Tag Archive for: Austrian Hut

On the descent!

With the expedition complete and the team relaxing in a comfortable hotel with great Wi-Fi, expedition leader Garrett Madison provided this expedition recap and a cache of amazing climb photos:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Kenya expedition.  We are back in Nanyuki, Kenya at the base of Mount Kenya.  We had a wonderful climb yesterday to the summit – all three high points were reached on the peak:  Lenana, Nelion, and Batian, the highest point on Mount Kenya.  It was a beautiful 18-pitch technical rock climb and rappel back down.  It was about a 16-hour day for us.

Today we descend down, back into the lush forest, and to the Soames Hotel here, a very comfortable place to stay in Nanyuki.  Tomorrow, we’ll head back to Nairboi and fly back to the USA.

It’s been a great trip and we look forward to returning to Kenya at some point in the future.

Comfortable breakfast in camp

Comfortable breakfast in camp

Chase on the climb!

Chase on the climb!

On one of the traverse sections of the route

On one of the traverse sections of the route

Making our way to the Batian summit of Mount Kenya

Making our way to the Batian summit of Mount Kenya

Climbing the final pitch of snow

Climbing the final pitch of snow

At the summit of Mount Kenya, Africa’s 2nd highest peak

At the summit of Mount Kenya, Africa’s 2nd highest peak

The final 18 pitches of 5.6 - 5.7 rock climbing on summit day

The final 18 pitches of 5.6 – 5.7 rock climbing on summit day


In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

Climber on Mount Kenya

Congratulations to our team on reaching the highest point in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, Mount Kenya!  With yesterday’s Point Lenana (4985m) summit and this morning’s top out on both the summits of Nelion (5188m) and Batian (5199m), our team touched all three of Mount Kenya‘s high peaks.  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, provides the happy news from the very top of Mount Kenya via satellite phone:

Hello!  This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Kenya team!  Today is January 20th and myself and Chase are up here on the summit of Mount Kenya – the Batian summit.  We reached Point Lenana yesterday and the Nelion summit today and we got up here (Batian summit) about 2:00 PM Kenyian time.  Great climb — took us 8-1/2 hours, 18+ pitches of technical rock and a little snow.

We are looking forward to heading back down, getting a good night’s rest, and then trekking out tomorrow back to the trailhead.  So, all’s well here on Mount Kenya.  We’ve had a great climb and we’re looking forward to heading home soon.

[While the team is without connectivity we will be sharing some stock photos of the general locations]


In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

Austrian hut at the summit of Mount Kenya (Shutterstock 1214301250)

Today our Mount Kenya team ascended from the camp at Lake Michaelson to Mount Kenya’s third-highest peak, Point Lenana (4985m)!  One down, two to go!  They reached Point Lenana around 2:00 PM local time after hitting the trail at 08:30 AM.  Afterward, they descended to the high Austrian hut for dinner and the evening.

An alpine start is in store for tomorrow’s summit day, as they will be making their attempt on the Nelion (5188m) and Batian peaks (5199m) which will involve multiple pitches of technical rock climbing.  Godspeed guys!

[While the team is without connectivity we will be sharing some stock photos of the general locations]


In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map: