Day 6: The Barranco Wall

Start: Barranco Camp

Finish: Karanga Camp

Distance: 3 miles

Elevation gain: 3976m to 3995m

Climatic zone: Alpine Desert

It was a cold morning as the sun rays were obstructed by the Barranco wall, which would be today's main obstacle to overcome. Ascending the wall allows climbers to reach the Southern slopes of the mountain which leads to the Karanga valley which ultimately allows access to the southern side of the Ururu peak. The Barranco wall is often a factor that deters people from choosing the Lemosho route. The wall was formed between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago through volcanic activity and is comprised of steep and narrow paths that require four limbs to ascend, which totals to 2 hours of slow scrambling. During my research for this trip, I stared at countless maps of the mountain to gain an understanding of the route. As I traced my finger over the trail to the summit, it felt like I was effortlessly gliding over the terrain, soaring over rock faces and drifting over the steep inclines all from the warm, oxygen rich comfort of home. I always find the terrain, the weather and the altitude are instant reminders of the limits of a map’s power – it can never replicate the true challenges of an environment.

Following breakfast we began the task of ascending the wall. It felt like a problem solving task that required you to carefully think about where to place each foot and hand in order to gain height on the wall. Our guides looked out for us, with Joey suggesting routes that would be more suitable for my short limbs and Anton looked like he was permanently at the ready to catch anyone that tripped or fell. George was in his element as a keen climber and we both laughed and smiled as we clambered up the rock face. Porters carried ridiculous loads of gear, large packs and camping chairs balanced on their heads, while miraculously still showing complete control over every movement. One porter also carried a tray of eggs in one hand in addition to the weight on his back, leaving a single hand to try and negotiate his way up the wall. As he reached a section that required both hands to pull yourself up, Saidi quickly ran over and carefully held the tray of eggs for him, passing them back as he cleared the challenging section. We reached a section where there was a gap between two rocks and a large drop off below, the boys were all tall so could step over this gap safely but my lack of height didn't allow for this. Joey stood behind me and encouraged me to jump giving me a gentle nudge and Anton waited on the other side to catch me. The whole experience was pretty exhilarating and the adrenaline coupled with the lower atmospheric pressure really elevated my heart rate. After an hour or so of climbing we reached the “kissing wall” which is a portion of the ascent that is so narrow that it has to crossed by pressing your body close to the rock while avoiding falling down the steep drop off below. It's common practise to kiss the wall for luck on the way. Saidi showed me how to position myself and cheered as I kissed the wall, grabbing my arm and pulling me over to safety onto a wider rock. In just under 2 hours we'd reached the top of the wall and were rewarded with beautiful views up to the summit, along with stunning cloud inversion below.

The sounds of upbeat African music echoed off the flanks of the mountain as groups of guides and porters chatted and joked at the top of the wall. We took photos above the clouds, ate snacks and drank water to recover - the atmosphere and relief of being above the wall was incredible. The remainder of the morning was tiring as we descended steeply down a rocky path, only to regain the height to climb to Karanga camp, which sits just shy of 4000m above sea level. We were all grateful to see camp and Saidi told us how proud he was with our performance on the wall, before encouraging us into the mess tent to refuel. After lunch I played cards with Ramaa, Saidi, George and Will before we completed a gentle acclimatisation walk to increase our height by around 200m. Joey calmly led us up the slope adopting the usual "pole pole" pace as the ever entertaining Saidi and Anton, chased each other and planted small rocks in our jacket hoods, then giggling and looking guilty. After the climb we rested on some rocks as Saidi called over to me "How many press ups do you want boss?", I requested 10 and he dropped to the floor and completed them with his heavy pack on, as we all shook our heads and laughed in disbelief at his endless energy. We descended back to camp where we were greeted with tea and biscuits before another lovely dinner.

After dinner Anton told us stories about the Masai tribe, his parents had left for town when he was younger but he spent some of his childhood growing up with the Masai. He explained aspects of the culture to us, smiling cheekily as he told us men can have up to 4 wives. He continued to tell us there are two ways to propose to a woman - the first is to give her a leaf (he demonstrated with a torn off corner of a napkin). If the woman agrees she keeps the leaf intact and if she disagrees she rips it into two pieces. He then casually introduced the second proposal method as "kidnapping", a rather less endearing tactic where the man recruits up to 5 of his friends to kidnap the woman and take her to his house, here there is less choice for the woman. Saidi laughed exclaiming "Masai are crazy!" and Anton nodded, giggling at our shocked reactions. Joey was chuckling to himself and could see we were enjoying learning about the different cultures, so he tapped Anton saying, "More stories!" We laughed and shared stories until we were tired and headed to bed. Despite the long day and the challenge of the Barranco wall, I was still feeling energised with healthy oxygen levels and luckily no signs of detrimental effects from the altitude. Beyond here lies base camp and the summit, which is where the real challenge would commence but I felt ready to tackle it.