"Thorn. Can I talk to you?” Julian Wright, our expedition planner, who had been generally contained and expressionless for most of the trip, suddenly spoke to me with a mien and urgency that gave away the gravity of my symptoms. “I have arranged for the mountain rescue team to take you down. You leave immediately.”
And just like that, after four incredible days, my stab at Mount Kenya’s Point Lenana (4985m) – a whisker under the mountain’s highest peak, 5199m Batian – came to a dramatic end. That I was probably the most enthusiastic among the hiking party did not matter. My mental and physical preparedness for the trek offered little resistance. You see, Mount Kenya and her sister across the border, Kilimanjaro, offer great non-technical climbs for hikers across the world. Their location on the equator makes them an appealing choice due to milder temperatures compared to other mountains of a similar altitude. Fatal attraction, however, best describes these mountains. Despite being outside the world’s 100 highest peaks, they have acquired notoriety for altitude-related incidents, such as AMS and HACE – see box opposite.
Tea downed in strained haste, teary farewell hugs and, in less time than I had spent at the barren camp above the piercingly cold clouds, I was evacuated. A brief nursing session
