Climbers Log - Mount Kenya

Putney's Domnic Frost shares his climb up Mount Kenya despite suffering from Diabetes

We started on Wednesday 17 May at Nanyuki a town near the Mount Kenya national park. There we met our guide and porters. There was little time to fully comprehend what we were undertaking. I had prepared all the diabetes equipment, rationed the insulin into thermometer-regulated bags, and packed spare needles, monitors, batteries and extra sugary supplies. Not to mention spare clothes for every type of weather. Jen and I felt ready but despite the training and previous mountains, we were not sure how things would go. The physical toughness would be a challenge, but how my diabetes would hold up was a complete unknown.

The first day was a short 10km hike through the jungle to our first camp. The jungle walk was tough; the humidity was stifling and inclines steep. In terms of diabetes management, the best way to describe my management was like a football tournament. The early knock out stages went well. I ran my sugars a bit higher to ward off a hypo and to give me a safety net. I managed to hold my levels stable at around 10mmol. On the second day as we approached 3,500 metres (11,482ft) I ran into insulin resilience –this was turning into the tricky the quarter final.

The second day started at 07.00hrs in bright sunshine. We walked up towards the valley which leads to Shipton’s camp. The walk was through a landscape of arid grassland and thick heather. The ridge-lines surrounding us were bare, and dusty. It was after we had lunch by the shallow valley river that my diabetes started becoming a worry. My glucose levels wouldn’t come down. I was reluctant to take any additional insulin because of my concern over a hypo. That afternoon’s march was a struggle. My sugars two hours after lunch were in the 20mmols and we still had 14km to go. During this period it was Jen who kept my spirits up and kept me going through my diabetes problems, as well as dehydration and the onset of altitude sickness. Without her I don’t know how I would have made it to the camp. Our guide later told us, that he had taken up diabetics before, but they turned around due to not getting their levels right at the point where we had lunch.



When we reached Shipton’s camp which is at 4,236 metres (13,898 ft) high, we were both exhausted and tired. The weather had changed from heat to rain and the coldness swept in. That evening the temperatures dropped down towards -10, we huddled round the cooking stoves with the team to keep warm but it seemed to make no difference, and we were cold to the bones. My sugars by the time we went to bed were finally on the way down but it was clear I couldn’t absorb the insulin. I increased my long acting, and increased my short acting insulin. The hut we stayed in was certainly basic, no heaters, no showers, and doors, which might as well not have been there due to the holes. The local wildlife was also out in force. Rats and birds ran and flew in and out of the hut. In the night one rat, which I later named Chico due to his cheeky nature, decided to investigate the warmth of our sleeping bags. However, with a quick scoop out of the bunk bed, he decided the floor would best suit his needs.



The next day my sugars were still high, I woke up at 14mmols. The altitude was still affecting my absorption rate. The first half of the semi-final was tough, as I really wasn’t feeling well. This day was our acclimatization day; our guide took us up to around 4,700 metres in order to assess our ability to reach the peak. Strangely my levels improved as we climbed. I was testing every two hours and I could feel the improvement. My headache also dispersed. Being effected by altitude is a strange sensation, it is like being drunk without the pleasantness, and your head just feels cloudy. As we got higher we were then able to enjoy the climb; we walked and scrambled knife-edge peaks in the shadow of Mount Kenya looking into the valley we climbed during the previous day. It was a brilliant experience and made the pain of the day before worth every moment. As we descended back to camp to prepare for summit day my headache returned as did Jen’s. At least I for future reference I know where I become affected by altitude.



That evening we prepared for the summit. We repacked our kits on the tables and read our books. We were both trying to keep our minds busy and not focus on the forthcoming day. Jen and I both knew it was going to be a challenge. My glucose levels became high again, and we had to climb the peak, which is not only steep but also dangerous, especially climbing at night with only head torches. Distance also became a factor. Our total trek for the day was going to be in the region of 32km.



At 2am Jen and I woke from an uneasy sleep for our final. The day we had been preparing for. The whole point of climbing in the dark is to reach the summit for first light, but it also helps mentally as you don’t really know how far or how much longer you need to walk. However, the moon and the stars were bright and clear. The silhouettes of the mountain peaks were clearly visible in the inky blackness as was how far we had to go.



The trek down the mountain seemed like a dream. We had 20km to walk that day from the peak until our final night stop. The walk down the mountain was even more stunning than the walk up to Shipton’s camp. We walked along the ridgeline looking back onto one of the largest waterfalls I had seen flowing from the mountain and into the lush jungle. I had thought the final part of the trek would be easier, but as the African sun bore down on us the heat in the midday sun became unbearable, our water ran out and there was limited shade. At this point I felt the effects of slight heat stroke.

The challenges kept coming even on the last leg, but that day after starting at 2am Jen and I made it to the finish line at around 4pm. We were tired, physically exhausted, sunburnt, dehydrated but elated The trek was the hardest thing we have ever done, but I would go through the pain and suffering, the diabetes issues, and the rats a thousand times again for the view at the top and to be the first type 1 from the UK to climb this mountain for Diabetes UK. In fact next year we are planning on going through it all again by taking on Kilimanjaro.

June 21, 2017