Mt. Kenya 20-70-20

by Jacky Rix-Brown, with input from Brenda Sandilands

1920s - First ascent of Mt. Kenya by Shipton, from Chogoria

1970 - We two British ladies reopened the Chogoria route to Pt. Lenana (third highest peak of Mt. Kenya at 4895m)

2020 - Lock-down project to formally record what is now seen as a historic traverse.

Brenda, an experienced mountaineer who had already climbed Nelion (at 5188m, the second highest peak of Mt. Kenya), master-minded the trip and planned everything with the limited maps then available. She booked Rufus and 3 porters to take us and our kit up the east side, as far as Minto’s hut, and Pt. Lenana. Ours was a traverse up Chogoria Route to Pt. Lenana, then anti-clockwise round the main peaks, and down the Naro Moru route.

On 2 Aug we set off from the meeting point on an overgrown track through bamboo forest then scrubland with giant heather over 6ft high, to reach Urumandi Hut (3063m). It was just a primitive wooden shed, needing us to collect heather for bedding.

Moving on into more open country with rough tussocky grass, the heathers gradually got smaller and we began to see giant groundsel and giant lobelia plants. Later we saw, ahead, the Gorges valley, but our route went to the right, onto the north-easterly ridge above this U-shaped valley, showing glaciers once existed at even lower altitude not so far from the equator! Wonderful views into the Gorges valley included the Vivienne falls and impressive pillars of rock. One heartening view up the Gorges valley was of Pt. Lenana, our summit goal. Chogoria route, or Carr’s Road, stays on the crest edge of the Gorges valley, curving west then south-west to reach Minto’s Hut (4290m) beside Hall Tarn. We had, as planned, reached here early in the day to spend time acclimatising to altitude. We enjoyed exploring, especially looking down on Lake Michaelson way below in Gorges alley. Cloud was coming and going, so it was from this lofty edge I saw my first Brocken- spectre (Editor’s note: The shadow of cast of an observer onto the clouds in the direction opposite to the Sun, a result of the backscatter and refraction of the sunlight due to the water droplets in clouds and mist).

After a night in this rather small hut we paid off two porters and set out with Rufus and Eustace. At Simba Col we made a cache of food, before contouring round to Top Hut (4790m) where we joined the main route (from Naro Moru) up to Pt. Lenana. This brought me another first – a glacier! I was awe-inspired, especially looking into a crevasse, and decided there and then that I must learn how to travel safely on glaciers back in the Alps! That led to me joining AAC(UK) in 1971. Fortunately, a rocky ridge, avoiding the crevasse, led to our summit. The four of us returned to Minto’s Hut where we bade farewell to Rufus and Eustace, and from then on Brenda and I travelled alone.

Next morning dawned bright and beautiful, without any hint of what would come in a few hours’ time. We had splendid views as we travelled round to Kami Hut, picking up our cached food on the way. Contouring round one rock-strewn valley head, it was as well we could see clearly for footing. We reached Kami Hut (4439m) without any problems, where we met a climber whose mate was ascending Batian (which, at 5199m, is the highest point of Mt Kenya). He hadn't been well, so he stayed in the hut. We shared our lunch there with a rock hyrax, but we still had a way to go to reach Two Tarn Hut, so did not linger.

As we set off again clouds were building ominously. The weather came in incredibly fast and we were only half way to our night’s shelter when we were engulfed in white-out conditions. Kit was less good in the ‘70s and the weather penetrated our waterproofs and chilled us. Brenda was navigating on compass with the complication of our route curving round the main massif of the mountain. In retrospect I realise I was exhibiting the early signs of hypothermia – I just wanted to sit down and go to sleep. An instinct told me to do so would be fatal, and, having lost my mother when I was 16, I was spurred on by the thought that I mustn’t let that dreadful thing happen to Brenda’s children. Why, oh why, had we not reached the hut yet?

Half an hour before the fast African nightfall would hit us the snow stopped and the clouds lifted, and we could see! We were on the lip of the Teleki Valley, and knew we must have walked past the hut within yards and simply not seen it in the white out! Directly below us were the permanent tents of Mackinder’s Camp (4200m). No time to go back to the hut. With much snow on the valley side we decided to glissade straight down to Mackinder’s. With no-one using the camp, there was just enough daylight to scoop a panful of water and go into an empty tent. We found what little dry clothing remained in our packs, and our sleeping bags, and spent the night in these, chewing lemon to keep us awake and talking through the 12 hour African night as we knew we were in a dangerous condition.

When light dawned we made good some breakfast, glad of the gas canister as the pan of water was solid ice. We set off early down the Teleki valley on the Naro Moru route. We paused at Klarwill Hut where a group on their way up had stayed. They’d recorded a minimum night temperature of +14⁰F (-10⁰C), so it was probably even lower at Mackinder’s! Continuing down via the vertical bog and the Naro Moru forest, we reached our rendez-vous with Brenda’s husband. We then headed home for hot baths.

A month later, back in England, I heard about a dramatic rescue on Mt.Kenya of an Austrian climber who’d fallen descending from Batian. With no mountain rescue in Kenya back then, local climbers started the rescue and a team from ÖAV Sektion Innsbruck flew out and completed it. An Englishman (Jim Whittell) who assisted them became the first Life Member of AAC(UK), a gift from ÖAV who also paid for a new hut, and for equipment and training for a mountain rescue team to be founded in Kenya.

Note: This is a personal account. A full detailed report is being produced for the archives of the Mountain Club of Kenya.

Sondeyo and Tereri
Photos Jacky Rix-Brown

Lake Michaelson from near Halls Tarn

Brenda and crevasse on Lewis glacier

Brenda looking across at Minto's hut

Lewis glacier and Pt Lenana from top hut

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