Mount Kenya
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox mountain Mount Kenya (Meru: Kĩrĩmaara, Kikuyu: Kĩrĩmanyaga, Kamba: Ki nyaa, Embu: Kĩ nyaga) is the second-highest peak in Africa, after Kilimanjaro.<ref name="rough_guide">Template:Cite map</ref> The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (Template:Convert), Nelion (Template:Convert) and Point Lenana (Template:Convert). Mount Kenya is located in the former Eastern and Central provinces of Kenya; its peak is now the intersection of Meru, Embu, Kirinyaga, Nyeri and Tharaka Nithi counties, about Template:Convert south of the equator, around Template:Convert north-northeast of the capital Nairobi.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=rough_guide/> Mount Kenya is the source of the name of the Republic of Kenya.
Mount Kenya is a volcano created approximately 3 million years after the opening of the East African Rift.<ref name=Rift>Template:Cite web</ref> Before glaciation, it was Template:Convert high. It was covered by an ice cap for thousands of years. This has resulted in very eroded slopes and numerous valleys radiating from the peak.<ref name=gregory1894/><ref name=baker/> There are currently 11 small glaciers, which are shrinking rapidly, and may disappear by 2050.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The forested slopes are an important source of water for much of Kenya.<ref name=development/>
There are several vegetation bands from the base to the peak.<ref name=kirinyaga>Template:Cite book </ref> The lower slopes are covered by different types of forest. Many alpine species are endemic to Mount Kenya, such as the giant lobelias and senecios and a local subspecies of rock hyrax.<ref name=ecology>Template:Cite book</ref> An area of Template:Convert around the centre of the mountain was designated a National Park in 1949 and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.<ref name=unesco/> The park receives over 16,000 visitors per year.<ref name=uicn>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=development/>
Mount Kenya National Park
Template:Main Mount Kenya National Park, established in 1949, protects the region surrounding the mountain. Currently, the national park is within the forest reserve which encircles it.<ref name=kws_website/> In April 1978 the area was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.<ref name=unep>Template:Cite web</ref> The national park and the forest reserve, combined, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.<ref name=unesco>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Government of Kenya had four reasons for creating a national park on and around Mount Kenya. These were the importance of tourism for the local and national economies, preserving an area of great scenic beauty, conserving the biodiversity within the park, and preserving the water catchment for the surrounding area.<ref name=development>Template:Cite journal </ref>
Kenya's government has announced a project to discourage animals from straying into small holdings surrounding the national park and devastating crops, which will see the national park enclosed by an electric fence with five electrified strands. Kenya's Rhino Ark Trust, a non-profit organization, has been putting up fences in key areas around the country. As of 2021, 250 kilometres (160 miles) out of a planned 450 kilometres (280 miles) have been constructed in the Mt. Kenya area.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The fence discharges an electric shock, but is not dangerous to humans or animals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Local culture
The main ethnic groups living around Mount Kenya are Kikuyu, Ameru, Embu and Maasai. The first three are Bantus while the Maasai are Nilotes. The mountain is as an important aspect of their cultures. They arrived in the Mount Kenya area in the last several hundreds of years.
Kikuyu
The Kikuyu people live on the southern and western sides of the mountain. They are agriculturalists, and make use of the highly fertile volcanic soil on the lower slopes. They believe that God, Ngai or Mwene Nyaga, lived on Mount Kenya when he came down from the sky.<ref name=facingmtkenya>Template:Cite book</ref> They believe that the mountain is Ngai's throne on earth. It is the place where Gĩkũyũ, the father of the tribe, used to meet with God. Thus according to the Kikuyu records, Gĩkũyũ is the first person on Earth to ascend the mountain. 'Mwene Nyaga' in the Kikuyu language can also translate as the "Owner of the Ostriches" or "Owner of the white patches (of snow)" where 'Mwene' translates to 'owner', and 'Nyaga' to Ostriches or white patches. The snow (in Kikuyu: Ira) caps of the mountain symbolically represent a crown on God's habitation. Kikuyu used to build their houses with doors facing the mountain.<ref name=guide/> The Kikuyu name for Mount Kenya is Kirima Kĩrĩ Nyaga (Mt. Kirinyaga), which literally translates to the mountain that has the "Nyaga" – Ostriches. The mountain, therefore, is locally accepted as 'God's Resting Place' or 'Where God Lives'.Template:Citation needed
The Kikuyu name for Mt. Kenya is Kĩrĩnyaga which literally means 'the one with the ostrich'. The ostrich has dark feathers and a white tail– when the bird bends its head to the ground with its tail in the air, its body forms a triangular shape with a white peak, closely resembling the snow-capped mountain of Kĩrĩnyaga. The name Kĩrĩnyaga therefore figuratively means 'the one with white tails', referring to the glaciers among the peaks of the mountain.
Translated to the Kamba language, kĩrĩnyaga, would be ki nyaa. This is the name that Ludwig Krapf was given when he sighted the mountain from Kitui (in Kamba county). He recorded it as Kenya. It became the name of not only the mountain but also the country.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Embu
The Embu people live to the south-east of Mount Kenya,<ref name=ecology/> and believe that the mountain is God's home (the Embu word for God is Ngai, Murungu or Mwene Njeru).The Embu name for Mount Kenya is 'Kĩ nyaga' which means similar to the Kikuyu 'the one with the ostrich'. The mountain is sacred, and they build their houses with the doors facing toward it.<ref name=guide/> The Embu people are closely related to the Ameru and Mbeere people.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Mbeere and Akamba are the settlers of the southeast side of the mountain.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Ameru
The Ameru occupy the east, north, and north-western slopes of the mountain. They are generally agricultural and also keep livestock and occupy what is among the most fertile land in Kenya. The Meru god Murungu was from the skies. Their name for Mt. Kenya is Kirimaara, which means 'mountain with white features'.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Maasai
The Maasai are semi-nomadic people, who use the land to the north of the mountain to graze their cattle.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> They believe that their ancestors came down from the mountain at the beginning of time.<ref name=guide/> The Maasai name for Mount Kenya is Ol Donyo Keri, which means 'mountain of stripes', referring to the dark shades as observed from the surrounding plains.<ref name=somjee>Template:Cite journal</ref> At least one Maasai prayer refers to Mount Kenya: Template:Blockquote
Geology
Mount Kenya is a stratovolcano that was active in the Plio-Pleistocene. The original crater was probably over Template:Convert high; and potentially up to Template:Convert high, making the prehistoric Mount Kenya higher than present-day Kilimanjaro.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Since it became extinct there have been two major periods of glaciation, which are shown by two main rings of moraines below the glaciers. The lowest moraine is found at around Template:Convert.<ref name=geology/> Today the glaciers reach no lower than Template:Convert.<ref name=map/> After studying the moraines, Gregory put forward the theory that at one time the whole summit of the mountain was covered with an ice cap, and it was this that eroded the peaks to how they are today.<ref name=gregory1894> Template:Cite journal </ref>
The lower slopes of the mountain have never been glaciated. They are now mainly cultivated and forested. They are distinguished by steep-sided V-shaped valleys with many tributaries. Higher up the mountain, in the area that is now moorland, the valleys become U-shaped and shallower with flatter bottoms. These were created by glaciation.<ref name=geology/>
When Mount Kenya was active there was some satellite activity. The northeastern side of the mountain has many old volcanic plugs and craters. The largest of these, Ithanguni, even had its own ice cap when the main peaks were covered in ice. This can be seen by the smoothed summit of the peak. Circular hills with steep sides are also frequent in this area, which are probably the remains of small plugged vents. However, as the remaining mountain is roughly symmetrical, most of the activity must have occurred at the central plug.<ref name=geology/>
The rocks that form Mount Kenya are mainly basalts, rhomb porphyrites, phonolites, kenytes and trachytes.<ref name=geology/> Kenyte was first reported by Gregory in 1900 following his study of the geology of Mount Kenya.<ref name=gregory1900>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The geology of the Mount Kenya area was first described scientifically by Joseph Thomson in 1883. He saw the mountain from the nearby Laikipia Plateau and wrote that it was an extinct volcano with the plug exposed.<ref name=thomson>Template:Cite book</ref> However, as he had only seen the mountain from a distance his description was not widely believed in Europe, particularly after 1887 when Teleki and von Höhnel ascended the mountain and described what they considered to be the crater.<ref name=gregory> Template:Cite book</ref> In 1893 Gregory's expedition reached the Lewis Glacier at Template:Convert. He confirmed that the volcano was extinct and that there were glaciers present.<ref name=gregory1900/><ref name=gregory/> The first thorough survey by Europeans was not undertaken until 1966.<ref name=geology>Template:Cite book</ref>
Peaks
The peaks of Mount Kenya are almost all of volcanic origin. The majority of the peaks are located near the centre of the mountain which have an Alpine appearance due to their craggy nature. Typically of Alpine terrain, the highest peaks and gendarmes occur at the intersection of ridges.<ref name=baker/> The central peaks only have a few mosses, lichens, and small alpine plants growing in rock crevices.<ref name=ecology/> Further away from the central peaks, the volcanic plugs are covered in volcanic ash and soils.<ref name=speck>Template:Cite journal</ref> The vegetation growing on these peaks is typical for their vegetation band.
The highest peaks are Batian (Template:Convert), Nelion (Template:Convert) and Pt Lenana (Template:Convert). Batian and Nelion are within Template:Convert of each other, separated by the Gate of the Mists gap of Template:Convert.<ref name=map/><ref name="climbs">Template:Cite web</ref>
Other peaks around the central plug include Pt Piggot (Template:Convert), Pt Dutton (Template:Convert), Pt John (Template:Convert), Pt John Minor (Template:Convert), Krapf Rognon (Template:Convert), Pt Peter (Template:Convert), Pt Slade (Template:Convert) and Midget Peak (Template:Convert). All of these have a steep pyramidal form.<ref name=map/><ref name=baker/>
Significant craggy outlying peaks include Terere (Template:Convert) and Sendeyo (Template:Convert) which form a pair of twin peaks to the north of the main plug. Together, they form a large parasitic plug. Other notable peaks include The Hat (Template:Convert), Delamere Peak, Macmillan Peak and Rotundu.<ref name=map/>
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Batian on the left, Nelion on the right, and Slade in the foreground
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Lenana, the third highest peak, is the most ascended
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Mount Kenya, left to right: Point Lenana (4985m), Nelion summit (5188), Batian summit (5199m)
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Krapf Rognon (Template:Convert) and Krapf glacier
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Midget peak can be climbed in a day.<ref name=mck/>
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Terere and Sendeyo are two craggy outlying peaks
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Mugi hill and the Giant's Billiards Table offers some of the best hillwalking in Kenya.<ref name=guide/>
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Nelion from Batian in Dec 1974
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Looking down the Diamond Glacier to Pt John
Glaciers
The glaciers on Mount Kenya are retreating rapidly. The Mountain Club of Kenya in Nairobi has photographs showing the mountain at the time of the first recorded ascent in 1899, and again more recently; the retreat of the glaciers is very evident.<ref name=web>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=glafot>Recession of Equatorial Glaciers. A Photo Documentation Template:Webarchive, Hastenrath, S., 2008, Sundog Publishing, Madison, WI, Template:ISBN, 144 pp. </ref> Descriptions of ascents of several of the peaks advise the use of crampons, but this is true only in some cases and at higher elevations. Every year there is less new snow accumulating in winter than melting in summer, even on the Lewis Glacier (the largest of them) in winter, so there is no formation of new ice. It is predicted to be less than 30 years before there will no longer be ice on Mount Kenya.<ref name=guide/> Glacial retreat and disappearance can be caused by changes in temperature trends, or by a change in precipitation trends.<ref name=benn>Template:Cite book</ref>
The glacier names are (clockwise from the north):
- Northey, Krapf, Gregory, Lewis, Diamond, Darwin, Forel, Heim, Tyndall, Cesar, Josef.
The total area covered by glaciers on the mountain was recorded as about Template:Convert in the 1980s,<ref name="glacierfluctuations"> Template:Cite journal </ref> far less than that recorded by the first observations, made in the 1890s. A new 2024 study shows that only 10% of the surface-area mentioned for the 1980s remains (6,9 ha remains, about half as much as in 2016).<ref>https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2752-5295/ad1fd7</ref>
Periglacial landforms
Although Mount Kenya is on the equator the freezing nightly temperatures result in periglacial landforms. There is permafrost a few centimetres (inches) below the surface. Patterned ground is present at Template:Convert to the west of Mugi Hill.<ref name=map/><ref name=baker/> These mounds grow because the repeated freezing and thawing of the ground draws in more water. There are blockfields present around Template:Convert where the ground has cracked to form hexagons. Solifluction occurs when the night temperatures freeze the soil before it thaws again in the morning. This daily expansion and contraction of the soil prevent the establishment of vegetation.<ref name=mck/>
Rivers
Mount Kenya is the main water catchment area for two large rivers in Kenya; the Tana, the largest river in Kenya, and the Ewaso Nyiro North.<ref name=development/> The Mount Kenya ecosystem provides water directly for over 2 million people.<ref name=development/> The rivers on Mount Kenya have been named after the villages on the slopes of the mountain that they flow close to. The Thuchi River is the district boundary between Tharaka Nithi and Embu. Mount Kenya is a major water tower for the Tana river which in 1988 supplied 80% of Kenya's electricity using a series of seven hydroelectric power stations and dams.<ref name="Ojany 1993 305–309">Template:Cite journal</ref>
The density of streams is very high, especially on the lower slopes which have never been glaciated. The ice cap which used to cover the mountain during the Pliocene eroded large U-shaped valleys which tend to only have one large stream.<ref name=baker/> Where the original shape of the shield volcano is still preserved, there have been millions of years for streams to erode the hillside. This area is therefore characterised by frequent deep fluvial V-shaped valleys.<ref name=baker_map/> The gradual transition from glaciated to the fluvial valley can be clearly observed.<ref name=mapandguide> Template:Cite map</ref>
Rivers that start on Mount Kenya are the tributaries of two large Kenyan rivers: the Tana and the Ewaso Ng'iro rivers. A lot of Mount Kenyan rivers flow into the Sagana which itself is a tributary of the Tana, which joins at the Masinga Reservoir. The rivers in the northern part of the mountain, such as the Burguret, Naru Moru, Nanyuki, Likii, and Sirimon flow into the Ewaso Nyiro. The rivers to the southwest, such as the Keringa and Nairobi flow into the Sagana and then into the Tana. The remaining rivers to the south and east, such as the Kathitâ (Largest River in Meru), Mutonga, Nithi, Thuchi, and Nyamindi, flow directly into the Tana.<ref name=baker_map/><ref name=mapandguide/>
Natural history
Mount Kenya has several altitudinal ecological zones, from the savanna surrounding the mountain to the nival zone by the glaciers. Each zone has a dominant species of vegetation. Many of the species found higher up the mountain are endemic, either to Mount Kenya or East Africa.<ref name=ecology/>
There are also differences within the zones, depending on the side of the mountain and the aspect of the slope. The southeast is much wetter than the north,<ref name=glacierfluctuations/> so species more dependent on moisture can grow. Some species, such as African alpine bamboo, are limited to certain aspects of the mountain because of the amount of moisture.<ref name=map/>
Zones
The climate of Mount Kenya changes considerably with altitude, forming belts of community types.<ref name=Hedbergzones> Template:Cite journal </ref> Around the base of the mountain is fertile farmland. The people living around the mountain have cultivated this cool, relatively moist area for centuries.<ref name=castro/>
Mount Kenya is surrounded by forests. The vegetation in the forests depend on rainfall, and the species present differ greatly between the northern and southern slopes.<ref name=dutton>Template:Cite book</ref> As time has passed the trees on the edge of the forest have been logged and the farmland has encroached further up the fertile slopes of the mountain.<ref name=Hedbergzones/><ref name=castro/>
Above the forest is a belt of African alpine bamboo. This zone is almost continuous but is restricted to small isolated bunches in the north because of low rainfall. The bamboo is natural,<ref name=mck/> and does not require forest disturbance. Tracks are common through the bamboo. Bamboo suppresses other vegetation, so it is uncommon to find trees or other plants here.<ref name=map/>
Above the bamboo is the timberline forest. The trees here are often smaller than the trees in the forests lower down the mountain.<ref name=zonation> Template:Cite book </ref> The forest here is more intact because it is less accessible and better protected.
When the trees can no longer grow the vegetation changes into heathland and chaparral, at around Template:Convert. Heathland is found in the wetter areas, on the west side of Mount Kenya, and is dominated by giant heathers. Chaparral is found in drier areas and grasses are more common.<ref name=mck/> and bushfires still occur.<ref name=castro/>
As the altitude increases the temperature fluctuations become extreme and the air becomes thinner and drier. This region is known as the Afro-alpine zone. The environment here is isolated, with the only similar area nearby being the Aberdares, which are Template:Convert away.<ref name=ecology/> Many of the species here are endemic, with adaptations to the cold and fluctuating temperatures.<ref name=hedberg>Template:Cite journal</ref> Typical plants here include giant groundsels (senecios) and giant lobelias.<ref name=ecology/>
The region where the glaciers have recently retreated from is nival zone. It is the area that plants have not yet been able to colonise.<ref name=ecology/>
Flora
The flora found on Mount Kenya varies with altitude, aspect, and exposure.<ref name=tropicalalpine/> As the altitude increases, the plants have to be more specialised, with adaptations to strong sunlight with ultraviolet, lower mean temperatures, and freezing night temperatures.<ref name=mck/><ref name=zonation/>
Plants in the Afro-alpine zone have overcome these difficulties in several ways.<ref name=hedberg/> One adaptation is known as the giant rosette, which is exhibited by giant senecio, giant lobelia, and giant thistle (Carduus), which use bud leaves to protect their buds from freezing. Giant rosette senecios form single-aged stands that drive community structure over decades.<ref name=senecio>Template:Cite journal </ref>
Many plant species in the Afro-alpine zone of Mount Kenya are giant versions of lowland (or temperate) relatives. However, nearer the nival zone the plants decrease in size again.<ref name=ecology/>
Fauna
The majority of animals live lower down on the slopes of Mount Kenya. Here there is more vegetation and the climate is less extreme. Various species of monkeys, several antelopes, tree hyrax, porcupines, and some larger animals such as elephants and buffalo all live in the forest.<ref name=map/> Predators found here include hyenas and leopards, and occasionally lions.<ref name=map/>
There are fewer mammals found at high altitudes on Mount Kenya.<ref name=alpinevertebrates> Template:Cite journal</ref> The Mount Kenya hyrax and common duiker can live here, and are important to the ecosystem. Some smaller mammals, such as the groove-toothed rat, can live here by burrowing into the giant senecios and using their thick stem of dead leaves as insulation.<ref name=ecology/> The Mount Kenya mole-rat Tachyoryctes rex occurs at high altitudes, living in visible mounds.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Leopards are resident in the alpine zone.
Other mammal species are only occasional visitors. Remains of elephants, monkeys, and bongo have been found high in the alpine zone,<ref name=alpinevertebrates/> and other sightings are remembered in names such as Simba Tarn (simba means lion in Swahili).<ref name=mck/>
Several bird species live in the Afro-alpine zone, including sunbirds, alpine chats and starlings and the raptors, augur buzzard, lammergeier and Verreaux's eagle, the latter of which specializes in hunting hyraxes. Birds are important in this ecosystem as pollinators.<ref name=tropicalalpine>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Climate
Template:Main The climate of Mount Kenya has played a critical role in the development of the mountain, influencing the topography and ecology amongst other factors. It has a typical equatorial mountain climate which Hedberg described as winter every night and summer every day.<ref name=hedberg1969>Template:Cite journal</ref> Mount Kenya is home to one of the Global Atmosphere Watch's atmospheric monitoring stations.<ref name=globalatmospherestation>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Seasons
The year is divided into two distinct wet seasons and two distinct dry seasons which mirror the wet and dry seasons in the Kenyan lowlands.<ref name=climate_article>Template:Cite journal</ref> As Mount Kenya ranges in height from Template:Convert, the climate varies considerably over the mountain and has different zones of influence. The lower, southeastern slopes are the wettest as the predominant weather system comes from the Indian Ocean. This rainfall supports dense montane forests on these slopes. High on the mountain most of the precipitation falls as snow.<ref name=spink>Template:Cite journal </ref> Combined, these water sources feed 11 glaciers.
The current climate on Mount Kenya is wet, but drier than it has been in the past. The temperatures span a wide range, which diminishes with altitude. In the lower alpine zone temperature usually do not go below Template:Convert.<ref name=rossette>Template:Cite journal</ref> Snow and rain are common from March to December, but especially in the two wet seasons. The wet seasons combined account for 5/6 or 83% of the annual precipitation. The monsoon, which controls the wet and dry seasons, means that for most of the year there are south-easterly winds, but during January and February the dominant wind direction is north-easterly.Template:Citation needed
Mount Kenya, like most locations in the tropics, has two wet seasons and two dry seasons as a result of the monsoon. From mid-March to June the heavy rain season, known as the long rains, brings approximately half of the annual rainfall on the mountain.<ref name=castro>Template:Cite book</ref> This is followed by the wetter of the two dry seasons which lasts until September. October to December are the short rains when the mountain receives approximately a third of its rainfall total. Finally from December to mid-March is the drier dry season when the mountain experiences the least rain.Template:Citation needed
Daily pattern
During the dry season, the mountain almost always follows the same daily weather pattern. Large daily temperature fluctuations occur which led Hedberg to exclaim winter every night and summer every day.<ref name=hedberg1969/> There is variation in minimum and maximum temperatures day to day, but the standard deviation of the mean hourly pattern is small.Template:Citation needed
A typical day is clear and cool in the morning with low humidity. The mountain is in direct sunlight which causes the temperatures to rise quickly with the warmest temperatures occurring between 09:00 and 12:00. This corresponds to a maximum in the pressure, usually around 10:00. Low on the mountain, between Template:Convert, clouds begin to form over the western forest zone, due to moist air from Lake Victoria.<ref name="Ojany 1993 305–309"/> The anabatic winds caused by warm rising air gradually bring these clouds to the summit region in the afternoon. Around 15:00 there is a minimum in sunlight and a maximum in humidity causing the actual and perceived temperature to drop. At 16:00 there is a minimum of pressure. This daily cover of clouds protects the glaciers on the southwest of the mountain which would otherwise get direct sun every day, enhancing their melt.<ref name=hastenrath>Template:Cite book</ref> The upwelling cloud eventually reaches the dry easterly air streams and dissipates, leading to a clear sky by 17:00. There is another maximum temperature associated with this.Template:Citation needed
Being an equatorial mountain the daylight hours are constant with twelve-hour days. Sunrise is about 06:30 with the sun setting at 18:30 (both EAT = UTC+3). Over the year there is a one-minute difference between the shortest and longest days.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At night, the sky is usually clear with katabatic winds blowing down the valleys. Above the lower alpine zone there is usually frost every night.<ref name=rossette/>
History
European documentation
The first European to report seeing Mount Kenya was Dr Johann Ludwig Krapf, a German missionary, from Kitui,<ref name=Krapf>Template:Cite book</ref> a town Template:Cvt<ref name="rough_guide"/> away from the mountain. The sighting was made on 3 December 1849,<ref name="dutton"/> a year after the first sighting of Mount Kilimanjaro by a European.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Krapf was told by the Embu people that lived around the mountain that they did not ascend high enough on the mountain because of the intense cold and the white matter that rolled down the mountains with a loud noise. This led him to infer that glaciers existed on the mountain.<ref name=Krapf/> It was Krapf who gave the mountain the name "Kenya", but the derivation of this is not known with certainty.Template:Citation needed
Krapf also noted that the rivers flowing from Mount Kenya, and other mountains in the area, were continuously flowing. This was very different from the other rivers in the area, which swelled up in the wet season and completely dried up after the rainy season had ended. As the streams flowed even in the driest seasons he concluded that there must be a source of water up on the mountain, in the form of glaciers.<ref name=Krapf/> He believed the mountain to be the source of the White Nile.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In 1851 Krapf returned to Kitui. He travelled Template:Convert closer to the mountain, but did not see it again. In 1877 Hildebrandt was in the Kitui area and heard stories about the mountain, but also did not see it. Since there were no confirmations to back up Krapf's claim people began to be suspicious.<ref name="gregory"/>
In 1883 Joseph Thomson passed close by the west side of the mountain and confirmed Krapf's claim. He diverted his expedition and reached Template:Convert up the slopes of the mountain but had to retreat because of trouble with local people.<ref name=thomson/> The first European exploration high onto the mountain was achieved in 1887 by Count Sámuel Teleki. He managed to reach Template:Convert on the southwestern slopes.<ref name=teleki>Template:Cite book</ref> On this expedition Teleki mistakenly believed he had found the crater of a volcano.
In 1892, Teleki and von Höhnel returned to the eastern side but were unable to get through the forest.<ref name="ecology"/>
In 1893, an expedition managed to ascend Mount Kenya as far as the glaciers. This expedition was traveling from the coast to Lake Baringo in the Rift Valley and was led by Dr. John W Gregory, a British geologist. They managed to ascend the mountain to around Template:Convert and spent several hours on the Lewis Glacier with their guide. On his return to Britain, Gregory published papers and a narrative account of his achievements.<ref name=mck/>
George Kolb, a German physician, made expeditions in 1894 and 1896<ref name=mck/> and was the first to reach the moorlands on the east side of the mountain. More exploration occurred after 1899 when the Uganda Railway was completed as far as the future site of Nairobi.<ref name=mck/><ref name=mackinder/>
Mackinder's expedition
On 28 July 1899,<ref name=mackinder/> Sir Halford John Mackinder set out from the site of Nairobi on an expedition to Mount Kenya. The members of the expedition consisted of 6 Europeans, 66 Swahilis, 2 Maasai guides, and 96 Kikuyu. The Europeans were Campbell B. Hausberg, second in command and photographer; Douglas Saunders, botanist; C F Camburn, taxidermist; Cesar Ollier, guide; and Josef Brocherel, guide, and porter.<ref name=mackinder>Template:Cite journal</ref> The expedition made it as far as the mountain but encountered many difficulties on the way. The country they passed through was full of plague and famine. Many Kikuyu porters tried to desert with women from the villages, and others stole from the villages, which made the chiefs very hostile towards the expedition. When they reached the base camp on 18 August,<ref name=mackinder/> they could not find any food, suffered two of their party killed by the local people, and eventually had to send Saunders to Naivasha to get help from Captain Gorges, the Government Officer there.<ref name=mackinder/>
Mackinder pushed on up the mountain and established a camp at Template:Convert<ref name=mackinder/> in the Höhnel Valley. He made his first attempt on the summit on 30 August with Ollier and Brocherel up the southeast face, but they had to retreat when they were within Template:Convert of the summit of Nelion due to nightfall.
On 5 September, Hausberg, Ollier, and Brocherel made a circuit of the main peaks looking for an easier route to the summit. They could not find one. On 11 September Ollier and Brocherel made an ascent of the Darwin Glacier, but were forced to retreat due to a blizzard.<ref name=mackinder/>
When Saunders returned from Naivasha with the relief party, Mackinder had another attempt at the summit with Ollier and Brocherel. They traversed the Lewis Glacier and climbed the southeast face of Nelion. They spent the night near the gendarme and traversed the snowfield at the head of the Darwin Glacier at dawn before cutting steps up the Diamond Glacier. They reached the summit of Batian at noon on 13 September 1899 and descended by the same route.<ref name=mackinder/>
During the expedition, Mackinder ordered for 8 of the 90 African porters, who he had bought from a slave owner to carry his supplies, to be shot.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1900–1930
After the first ascent of Mount Kenya, there were fewer expeditions there for a while. The majority of the exploration until after the First World War was by settlers in Kenya, who were not on scientific expeditions. A Church of Scotland mission was set up in Chogoria, and several Scottish missionaries ascended to the peaks, including Rev Dr. J. W. Arthur, G. Dennis and A. R. Barlow. There were other ascents, but none succeeded in summitting Batian or Nelion.<ref name=mck/>
New approach routes were cleared through the forest, which made access to the area of the peak far easier. In 1920, Arthur and Sir Fowell Buxton tried to cut a route in from the south, and other routes came in from Nanyuki in the north, but the most commonly used was the route from the Chogoria mission in the east, built by Ernest Carr. Carr is also credited with building Urumandi and Top Huts.<ref name=mck/>
On 6 January 1929, the first ascent of Nelion was made by Percy Wyn-Harris and Eric Shipton. They climbed the Normal Route, then descended to the Gate of Mists before ascending Batian. On 8 January they reascended, this time with G. A. Sommerfelt, and in December Shipton made another ascent with R. E. G. Russell. They also made the first ascent of Point John. During this year the Mountain Club of East Africa was formed.<ref name=mck/>
At the end of July 1930, Shipton and Bill Tilman made the first traverse of the peaks. They ascended by the West Ridge of Batian, traversed the Gate of Mists to Nelion, and descended the Normal Route. During this trip, Shipton and Tilman made the first ascents of several other peaks, including Point Peter, Point Dutton, Midget Peak, Point Pigott, and either Terere or Sendeyo.<ref name=cordee>Template:Cite book</ref>
1931 to present day
In the early 1930s, there were several visits to the moorlands around Mount Kenya, with fewer as far as the peaks. Raymond Hook and Humphrey Slade ascended to map the mountain, and stocked several of the streams with trout. By 1938 there had been several more ascents of Nelion. In February, Miss C Carroll and Mtu Muthara became the first woman and African respectively to ascend Nelion, in an expedition with Noel Symington, author of The Night Climbers of Cambridge, and on 5 March Miss Una Cameron became the first woman to ascend Batian.<ref name=mck/>
During the Second World War there was another drop in the ascents of the mountain. The most remarkable ascent during this period was by three Italians who were being held in a British POW camp at the base of the mountain in Nanyuki. They escaped from camp to climb the mountain's third peak, Point Lenana, before "escaping" back into camp. Felice Benuzzi, the team leader, retold his story in the book No Picnic on Mount Kenya (1946).<ref name=picnic>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web Template:Webarchive</ref>
In 1949 the Mountain Club of Kenya split from the Mountain Club of East Africa, and the area above Template:Convert was designated a National Park.<ref name=mck/> A road was built from Naro Moru to the moorlands, allowing easier access.
Many new routes were climbed on Batian and Nelion in the next three decades, and in October 1959 the Mountain Club of Kenya produced their first guide to Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro.<ref name=cordee/> On Kenyan independence in 1963, Kisoi Munyao raised the Kenyan flag at the top of the mountain. He died in 2007 and was given a heroic funeral attended by the Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki.<ref>Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, 11 April 2007: An hero is laid to rest</ref> In the early 1970s the Mount Kenya National Park Mountain Rescue Team was formed, and by the end of the 1970s, all major routes on the peaks had been climbed.<ref name=cordee/>
On 19 July 2003, a South African registered aircraft, carrying 12 passengers and two crew, crashed into Mount Kenya at Point Lenana; nobody survived.<ref>Charter aircraft crashes into Kenya's Mount Kenya., Airline Industry Information, 21 July 2003</ref><ref>Rescue teams resume efforts to recover bodies of those killed in charter aircraft crash, Airline Industry Information, 23 July 2003</ref> This was not the first aircraft lost on the mountain; there is also the wreckage of at least one helicopter that crashed before 1972.<ref>Template:Cite newspaper The Times</ref>
In March 2012 a massive fire raged on Mount Kenya, devouring thousands of hectares of ancient forests and endangered wildlife.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Mountaineering
Climbing routes
Most of the peaks on Mount Kenya have been summited. The majority of these involve rock climbing as the easiest route, although some only require a scramble or a walk. The highest peak that can be ascended without climbing is Point Lenana, Template:Convert.<ref name=mck>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="cordee"/> The majority of the 15,000 visitors to the national park each year climb this peak. In contrast, approximately 200 people summit Nelion and 50 summit Batian, the two highest peaks.<ref name=guide>Template:Citation</ref>
When ascended directly, Batian is usually climbed via the North Face Standard Route, UIAA grade IV+ (or 5.6+ YDS). The first recorded ascent of Batian was on 13 September 1899 by Sir Halford John Mackinder, Cesar Ollier, and Josef Brocherel. The Normal Route is the most climbed route up Nelion, and thence across to Batian. It was first climbed by Eric Shipton and Percy Wyn-Harris on 6 January 1929.<ref name=eaimg>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Alpine Journal Vol. 42</ref> It is possible to traverse between the two peaks, via the Gates of Mist, but this often involves spending a night in the Howell hut on top of Nelion. There is a bolted abseil descent route off Nelion.<ref name=mck/>
Mount Kenya's climbing seasons are a result of its location only Template:Convert from the equator. During the northern summer, the rock routes on the north side of the peak are in good summer condition, while at the same time, the ice routes on the south side of the peak are in prime shape. The situation is reversed during the southern summer. The two seasons are separated by several months of the rainy season before and after, during which climbing conditions are generally unfavorable.Template:Citation needed
Mount Kenya is home to several good ice routes, the two most famous being the Diamond Couloir and the Ice Window route. Snow and ice levels on the mountain have been retreating at an accelerated rate in recent years, making these climbs increasingly difficult and dangerous. The Diamond Couloir, a steep ice couloir fed by the fusion of the upper Diamond Glacier, was first climbed by National Park staff Phil Snyder and Thumbi Mathenge in October 1973. A direct finish was pioneered in 1975 by Yvon Chouinard and Michael Covington<ref>Iain Allan: The Mountain Club of Kenya Guide to Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro (Nairobi; Mountain Club of Kenya, 1998) p107</ref> The couloir was once climbable in summer or winter but now is virtually unclimbable in summer conditions and is seldom deemed in climbable condition even in winter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Last climbing reports describe the route very difficult, especially in the lower section. The route has changed into a modern ice climb with a very difficult 60m first pitch, starting with 8m of overhanging M7 dry tooling, followed by 50m of USA Grade V ice and by 6 pitches of moderate climbing on good ice and finally one pitch of water ice USA Grade IV+ ice at the headwall before getting to the Upper Diamond Glacier.
The satellite peaks around the mountain also provide good climbs. These can be climbed in Alpine style and vary in difficulty from a scramble to climbing at UIAA grade VI. They are useful for acclimatisation before climbing the higher peaks and as ascents in their own right.<ref name=mck/>
Walking routes
There are eight walking routes up to the main peaks. Starting clockwise from the north these are the: Meru, Chogoria, Kamweti, Naro Moru, Burguret, Sirimon, and Timau Routes.<ref name=map>Template:Cite map</ref> Of these Chogoria, Naro Moru, and Sirimon are used most frequently and therefore have staffed gates. The other routes require special permission from the Kenya Wildlife Service to use.<ref name=guide/><ref name=eaimgw>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Chogoria route leads from Chogoria town up to the peaks circuit path. It heads through the forest to the south-east of the mountain to the moorland, with views over areas such as Ithanguni and the Giant's Billiards Table before following the Gorges Valley past the Temple and up to Simba Col below Point Lenana.<ref name=map/> The Mountain Club of Kenya claims that Ithanguni and the Giant's Billiards Table offer some of the best hillwalking in Kenya.<ref name=mck/>
The Naro Moru route is taken by many of the trekkers who try to reach Point Lenana. It can be ascended in only 3 days and has bunkhouses at each camp. The route starts at Naro Moru town to the west of the mountain and climbs towards Mackinder's Camp before joining the Peak Circuit Path.<ref name=eaimgw/> The terrain is usually good, although one section is called the Vertical Bog.<ref name=mck/>
The Sirimon route approaches Mount Kenya from the northwest.<ref name=map/> The path splits on the moorlands, with the more frequently used fork following the Mackinder Valley and the quieter route traversing into the Liki North Valley.<ref name=map/> The paths rejoin at Shipton's Cave just below Shipton's Camp on the Peak Circuit Path.<ref name=mck/>
The Peak Circuit Path is a path around the main peaks, with a distance of about Template:Convert and height gain and loss of over Template:Convert.<ref name=map/> It can be walked in one day, but more commonly takes two or three. It can also be used to join different ascent and descent routes. The route does not require technical climbing.<ref name=cordee/><ref name=eaimgw/>
Development is currently underway for a new route up the mountain starting from the Ragati conservancy and running up the ridge between the Naro Moru route and the old Kamweti trail.Template:Citation needed
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The Gorges Valley is a major feature on the Chogoria Route.
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Vertical bog on Mount Kenya on the Naro Moru Route.
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Looking towards the peaks up the Mackinder Valley on the Sirimon Route.
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Austrian Hut is found near the Lewis Glacier on the slopes of Point Lenana. The hut sleeps 30 people, with Top Hut nearby for porters.<ref name=mck/>
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Liki North Hut is a small bothy in the Liki North Valley.<ref name=mck/> It offers little more than shelter from the weather.
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Shipton's Camp is at the top of the Sirimon Route.<ref name=cordee/> It has a large communal area and running cold water.
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Camping is allowed anywhere within the National Park.<ref name=guide/>
Etymology
Template:Main The origin of the name Kenya is not clear but perhaps linked to the Kikuyu, Embu, and Kamba words Kirinyaga, Kinyaga and Kiinyaa which mean "God's resting place" in all three languages.
In the 19th Century, the German explorer, Ludwig Krapf, recorded the name as both Kenia and Kegnia, assumed by some to be a corruption of the Kamba version.<ref name="Krapf"/><ref name=krapf_452>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=foottit>Template:Cite book</ref> Others however claim that this was on the contrary a very precise notation of the correct African pronunciation Template:IPAc-en. <ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Wangari Maathai tells the following story about the naming: Krapf and Johannes Rebmann asked their guide (a member of the Kamba community who was carrying a gourd) what they called the mountain, and the guide (who assumed that the Germans were referring to the gourd) replied kĩĩ-nyaa, which became the name of the mountain and then the country.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In any case, the name was for a long time pronounced by colonial-heritage Europeans as Template:IPAc-en. The European pronunciation has been abandoned in modern times, in favor of the African version.<ref name=oed_kenya>Template:OED</ref>
Names of peaks
The peaks of Mount Kenya have been given names from three different sources. Firstly, several Maasai chieftains have been commemorated, with names such as Batian, Nelion, and Lenana. They commemorate Mbatian, a Maasai Laibon (Medicine Man), Nelieng, his brother, and Lenana and Sendeyo, his sons.<ref name=dutton/> Terere is named after another Maasai headman.
The second type of name that was given to peaks is after European climbers and explorers. Some examples of this are Shipton, Sommerfelt, Tilman, Dutton, and Arthur.<ref name=mck/>
The remaining names are after well-known Kenyan personalities, except John and Peter, which were named by the missionary Arthur after two disciples. There is a group of four peaks to the east of the main peaks named after European settlers; Coryndon, Grigg, Delamere, and McMillan.<ref name=mck/>
See also
References
Further reading
- Template:Cite book
- Best, Nicholas (2014). Point Lenana. Thistle Publishing/Kindle Single.
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book A full survey of the long glacial and periglacial reconstructive history of Mt. Kenya, its geological and environmental settings, sequences of paleosols (ancient soils) and their significance in understanding the multiplicity of glaciations.
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