At over 20,000 feet above sea level numbing cold is the only sensation that one has to contend with. At this level the air is thin and each step is a battle for breath and stamina, but five intrepid Kenyan mountaineers beat the odds and on a crisp December morning in 1986 planted the Kenyan Flag on Island Peak in the Himalayas.
Mountaineering was first introduced to team leader Kenneth Matiba when he was a student at Alliance High School in 1950s. Outward Bound Mountain School opened in Kenya in 1951, and students from the school would be selected to go on an annual trek up Mount Kilimanjaro in neighboring Tanganyika. Though he had never climbed a mountain before young Matiba was intrigued at the idea of mountaineering. He applied twice but was not selected to be part of the Outward Bound Crew. Finally in 1953 his chance came when he made the cut. The team of thirty didn’t have access to mountaineering gear and accessories like boots had to be borrowed from the British Army for the students. Stage one was a week of prep at Jeanne’s School in Kabete – the current site of KIA. After that it was onto a lorry for the team to be transported Oloitokitok to begin the four day trek. It was a grueling experience and progress was not linear as the troop of 30 got lost several times. For the young men the cold that was experienced at each stage was surprising and took a lot of getting used to. Not all made it to the top but after four days when he finally made it to Mawenzi peak Matiba was hooked.
He returned to Kilimanjaro two more times and went on to climb Mount Kenya over seven times, infusing his children with a love of mountain climbing. But the thirst to go higher was always there. Over the years he came to know fellow Kenyans who were also keen on scaling great heights and throughout his life kept up a strong relationship with Outward Bound. In 1985 when he was over 50 Matiba put together a group of fellow climbers – doctor Elijah Nyanjui, photojournalist Wallace Gichere, Outward Bound Instructor Solomon Kimani and Naro Moru River Lodge instructor Stephen Wahome. Together the five men began planning an international trip to take the flag to the home of Everest – the Himalayas. The motivation was to go higher than any of them had ever scaled before and so after careful planning decided to scale Island Peak considered by many the “introductory peak” to the Himalayas. Through the Mountain Club of Kenya the team began to prep for the journey to Kathmandu. It meant frequent letters back and forth trying to secure a good climbing company, accommodation and equipment on location for the climbers. After months of correspondence everything was in place and it was off to Kathmandu. Before departure though, there was a training week where the five climbed Mount Kenya in preparation for the big mountains, with that “practice run” under their belt it was off to Asia.
Seeing the Himalayas as the team flew into Nepal was awe inspiring, the men from the equator had never witnessed that much continuous snow on miles and miles of mountains in their lives. When they flew into the village of Lukla they were already at 10,000 ft. The team disembarked and found their Sherpa host waiting for them, and so began their trek. An unexpected turn was the amazement they caused everywhere they went. Africans had never been seen before in these mountain villages and the small crew of five became a constant attraction everywhere they went, even amongst hundreds of other climbers.
The climb was grueling as they navigated steep and narrow paths together with their Sherpa Guide Nima Tamang, porters and six yaks. In a short time they became experts at managing their animals along the trails as they would meet teams on their descent on the narrow paths. Their biggest challenge? Unlike East African mountains, the Himalayas have both ascents and descents on the way up, with each ascent getting higher. The constant up then down in the cold was exhausting. But the team soldiered on. Their most somber moment was meeting a Spanish group that was coming down the mountain who had lost a climber who had fallen off an icy cliff. Reality hit, but they were committed to their cause.
Night would fall in the mountains by 4.30 and camps would be set up with warm cups of tea the only solace before resting to their freezing tents where they tossed and turned on uneven ground. Each day though brought better acclimatization to the heights and by day eight they were at the base camp for the assault on Island Peak. At this point in the thin air even 20 paces was a struggle but they eventually made it to 20,100 with the joy of achievement planted the Kenyan Flag.
We applaud the team of five mountaineers – the late Kenneth Matiba, Elijah Nyanjui, the late Wallace Gichere, Solomon Kimani and Stephen Wahome for escorting the flag to new locations and higher heights than it had ever been before.