Summit Day
We got up at 5:00 AM, fixed a quick breakfast, and
hiked over to the Lewis Glacier. We put on crampons and carried
an ice axe for the glacier crossing. We originally planned to
bring the crampons and ice with us for the climb through the Gate
of Mists between Nelion and Batian, but the German climbers said
we wouldn't need them so we cached the ice gear after crossing
the glacier.
After scrambling (huffing and puffing) up a talus slope, we found ourselves beneath the first pitch. The photo here shows about the first third of the climb as it continues on up and right.
We then began the technical rock climbing, but it
didn't take long for the reality of the situation to hit me. We
were carrying heavy packs loaded with a sleeping bag and cold
weather gear for a bivouac near the summit of Nelion since a
complete one day climb of this route was not feasible. And at
16,000 feet, the amount of effort needed for every move was
magnified.
After the first pitch, it became obvious to me that I would not be able to complete the 20 pitches needed to get to the bivouac at the top of Nelion that day. The combination of the technical difficulty, the heavy packs, and the high altitude was more than I could handle. For me to continue would be dangerous and foolhardy.
In addition, three people climbing on two ropes is much slower than two people on one rope. I told Terry and Mitch of my decision and encouraged them to continue without me. Terry belayed me back down the first pitch. I said "see you guys tomorrow" and sat back on a boulder to watch as they continued on.
After the third pitch, Terry and Mitch came to a
similar conclusion, and after an hour or so we were once again
face to face. It turned out to be a fortunate turn of events,
because soon after we abandoned the face, a snowstorm moved in.
Getting stuck on the face in those conditions would have been
very dangerous.
After we got back to the Austrian Hut, we packed up
and set our sights for Kilimanjaro. We immediately descended in
the snowstorm to Mackinders Camp, about 1600 feet below, toward
the Naro Maru park entrance.
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