Deep Behind Enemy Lines, page 9
Early the next day, our sixth, we’ll reach the summit at Uhuru Peak. We descend on days six and seven. Clothing should be worn or carried to take account of the mixture of weather conditions. Obviously, well maintained walking boots, waterproofs and one, or a maximum of two, warm jumpers. This last because we will also be carrying sleeping bags and pup tents, together with sufficient compo rations and hexamine cookers during the climb. Therefore, I stress absolutely nothing extraneous to be included in your backpacks. We can expect re-supply by air from AAC Beaver at Lava Tower Camp which has been organised for the morning of the fifth day.’ Josh paused and looked around his team. ‘Are there any questions?’
‘Yes, Staff. Are we expected to break any climbing records?’ asked one of his corporals.
‘No, that’s not the purpose of the exercise. It’s more prudent to climb at a speed and rate acclimatisation dictates. The object of the exercise is to reach the summit in as fit condition as when we started out. Mr Travers has arranged for us to be equipped with radios for communication with Staff Scraggs at the summit of Mount Kenya and the pilot, or in the event a casevac is necessary. Any further questions?’
‘Yes, Staff. Are we assured that the radios have the power and range to bridge the required distances?’ asked another of Josh’s corporals.
‘You’ll be carrying the most powerful radios we have, so height and distance should be no problem,’ interjected Mr Travers.
‘One final question, Staff. Can we assume we’ll be sleeping in the pup tents throughout the exercise?’ asked another team member from the floor.
‘As mentioned earlier, there’s basic accommodation at each stop, huts and bunk beds, so we’ll use those if not already occupied.’
Josh looked at the major and his companion. ‘Do you gentlemen have anything you’d like to add?’
The OC nodded. ‘At this point I want to emphasise you keep the main object of this exercise uppermost in your minds, namely to maintain fitness and capability, preparatory to support requirements during any insurgency operation. We’ll leave further comments until Staff Scraggs has completed his briefing. Thank you, Staff Baines. A very comprehensive overview.’
‘OK, I’ll pass the briefing of Team-B over to Staff Scraggs. Bill, the floor’s all yours,’ said Josh.
Bill picked up the pointer. ‘Having checked the different routes for the ascent of Mount Kenya, I’ve chosen the Sirimon route. We start off at Nanyuki, and have night stopovers at the following camps en route. The Judmeier Camp which has dormitories and is a large campsite; muleteers will accompany us to this first stop and be our night one. The Arthur Firmin Hut is next where some bivouacking in pup tents may be required, subject to the availability of bunk beds. We stop there for night two.
The Shipton’s Camp follows where we stay for nights three and four. Our last stop is the Top Hut for night five. Again, some pup tents may be required at this hut location. The Top Hut is at the foot of Point Lenana, and the ascent is by steep scree and rock that’s pretty demanding to navigate. The climb is very accessible, but there’s a similar problem to that pointed out by Staff Baines. With a high level of fitness, it’s easy to gain altitude quickly and then find oneself, on the night before summiting, with a thumping headache and symptoms of acute mountain sickness.
Trekking at a sensible, easy pace, and keeping hydrated, makes all the difference. The best policy is for us to allow extra time for our ascent and an extra day at Shipton’s Camp. This takes all the pressure off our itinerary and gives us time to enjoy a bit of good trekking around the peaks. Generally speaking, it’s not so essential to undergo a gruelling fitness regime prior to attempting Mount Kenya, since we’re comfortable walking six to eight-hour days, which will be fine for us. However, our level of stamina and endurance has, as you all know, a more important objective!
The Sirimon Route is the easiest and most popular ascent because the altitude gain is nice and steady and offers one of the better approaches to the peaks. We’ll allow a minimum of five nights to Top Hut and ascend to Point Lenana on day six. We can reassess spending an extra night at Shipton’s if necessary. Our shortest trek, as I’ve said, ascends via the easier Sirimon route, but we’d descend via the quicker Naro Moru route. I’ve requested our airdrop for the morning of day three at the Arthur Firmin Hut.
Next point: when to go. Based on weather conditions, and Mount Kenya being on the equator at an altitude of 2,667ft overnight temperatures can drop to well below freezing. Minus ten or even twenty degrees isn’t unheard of at Point Lenana. A good winter sleeping bag is a must, which our military bags are more than sufficient to handle.
Otherwise, expect plenty of warm to hot overhead sun during the day. Getting to Mount Kenya from Nairobi will take around four hours. There are good metaled roads all the way to the town and at the foot of the mountain, but the last stretch of road up to the park gates is rough murram, so expect a bumpy ride. Our trek will start at Nanyuki where, at the end of the descent, we’ll be able to shop around prior to the truck ride back to base. Again, pup tents may or may not be needed. OK, that’s all I have for you now. Are there any questions from my team?’
‘Presumably we won’t be attempting any of the more difficult peaks such as Batian, Nelion or Two Tarn,’ piped up one of Bill’s corporals.
‘No, we’ll only trek to Point Lenana during this climb.’
‘A further question, Staff. How far up will we be using the mules?’
‘To the top of the first and largest scree. Thereafter we carry our own kit hence Staff Baines’ warning about unnecessary baggage,’ replied Bill. He turned to Major Brown and invited any further comments he wished to make.
‘My thanks again to you, Staff Scraggs, for a well-thought-out and comprehensive overview. What about any serious accidents or incidents such as broken limbs, falls or serious altitude sickness,’ Major Brown asked.
‘As I told the men earlier, for an urgent casevac from the mountains we’d radio the Kahawa Air Wing. A casevac of any seriously injured individual, subject to the altitude, would be recovered by helicopter. However, if altitude capability is restricted, then the Huey will be called in,’ responded Bill.
‘Good. It only remains now for you all to get a good night’s rest. I wish you all well for the effort and challenge you’re about to embark on. Good afternoon, gentlemen.’
The entire troop stood as the OC and Travers left the conference room. Then the two teams were dismissed to carry on with preparations for the departure next day, one team bound for Arusha in Tanganyika and the other for Nanyuki in Kenya.
Bill and Josh headed across to the air wing to confirm details with Ken Noakes, who’d been tasked to undertake the airdrops. They discussed the casevac situation in the event of emergency and, when everything was satisfactory, thanked him and said cheerio. Their next contact with him would be via ground to air radio to receive supplies. They could now head back to the office to get their limited personal belongings together ready for the morning.
Chapter 17
Tuesday 29th October dawned to a clear sky, and at 0545 hours Bill and Josh headed over to the vehicle compound to make roll-call. The order to board was given and the trucks rolled out punctually at 0600 hours.
Bill called a parting shot to Josh. ‘If the radios work well we’ll talk when we reach the summits. Or maybe before if it becomes necessary; so, the channel needs to be kept open.’
‘Will do. Good trekking, mate,’ Josh called across to him.
The B-team was first to reach its destination in Nanyuki by 1000 hours, the distance being considerably less than Josh’s journey to Arusha. As soon as they arrived, Bill had his team offload the gear for the muleteers to reload it into the mule panniers, and an hour later they headed for the Sirimon Route and their first night stop at Judmeier Camp at 2,267ft.
With steady trekking it took them the best part of eight hours to reach the camp hut, but by 1900 hours they’d unpacked, had a meal and settled in for the night. The muleteers would remain overnight and return to Nanyuki next day.
The A-Team arrived in Arusha and, as with Bill, the truck was offloaded, packed into the mule panniers in double-quick time, and the team set out for the Machame Camp Hut for the first night’s stop. With steady trekking, they reached the hut well after full dark, and unloaded the gear they needed for the night with the aid of camping lanterns. Some of the men opted to sleep inside the hut, whilst the rest bedded down in pup tents. Their muleteers would also stay overnight before leaving next morning, returning on the seventh day to the Mweka Hut where the team had descended for their return trip to the Machame Gate.
Josh was feeling upbeat at this point, and was looking forward to the next trek up to Shira Camp where again they’d sleep over. At first light, the muleteers left them, and they made ready for the next leg of their ascent.
B-Team’s second leg of the climb proved arduous, due to the loose and slippery scree underfoot and, at times, the men had to assist one another; but they trudged on stoically and without complaint. It would take the best part of the day to reach Arthur Firmin Hut. One small upside was the Rucksack Bergen’s they carried would get lighter the higher they climbed as rations and water depleted. Bill had advised the men not to pack more than one day’s provisions and absolutely nothing they could do without, so they were only toting sufficient for their needs.
Apart from the loose scree underfoot, the going was good as they trudged along, and interest was kept alive and away from aching legs as they caught glimpses of the varied and interesting wildlife en route. As it was now becoming colder, most of the men hauled out a warmer jumper from their backpacks.
They’d made good progress and were a little ahead of schedule, but were totally bushed when they reached the hut in the late afternoon. Although very tired, there was a good mood among them as they prepared a meal and settled in for the night.
Next morning, after reveille and breakfast were done with, Josh and his team set off on their trek up to Shira Camp and the night stop there. It had started to rain heavily during the day, making for particularly slow and dangerous progress due to the mud and slippage underfoot. The team stopped briefly to don ponchos, hoping against hope the downpour would be short-lived. As it turned out, the deluge only lasted for about an hour but, of course, they were all soaked through. Underfoot conditions had been extremely hazardous, and the rising terrain meant there was constant water flow and heavily mud-caked boots to contend with, the loose shale adding to the difficulties.
They’d been trekking in an area just before the Shira Ridge and started to climb the Barranco Wall, demanding extreme concentration and endurance. The Wall was basically a stretch of vertical rock, which, in dry conditions, was normally relatively easy with a short and narrow chimney to scale; in these wet circumstances, it became treacherous. And then, without warning, one of the NCOs lost his grip, caught his foot on an unseen protrusion, twisted and fell some twenty feet, landing with a shout.
Josh’s high spirits plummeted and he called a halt. The team carefully climbed back down to where the injured man lay to assess the damage. The soldier had one leg twisted at an unnatural angle and it was obvious he had sustained at least one fracture, maybe more, but without proper medical attention wasn’t immediately apparent. They had to get the man up to Shira Camp Hut, so Josh instructed four NCOs to fashion a crude stretcher with stout branches threaded through coat sleeves, and the injured man was gingerly lifted onto it. He was in extreme pain but he bit his lip and tried not to cry out too much.
The afternoon light was fading into evening making it a difficult task, but eventually they got him to the hut. Morphine was stored in the medical pack and Josh administered a shot, carefully lifted the leg into a more natural position and secured it with improvised splints on either side. Next, he called OC Air Wing with an emergency casevac request and the man was made as comfortable as possible until the Huey arrived about forty-five minutes later and airlifted him to the British Military Hospital in Nairobi.
After attending to the NCO, and before the Huey had arrived, Josh made contact with Major Brown who listened to his account of the fall and expressed his deep concern. He assured Josh he would check on the patient, adding the rider he expected a full report on their return. As promised, after more than an hour he called back to let Josh know the young soldier was now in the recovery ward and as comfortable as could be expected.
Josh thanked the OC for the update. Considering the setback, he made another call to AAC Air Wing, requesting a change of airdrop to Crater Camp at a day to be confirmed. He wasn’t taking any chances just in case of more mishaps.
By now of course, it was much later than planned, and Josh listened to the desultory chatter amongst his men. Because they’d had no time for anything other than dealing with the injured man they were still in wet attire, so lamps were lit and they hustled to put on dry clothing and downed hot soup to warm them through. Pup tents were pitched and the men settled thankfully into their sleeping bags for the night, their snores mingling with the night chorus from creatures in the surrounding vegetation. He would let them sleep in until around 0800 hours and break camp about two or three hours after. Maybe earlier depending on how the men stepped up to the ordeal. He wanted to get to Lava Tower Camp at least before full darkness.
Even prior to the accident Josh had been fretting about the slow progress and delay during the day in view of the next leg to Lava Tower Camp, which would test the whole team’s stamina. Now they were even further behind time wise; they’d lost well over half a day. They really needed to be fresh and alert on the next leg and, metaphorically speaking, he had his fingers crossed they would achieve Uhuru Peak on schedule. Josh made the decision to radio across to Bill and fill him in on the situation. He got out his radio and moved away from the men’s hearing. It needed to be a private conversation.
‘Hey, Josh, I hadn’t expected to hear from you just yet. How’s it going?’
‘Hi, Bill. Well we’re at Shira Camp Hut and I’ve bad news. One of my NCOs took a nasty fall today and I had to call for a casevac. He’s back at the British Military Hospital now and has been operated on for a broken leg.’
‘Ouch! That’s a bummer. What happened?’
Josh filled him in on all the details of their traverse of the Barranco Wall, along with the slow progress during the day. Bill’s clipped reply was rather terser than he’d intended.
‘Did you let Major Brown know the score?’
Josh was not in the mood to be interrogated; does the bloody man think I’m an idiot and don’t know how to do my job? The old antagonism was still there beneath the surface, particularly in light of the day’s events, but he kept his cool.
‘Obviously,’ he replied, somewhat coldly. ‘Immediately I’d attended to the NCO and called in the casevac. The major expressed his concern, of course, and wants a full report on our return,’
Bill fired off yet more questions. ‘Were you on a workable section of the wall or what? Was he still conscious? Was it just one break or were there multiple fractures? How did you get him up to the hut?’
Josh was tired, cold, exasperated and thoroughly ticked off, not the least because he knew this didn’t look too good and might possibly blot his copybook.
‘For your information, all the minute details will be in my report to the major which you can read when we get back. But for now, what happened is as I’ve just said,’ he fired back.
‘OK, Josh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to get your back up. Considering the circumstances, I’ll delay our ascent to Lenana until you confirm you’ve reached Crater Camp and are ready to assault Uhuru Peak. God willing neither of us will encounter any more incidents along the way. We’ll talk briefly again then.’
‘All being well we’ll get to Crater Camp the day after tomorrow. All of us here need a respite considering the day we’ve just lived through. Also, I’ve changed our airdrop for when we’re at Crater Camp. OK, I’ll sign out now. If I don’t get my head down soon I’ll keel over where I stand. Speak soon. Over and out.’ Josh did a quick round to check on the men and finally crawled into his sleeping bag.
Later than would have been normal, A-Team recommenced their climb up the remainder of the Barranco Wall, fortunately suffering no further setbacks and arrived at Lava Tower Camp just before dark, as Josh had hoped. His men had done well and he thought congratulations were in order. The men felt chuffed; not too many senior NCOs gave out sweeties.
When the call from Josh the night before had ended, Bill thought about the conversation. He realised he’d been somewhat OTT, borne more out of concern than anything else, but it must have come across as an interrogation. He only hoped it hadn’t damaged his still delicate relationship with Josh. An abject apology was called for when they all got back to camp.
The drone of an aircraft roused them close to 0630 hours and one of the men, still drowsy with sleep groaned.
‘Sounds like our drop, Staff.’
Bill put the radio to his ear and heard Ken. ‘Morning, Bill. I’m getting you strength 5. Is all going well? Are you ready for your supplies?’
‘Hi, Ken. Yes, we’re ready for you. We can see you quite clearly now.’
‘I’ll make one circuit, do the drop and see you back at the Kahawa bar in a few days. Good hunting. Over and out.’
The Beaver came around; Ken dropped the supplies then turned and flew away waggling the wings in farewell. B-Team waved confirmation and proceeded to unpack the goods and bury the small chute in some malleable ground nearby.
‘OK, guys, share this lot out equally,’ ordered Bill. Once completed they set off on the trek towards Shiptons Camp which again would take best part of the day to reach and they were aiming to get there during daylight hours.
