Depart UK

Arrive Nairobi and transfer to hotel. There will be a briefing with your Kenyan guide in the hotel in Nairobi in the evening once everyone has arrived where he will go through the plan for the next few days.

Transfer to Sirimon Park gate (2600m), approx. 3 hour drive. After completion of park entry formalities, you begin a 3-4 hour hike through montane forest, with bamboo, rosewood and heather zones to Old  Moses camp (3300m). 4 hours walking.

Today we cross the desolate savannah with its colourful grasses and impressive groundsel. The path is always fairly well marked and there are breathtaking views of Nelion and Batian. We drop into an isolated valley to make camp next to the small Liki North Hut. 4-5 hours walking.

We are now gaining altitude and today may feel quite tiring. We climb out over a ridge and descend into the spectacular Mackinder Valley. Tonight’s campsite is comfortable with a stream and a large population of the comical Rock Hyrax. It’s dominated by the twin spires of Nelion and Batian but Point Lenana will also now be in view. 5 hours walking.

A long but magnificent day, initially climbing steeply up from Shipton's camp past two turquoise lakes. The terrain is barren, like a mountainous moonscape, but always with spectacular views of the rocky snow covered summits of Batian and Nelion. You pass the Gorges Valley, a deep cut chasm out of character with the rest of the mountain, but a welcome respite to the long traverse up to the Austrian hut. It is likely you will be feeling the extra burden of altitude in your legs and lungs but this is the perfect preparation for the climb ahead. If everyone is feeling good, we may even go via Pt. Lenana today. 5 to 6 hours  walking.

Leaving the hut at around five in the morning, the ascent of Point Lenana from the Austrian Hut is quite straightforward, although there may be some snow and ice. At 4985m, it is the third-highest summit on Mount Kenya. The ascent follows a rocky ridge to the right of the Lewis glacier. A last steeper section takes you to the summit which offers extraordinary views over the eastern face of Nelion, the surrounding valleys and distant Kilimanjaro. We aim to reach the summit in time to watch the sun rise, and then pick out climbers on Nelion, who will have set off in the very early hours! The descent to the Austrian Hut is far quicker than the climb up. The rest of the day will be spent resting and preparing for the next two days of climbing. 3 to 4 hours walking.

The 'Normal Route' on Nelion consists of an easy glacial approach in the dark, 20 pitches of solid volcanic rock at about Hard Severe and a multi pitch abseil descent. The extension to Batian involves an abseil into the 'Gates of the Mist' with ice or mixed climbing up to Scottish grade II. This is a long alpine mountaineering expedition and you should be relatively experienced and comfortable on steep and exposed ground. You will be climbing with a pack and the rocks may be icy. It may be possible to bivvy in the tiny hut on top of Nelion - either out of choice or necessity!

A second day is set aside for another summit attempt. We descend to MacKinder's Camp at the end of the day.

The path descends through moorland until the final highlight of Mount Kenya, the Vertical Bog. The path falls more steeply through a section of waterlogged moorland. Soon the path enters a deep forest leading to the Met. Station and the road head. The final walk down to the Mount Kenya National Park headquarters would take 2-3 hours and is now a tarmacked road so we may avoid this with a short drive. We board our transport for the journey back to our hotel in Nairobi. 8 hours walking.

Depart Nairobi.

Arrive home.