person for them.



Dry. The glaciers are fed by frost in the dry season.


If it's any help I was fine with my Nepal Extremes. I wouldn't have wanted a cooler, or less stiff for the climbing, boot. I'm not sure how that compares to the Trangos you mentioned.


For mountaineers the entry fee of $70 for three days includes camping fees. You are technically allowed to camp anywhere you want to on the mountain, but if you camp close to a hut then you will get toilet facilities, people to chat to, a place to be inside etc. You are allowed to spend time in the huts if you are camping. We had one warden try to charge us for the pleasure, but as we'd already been there two weeks we knew what the deal was and refused.

To pay for huts, get a receipt and pay for it at the park gate on the way out. This way you make sure the money goes where it is supposed to.

Some of the smaller huts are free. These tend to be off the main tourist route. The one we stayed in for night was the Leki North Hut. It is what we would call a bothy, and is owned by the Mountaineering Club of Kenya. It is located close to Terere and Sendeyo where there is supposed to be good routes. I don't know if many people have heard of them but they really look inspiring. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mt_kenya_shiptons_camp_with_sendeyo....

The Austrian Hut is located at 4,800m and so is good for acclimatising. It also give good access to Nelion, Point John etc. At that altitude the air temperature is almost always below zero, but things melt in direct sunlight; in the shade puddles freeze again. I think you would get more done if you stayed in the hut as opposed to camp as it gives you a change to escape from the cold to recuperate. The cold really starts to affect your performance after a few weeks.

There is a list of huts here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Mehmet_Karatay/Mountaineering_on_Mount_Ke... The article still needs work I'm afraid.

We mostly camped, but had a small tent. Because of this we planned to leave our bags outside the tent under a group shelter like we usually do in the UK. Hyenas tried to steal our bags (with 2 weeks worth of food) at about 3000m. After this, we always camped close to huts so we could leave our bags in the huts.


There are load of small peaks where you can do shorter multipitch routes around the mountain. There is some climbing up The Temple on chogoria route which Planet Fear did an article on. The climbing in Hell's Gate national park (which is easy to get to from Nairobi) is supposed to have good climbing.


That sounds about right to me, for most routes. We wished we had more slings as we were often crossing steep broken ground with lots of spikes. Remember to take prussicks and abseil tat.


We used petrol. If you are getting resupplied by porters, they will probably find it easier to bring you petrol than chase down screw top gas. Petrol worked fine but meant we had to cook in the huts or out side. With normal gas canisters I'm perfectly happy to cook in the tent.


We found double ropes useful. As far as I know, there is only one fixed (bolted) abseil descent. This is off Nelion. All the other peaks have abseil stations that are just a load of tat. Double ropes are useful for the climbing and mean you get off the peak sooner. We had some problems with stuck ropes due to the broken nature of the ground sometimes.


For most things, I think this sounds fine. We didn't summit one day because we left our axes and crampons after the glacier crossing. We later found a well frozen snow gully where even an axe would have meant we could carry on. We tried to climb the rock, but a snow storm started. This was frustrating because we were one pitch away from an easy scramble to the summit of Pt John.

to be continued... (I was told the post is too long!)

In reply to the cassin ridge:


Going up and down Nelion via the Normal route is usually done in a day. If you want to go across to Batian, I believe the standard is two days. The North Face Standard Route up Batian is usually done in two days, but I have herd of it being done in one. I think most other routes up the two main peaks need two days at least.

There are however a ton of minor peaks surrounding Batian and Nelion which give interesting alpine climbs. Most of these can be done easily in a day.



I would add some thermal leggings to that and an extra thin fleece. It can cold up there. What you mention should be okay when you're on the climbs, but you have to remember the evenings as well. If you're not on the mountain for long you can just accept being a bit chilly for a few days. This approach does not work as well if you are planning on spending weeks on the mountain.


There is a summary of what to expect here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Mehmet_Karatay/Climate_of_Mount_Kenya

Take waterproof clothing. In the dry season the weather is usually very predictable, but still damp. We had two very heavy storms in our three weeks on the mountain. However, because of the weather system, there is drizzle most days. Each day starts, and ends, clear but during the middle of the day the clouds over. This doesn't tend to affect the climbing, but you have to get used to doing things in the mist. It's usually cloudy by 10am, (4 hours after first light) and it clears up between 2 and 4pm. It gets dark a 6pm. Being on the equator, over the course of a year there is a half hour variation on the amount of daylight.

The cloud comes in and moves off very quickly. This is a photo of us walking into our route: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/gemma.mehmet/Africa2006#5061422655463692738 Here is a photo of our route an hour and a bit later just as we were about to start climbing: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/gemma.mehmet/Africa2006#5061422655463692770


I others are better placed to answer this.


Again, I think others (or a guide book) are better placed to answer this.


This is the map you want: http://www.stanfords.co.uk/stock/mount-kenya-9560/ This has a 1:50,000 map of the entire mountain except part of the forest. There is a 1:25,000 section of the main peaks. It uses 50m contours and like Norwegian maps does not mark crags on the 1:50,000. If the contours touch then it is almost certainly a crag. Crags are marked on the 1:25,000 section.

The guide book you want is Ian Allan's. It is very good. There are other guidebooks out there which describe the climbing routes, but they are not really aimed at climbers. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guide-Mount-Kenya-Kilimanjaro-Allan/dp/9966985603/ It is from was last updated in 1991, so some of the information has changed. The MCK website has a few updates.

The MCK meet every Tuesday evening in Nairobi at their club house. There are directions on their webpage. We found them very welcoming and full of useful and up to date advice. It is well worth planning your time in Nairobi to include a visit to the club. They will give you better information than anyone on here. The club house also has a modest bouldering wall.

As for other information: we found porters very easy to oraganise once we manged to stop everybody hassling us. We sorted this out in Nanyuki the day before we went up to the mountain. In our case we had the porters bring us a food resupply halfway through our time on the mountain. We paid half their fee when we got the food and tipped them at the standard rate; I can't remember what this is now. There were a number of guide offices in Nanyuki who could arrange porters but some seemed to take the welfare of their porters more seriously than others.

Because we were on the mountain carrying our own bags we spent a lot of time talking with the local guides, porters etc. One day when we only had a day bag low down we looked like any other tourist and everybody we were used to chatting with blanked us all day. It was really unexpected and surprising.

There isn't much climbing gear available on the mountain so many of the guides and other local climbers are keen to buy whatever equipment you have with you. If you donate any equipment at the park gate, then you can ask for it to go to the mountain rescue service. Just be prepared for people asking for your gear whether you're willing to sell it or not.

Finally, there is some excellent hillwalking lower down on the mountain so make sure you take the time to explore the other places if you are going to be on the mountain for a long time. The break from the cold for a few days can be very welcome. It's a nice feeling when you take your fleece off for the first time in weeks.

I hope all this is useful. Thank you for giving detailed questions. It made it much easier to give advice. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

I hope you decide to go. It really is worth it.

Mehmet

p.s. I appologise for any typos or grammar inconsistencies. I didn't have time to re-read everything I wrote.

I went to Mt Kenya about 25 years ago and found out most of this stuff when I got there... it's not difficult.
When we went my mate made a detailed sports plan for two weeks on the mountain, two climbs on the main peak, route on P t John etc. After our first attempt we actually went out to Mombasa for a rest; we then came back, did Batian and Nelion and then buggered off to do some other stuff elsewhere. It is 15,000ft at the base hut, once you have done the big climb you may well feel the same.
There is very good low-level rock-climbing in Hell's Gate, near Naivasha, altho the access situation may havechanged

No Picnic on Mount Kenya is a wonderful book, a real inspiration, shame if they've made a sh"t film of it.

In reply to Alex C:

We wondered about that when we were beginning to feel the altitude high on Nelion having crossed the Lewis glacier at dawn. However, when we were descending, we saw someone slip off the glacier into the lake at the snout. "It's said that after three days, the body will rise" is what we were told... They hadn't been carrying an axe.
And if the OP wants to traverse to Batian and back, axes are essential.


It'd be interesting to know what proportion of people who do the normal route on Nelion (unguided) manage up and down in a day. Well done if you did.

The route finding is not always obvious -- even for those with plenty of alpine experience -- and even if you move together most of the time, you'll almost certainly pitch some of it. At a guess, the total climbing must cover about 2000'. We made a bad route finding error just above Baillie's Bivi which cost us an hour; I think the whole route took us about 8 hours. The Poles who had set out at the same time as us arrived at Howells's hut 3 hours later.

I wouldn't want to be looking for the ab anchors in the dark, and a forced bivi would be rather cold...

And watching the sun set from the summit was unforgettable.

In reply to Solaris:

Sorry, I was of the impression that most people did Nelion in a day, but tended to need the hut if they included Batian. We decided to ditch Batian in order to save on carrying bivi gear (I wish we'd done Batian now). I didn't want to mislead anyone, and wasn't willy-waving, honest!

I agree route-finding would probably be the key. We sussed the route on the lower wall while acclimitising. There was some uncertainty above Bailie's Bivi but fortunately we found our way very quickly; having looked at pics online we knew what the next hard (relatively) pitch should look like, then we found some bolts.

Trying to find the bolted abseils was our main routefinding obstacle in the end, and we lost some gear climbing back up to free the rope from Mackinder's Chimney -- it would be much easier to do one (two at the most) 50m ab straight down from Bailie's Bivi and be on the ground and ignore the bolts. Above that the bolts were very useful.

In reply to Alex C:

Ah, the joys of online beta... Wasn't around when we did it!

In reply to Solaris:

Bolted abseils!!?? They weren't around when we did it!!
The abseils were an issue... the first trip we took double ropes and exhausted ourselves with double abseils and then the ropes getting stuck. The second time we just took one 55m rope, did short abs and then downclimbed and scrambled the rest.

In reply to Richard Baynes:

Put in in 1998 by Rusty Baillie who was finishing the job off with some students when we were. Wonderfully gnarled, old man of the sea looks.

In reply to Solaris: When I was there for 3 months I joined the Mountain Club of Kenya and met the local greats... Ian Howells? but also Joe Brown and Mo Antoine when they were there on a lecture tour. Antoine spent the whole evening scronging Sportsman cigarettes off me...

In reply to Richard Baynes:

Thanks all.

Are thyere lots of other mountains outside the National Park? Otherwise $70 per three days is going to make an expensive trip.

In reply to the cassin ridge:
Nelion and Batian have smaller, satellite peaks that are good in their own right and the easier ones are useful for acclimatisation. There's also some good rock climbing at Hell's Gate and at Poi (gnarly, Pat Littlejohn territory). A search on here will turn up quite a lot of info, but I'd also suggest you do some googling, visit the MCK site, or visit your local library or your nearest good climbing shop. Mt Kenya is a wonderful mountain and the economy is well-worth supporting.

You don't have a profile, so forgive me if this is a redundant comment, but having some alpine experience and being able to lead HS in big boots with a sac of bivi gear will make a big difference.

In reply to Richard Baynes:



Fantastic book, absolutely awful film. The latter bears little resemblance to the actual story!

N

In reply to the cassin ridge:
I can't remember when I was there anymore..possibly late april? but I found it bloody cold in 700gm mummy bag in the hut, might have been altitude partly though. Didn't climb back then but enquired, there were people Guiding the rock earlier in the season but had gone by the time I was around. Wore leather Hiking boots.
Transport from Nairobi is easy along as as safety isn't an issue as locals can't afford cars.
We went by station wagon from a downtown stop the seats had been ripped out and wooden benches installed so as to cram an extra row in

In reply to the cassin ridge: I would have thought a week max on the mountain will be enough to summit and maybe do a wee rock climb... Don't know how long you've got, but one trip up the mountain, summit and back down would be more than enough for me before I would want to get some R&R in...the climbing at Naivasha is worth a few days probably, and there is lots of other rock which the MCK can fill you in on...

In reply to Richard Baynes:
We were there during an El Nino year and the poor weather meant we were very grateful to have 2 weeks -- less and we wouldn't have been able to climb the mountain.

If you schedule 2 days to walk in, one to walk out, and reckon on 3 days for the summit up and down (i.e. walk up to, say, Top Hut; climb the peak; descend), that doesn't leave much time for acclimatisation routes and sitting out bad weather.

I know some MCK people based in Nairobi treat Mt Kenya as doable in a (long) weekend but they are acclimatised and so can walk in much quicker.

In reply to Solaris:

Seen this yet? (Just came up in my RSS reader!)

http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/speed_ascent_of_mount_kenya/

'Berg's ascent was witnessed by a shocked crew of local guides, porters and rangers stationed at MacKinder's Hut where he reportedly won a bet of climbing the peak in less than an hour.'

In reply to petestack:
Wow! Not much time to enjoy the view though

In reply to lost1977:

You can easily do it on 1x 50 the fixed ab points on the SE side of Nelion are set up for one rope- obviously you'll get down quicker with 2 but then you've got to carry the extra rope up there in the first place.