Mt Kenya Climb - Chogoria Route, Climb Mount Kenya
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Mt Kenya Climb - Chogoria Route, Climb Mount Kenya
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Mt Kenya Climb - Chogoria Route, Climb Mount Kenya
Chogoria Route
Mount Kenya:
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The Gorges Valley is a major feature on the Chogoria Route. This route leads
from Chogoria town up to the peaks circuit. The 32 km (20 miles) from the
forest gate to the park gate are often done by vehicle, but it is also
possible to walk. There is much wildlife in the forest, with safari ant
columns crossing the track, monkeys in the trees, and the potential for
seeing elephant, buffalo and leopard. The road is not in good condition, and
requires careful driving and walking. Near the park gate the bamboo zone
starts, with grasses growing to 12 m high (40 ft).
Once in the park the track passes through rosewood forests, with lichens
hanging from the branches. At one point the path splits, with the smaller
track leading to a path up the nearby Mugi Hill and across to Lake Ellis.
Top of large overhanging buttress overlooking Lake Michaelson, close to Hall
Tarns.Near the trackhead a small bridge crosses the Nithi stream. Following
the stream downriver a few hundred metres (yards) leads to The Gates
Waterfall. The path heads up a ridge above the Gorges Valley, with views to
the peaks, Lake Michaelson, The Temple, and across the valley to Delamere
and Macmillan Peaks. Hall Tarns are situated right on the path and above a
200 m (700 ft) cliff directly above Lake Michaelson.
As the path carries on it crosses the flat head of the Nithi River and then
the slope steepens. The path splits, heading west to Simba Col, and south
west to Square Tarn. These are both on the Peak Circuit Route.
Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya, and the second highest in
Africa (after Mount Kilimanjaro). The highest peaks of the mountain are
Batian (5,199 m - 17,058 ft), Nelion (5,188 m - 17,022 ft) and Lenana (4,985
m - 16,355 ft). Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the
equator, around 150 km (95 miles) north-northeast of Nairobi. The area
around the mountain is protected in the Mount Kenya National Park, which is
a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. The National Park is around 620 km²
(240 square miles), and receives up to 15,000 visitors every year.
The mountain is an extinct (dead) volcano standing alone, which last erupted
between 2.6 and 3.1 million years ago. Its slopes include several different
biomes; the lowest parts are dry upland forest, changing to montane forest
of juniper and podocarpus at about 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), with a belt of
bamboo at 2,500 m (about 8,000 ft) that changes to an upper forest of
smaller trees covered with moss and "goat's beard" lichen. Above a distinct
timberline at about 3,500 m (11,500 ft), there is an afroalpine zone, with
its characteristic giant rosette plants. Twelve small (and rapidly
shrinking) glaciers may be found scattered among the complex of peaks, of
which Batian and Nelion are the highest.
The missionary Johann Ludwig Krapf was the first European to report a
sighting of Mount Kenya, in 1849. The first recorded ascent of Mount Kenya
was made by Halford John Mackinder, Cesar Ollier and Josef Brocherel on 13
September 1899. The highest point (Batian) is a technical climb; the classic
Diamond Couloir climbing route is a Grade IV of about 20 pitches, up to YDS
5.9 in difficulty. Nelion was first climbed by Eric Shipton in 1929, and
Shipton and Bill Tilman completed the traverse of the ridge between the two
highest peaks. Point Lenana, at 4,985 m (16,355 ft), can be reached by a
hiking trail. Mount Kenya is best climbed in January or February on the
south side and August or September on the north side.
