UKC

I'm in the early stages of planning some traveling in Africa early Aug to late Sept with my girlfriend. In addition to the whole safari, camping aspect i'd like to try and bolt on a climbing exped at one end of the trip. Ideally I want to make it self supported, primarily to cut costs and also for maximum flexibility.

I've read through earlier threads covering routes, companies, guides etc but i'm after some specific advice that might sway some decisions. I'd be looking at the North Face (normal route) on Batian due to time of year.

- would being 100% self supported be a logistical nightmare and would we likely be exhausted before getting to the base of the route?

- at a minimum, what would you recommend paying for? obviously transport up to the park gate, but then porters? guides? cooks? onwards to last camp

- has anyone taken climbing gear as part of a longer trip and stored; a) surplus kit whilst on mt kenya (i.e. stuff for later travels) and b) climbing gear after climbing when traveling on? Or is it hopeless trying to avoid lugging ropes/rack/tents around with me for 6 weeks?

Any advice or tips from self-supported or semi-supported trips would be very helpful.

In reply to OwenF:


I don't want to be overly discouraging but looking at your profile, I wouldn't underestimate the scale and difficulty of the route. I have only done the normal route on the other side of the mountain (which is fantastic) but Batian will be similar in that it'll require competence in route finding and moving together, you'll almost certainly need to carry bivi gear (it can get very cold) and crampons and axe to traverse the Gate of the Mists, and the climbing is up to British 4c (iirc; a bit harder than the SE route). In alpine terms, it'd warrant good D, but one British guide writing in one of the magazines reckoned the SE Normal Route at TD-


No, and No - but it will take time to acclimatise, depending on where you'll have been earlier in your trip.


Yes to all the above except for: porters rather than guides, and cook for yourself.


We just went to Mt Kenay and carried 35+ kgs each for our trip, that included a lot of food, but we bought fresh food in Nanyuki.

It's a wonderful mountain and I hope you have a good time.

In reply to OwenF:

Coupla comments:

I'd be looking at the North Face (normal route) on Batian due to time of year.

Right choice. Been twice (August & December) & made the mistake of trying SF routes on Nelion & Point John in August before switching attention to NF route on Batian

Would being 100% self supported be a logistical nightmare and would we likely be exhausted before getting to the base of the route?

Depends on how young / fit / tough / motivated / desperate you are. Doable if you trim your gear appropriately & are lucky with weather & acclimatisation

At a minimum, what would you recommend paying for? Obviously transport up to the park gate, but then porters? guides? cooks? onwards to last camp.

Personally – you could certainly get away with a porter + cook, but you might struggle to get local outfitters to set you up that way. On our second trip (6 of us climbing) we went mob-handed with a very good cook & re-supplies & spent about 10 days at American Camp (& elsewhere – we were strewn all over the place, bumping into each other every now & again) & it was a very good experience. A bit “Out of Africa” but very enjoyable.

Has anyone taken climbing gear as part of a longer trip and stored; a) surplus kit whilst on Mt Kenya (i.e. stuff for later travels) and b) climbing gear after climbing when traveling on? Or is it hopeless trying to avoid lugging ropes/rack/tents around with me for 6 weeks?

Haven’t done it so can’t say. But I would think a local outfitter would store it for you.

Any advice or tips from self-supported or semi-supported trips would be very helpful.

First time in August we went on the NF Standard route from the hut (no longer there) below & carried bivi gear. A great night out on a spectacular perch, but Day 2 we turned back a couple of pitches from the top. Major hailstorms (no lightning that I recall) around lunch time both days. Second time in August did a few days shorter stuff on Melhuish & Point John Minor & then did SF Route on Nelion from American Camp with very light sacs. Comparison - misery vs. magic. Again, personally, I would not carry bivi gear on the route but go as high as I could in a day & bail.

My tuppennyha’worth. Although different in most ways I thoroughly enjoyed both trips – have a good one!

In reply to OwenF:

Sorry to threadjack but my partner and I plus a couple of friends are planning on going in December if anyone is interested in combining efforts.

In reply to OwenF:

I attempted the north face standard route on Batian in August this year. We retreated half way up because from the amphitheatre upwards the route was very icy. Apparently this was the worst august weather that anyone could remember, but anyway bear in mind it's not guaranteed to be in condition. We carried bivvy gear up with us- we had no illusions that we'd be able to complete the route and the descent in a single day.

We didn't hire a guide but we did hire porters to help us carry our gear in, which isn't too expensive and makes life a lot easier. We just hired porters on spec in Nanyuki, which worked fine, but you could sort it all out in advance. There's no reason why you can't cook for yourself. Obviously if you're not guided you need to be sure you can navigate in, find the route, and navigate your way around during acclimatisation. We had a map but it wasn't great and some of the nav was interesting.

We met with a bit of hostility from guides/porters on the mountain, who were upset that we weren't using guides. The trip was super expensive for us once park fees were taken into account, but you do have to remember that if you don't use local services, people may feel you're being stingy. That said we also met some guides who were very friendly. It's also pretty tough sitting around acclimatising when you know you're paying $50 a day for the privelege.

There's an excellent topo available on line (just google the route) which includes details of all the anchors and the descent; and a reasonable map of the park from Stamfords which also has a topo.

In reply to OwenF:

I'd recommend getting a guide and a porter. One will double as a cook and the guide will probably double as a second porter. It'll make your trip a lot easier and more enjoyable with more time to take in the view and take photos. Not carrying loads of gear means you wont suffer as much from the heat on the lower flanks and will likely feel better as you acclimatise. Visibility can be pretty rubbish up there so another plus point for having a guide. In fact the weather can be completely unpredictable. Take a good sleeping bag and lots of warm layers.

For my trip a few years ago (was planning on doing the normal route) I also had to organise a climbing guide because the 'regular' guides are walking guides and can only take you to Pt Lenana. I was on my own though so had to organise someone to climb with. Would have been happy to attempt the climb without a guide if my climbing partner had also been there.

My Mt Kenya trip cost me approx £1000 for transport there and back from Nairobi, park fees, accommodation in the huts, 1 walking guide, 1 climbing guide (he met us up at Shipton's camp), 1 porter/cook and food. The park fees are expensive and there's no way of getting around that. I thought it was worth it even though I ended up with a stomach bug and couldn't do the climb. Make sure you take water treatment pills and use them, even at the higher camps.

I also recommend staying at Upperhill campsite in Nairobi. Jessi and co are brilliant.

In reply to OwenF:

"3 walked in from the north Sirimon routes. No one else lovely gradual walk, I think we spent two night on the way in. We left east towards Chogoria

We climbed North face route up Batian. Ended up with three bivvies as we picked up a US father and son who got into trouble. We slept below firmins tower. Secod bivvy somehwere above and last night right on the summit of Batian, bit of an epic but fab.

The climbing is scrambling mostly or VDiff with the exception of firmins tower which holds two great pitches.

We crossed to Nelion and found the abb bolts, A bit fidly to find the line down but we got down in the end sleeping in the Austrian hut.

We had snow and some ice lower down but generally dry.

We used porters to carry gear. You pay for their return journey too. No guide needed if you are a competent mountaineer.

Key is move fast on the easy terrain and ability to judge where the line goes, very easy to stray in a few places. I think a strong partycould summit in a day and sleep in the bivvy on Nelion, or get very close

Lenana is a short walk from the Austrian hut.

It was easy to organise transport from Nairobi. We got a firm to dry all of us and gear to the northern gate, organise porters and permits and return transport. Cant remember cost but we nogotiated loads and pais less than half the firms original estimate....

In reply to OwenF:

http://www.cosleyhouston.com/kenya.htm

In reply to OwenF:

Go self-sufficient, way better experience. But, if you want to make it easier on yourself hire a porter or two to carry your stuff.

Camp on the mountain, you will probably get a better nights sleep than in the huts
Or bivi, there are masses of big rocks you can kip under near to the start of the n face route! which also means you can get on the start of it at 6:00 first light rather than later in the day.
There is plaque on the wall at the bottom of the route
Use the topo for ascent, and I'd descend down Nelion if poss....

I've loads more Beta if you'd like, mail me if interested.

Cheers
Jez

In reply to OwenF:

There's a cracking write up in the log book:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=66165