Rock Climbing
John drove Scott and me forty kilometers east from Nairobi to a ridge-line for some rock climbing instruction. The ridge was owned by the Mountain Club of Kenya and offered every situation a climber could encounter except for ice and altitude. John was a club member preparing for his own ascent on Mount Kenya. His plan was to reach the summit of Batian at 17,058 feet, climb down, race to Nairobi, and catch an overnight train to wake up on the Kenya coast.
He led us to a three-foot-wide crack in the face of a high cliff. Wedging ourselves into it and using our hands, feet, butts, and backs, we were able to steadily work our way upwards. Scrambling through dry brush and around boulders on top, a troop of baboons eyed us suspiciously, hooting and howling as we passed. A lone klipspringer posed a graceful silhouette against the setting sun. We enjoyed panoramic views of the savannah and distant hills, watched the sun set, then scrambled back down to the car by dark.
