Can Mt. Kenya’s porters get the same professional respect as Mt. Everest’s?
Only at twilight, after their clients have been fed and are taking in the expansive Afro-alpine views, do the porters finally begin cooking for themselves. And not the pasta, salads, and curries that they’ve been preparing for their clients – but Kenyan dishes. A pair of young men huddled over a sufuria (pot) stir ugali (maize meal porridge) over a charcoal fire. There’s also wet-fry beef and sauteed greens – hearty foods, perfect fuel for long days.
Here at Likii North Camp, nearly 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) high, the thin, oxygen-poor air can sometimes cause altitude sickness in the uninitiated. But to porters who come from nearby villages, these high slopes are a second home.
On Mount Kenya, Africa’s second-highest mountain after
