ROBERT McLELLAN-SIM (1907-1985)
Mount Kenya (5,199 m -17,057 ft)
Kenya
The mountain
Mount Kenya (5,199 m -17,057 ft) is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The origin of the name Kenya is not clear, but perhaps linked to the Kikuyu, Embu and Kamba words Kirinyaga, Kirenyaa and Kiinyaa which mean "God's resting place" in all three languages. Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, about 16.5 kilometres (10.3 mi) south of the equator, around 150 kilometres (93 mi) north-northeast of the capital Nairobi. Mount Kenya is the source of the name of the Republic of Kenya.
Mount Kenya is a stratovolcano created approximately 3 million years after the opening of the East African rift. Before glaciation, it was 7,000 m (23,000 ft) high. It was covered by an ice cap for thousands of years. This has resulted in very eroded slopes and numerous valleys radiating from the centre. There are currently 11 small glaciers and 8 peaks of which the highest are : Batian (5,199 m - (17,057 ft), Nelion (5,188 m - 17,021 ft)) and Point Lenana (4,985 m - 16,355 ft). The forested slopes are an important source of water for much of Kenya.
There are several vegetation bands from the base to the summit. The lower slopes are covered by different types of forest. Many alpine species are endemic to Mount Kenya, such as the giant lobelias and senecios and a local subspecies of rock hyrax. An area of 715 km2 (276 sq mi) around the centre of the mountain was designated a National Park and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The park receives over 16,000 visitors per year.
The main ethnic groups living around Mount Kenya are Kikuyu, Ameru, Embu and Maasai.
The first three are closely related. They all see the mountain as an important aspect of their cultures. The most famous Maasai are semi-nomadic people, who use the land to the north of the mountain to graze their cattle. They believe that their ancestors came down from the mountain at the beginning of time. The Maasai name for Mount Kenya is Ol Donyo Keri, which means 'mountain of stripes', referring to the dark shades as observed from the surrounding plains. At least one Maasai prayer refers to Mount Kenya: " God bless our children, let them be like the olive tree of Morintat, let them grow and expand, let them be like Ngong Hills like Mt. Kenya, like Mt. Kilimanjaro and multiply in number. "
All these cultures arrived in the Mount Kenya area in the last several hundred years.
Climbing routes
Most of the peaks on Mount Kenya have been summited. The majority of these involve rock climbing as the easiest route, although some only require a scramble or a walk. The highest peak that can be ascended without climbing is Point Lenana (4,985 m -16,355 ft). The majority of the 15,000 visitors to the national park each year climb this peak. In contrast, approximately 200 people summit Nelion and 50 summit Batian, the two highest peaks.
When ascended directly, Batian is usually climbed via the North Face Standard Route, UIAA grade IV+ (or 5.6+ YDS). It was first ascended on 31 July 1944 by Firmin and Hicks. The route is usually climbed in two days. The Normal Route is the most climbed route up Nelion, and thence across to Batian. It was first climbed by Shipton and Wyn-Harris on 6 January 1929. It is possible to traverse between the two peaks, via the Gates of Mist, but this often involves spending a night in the Howell hut on top of Nelion. There is a bolted abseil descent route off Nelion.
Mount Kenya's climbing seasons are a result of its location only 20 km (12 mi) from the equator. During the northern summer the rock routes on the north side of the peak are in good summer condition, while at the same time the ice routes on the south side of the peak are prime shape. The situation is reversed during the southern summer. The two seasons are separated by several months of rainy season before and after, during which climbing conditions are generally unfavorable.
Mount Kenya is home to several good ice routes, the two most famous being the Diamond Couloir and the Ice Window route. Snow and ice levels on the mountain have been retreating at an accelerated rate in recent years, making these climbs increasingly difficult and dangerous. The Diamond Couloir, a steep ice couloir fed by the fusion of the upper Diamond Glacier and pioneered in 1975 by Yvon Chouinard and Michael Covington, was once climbable in summer or winter but now is virtually unclimbable in summer conditions and is seldom deemed in climbable condition even in winter. Last climbing reports describe the route very difficult, especially in the lower section. The route has changed into a modern ice climb with a very difficult 60m first pitch, starting with 8m of overhanging M7 dry tooling, followed by 50m of USA Grade V ice and by others 6 pitches of moderate climbing on good ice and finally one pitch of water ice USA Grade IV+ ice at the headwall before getting to the Upper Diamond Glacier.
The satellite peaks around the mountain also provide good climbs. These can be climbed in Alpine style and vary in difficulty from a scramble to climbing at UIAA grade VI.
The painter
Robert Mc Lellan Sim (RMS) was born in Newport, Gwent, Wales. He attended Newport Secondary School from 1919 to 1924. In 1926 he won three prizes for graphic arts at the National Eisteddfod of Wales and in 1926 he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Newport School of Arts and Crafts (now part of the University of Wales). After finishing college with a Board of Education Teachers Certificate he attended the Newport Institute for Research into Art and Design (N.I.R.A.D.). Years later NIRAD merged with its sister institute from Cardiff to create the Wales Institute for Research into Art and Design.
RMS was a prolific artist, and during his time in East Africa (he travelled throughout Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika and Zanzibar) he completed as many as 40 paintings a year. His work was in great demand, mostly in Kenya and purchased by many eminent people and was extremely popular as an official gift or a farewell present. The Colony of Kenya presented a McLellan-Sim painting to HM The Queen on the occasion of her Coronation in 1953, and HM The Queen Mother was presented with another to commemorate her Visit to Kenya in 1959. Many a departing dignitary at the time of independence received a McLellan-Sim painting as a farewell gift. Both Jake Fletcher and Amoeba Walker took McLellan-Sim works of art home with them to England when they left the Prince of Wales School. The Kenya Regiment presented a McLellan-Sim painting to Sir Patrick Renison as their departing Commander-in -Chief when he retired as Governor of Kenya in 1961.
RMS was a successful commercial artist, with his clients including the East African Tobacco Company, the East African Standard and the Uganda Tourist Board. His public works included the murals for the Kenya Agricultural Stand in the Rhodes Centenary Exhibition of 1952 in Bulawayo, the Nakuru Railway Station murals of 1957 and the 1960 mural for the National Assembly Building in Nairobi.
RMS designed the 1954 blue 10 shilling postage stamp depicting the Royal Lodge at Sagana.
RMS’s move to Kenya in 1947 was a search for colour and space. His brief war service in the Far East obviously gave him a taste for warmer climes, brighter colours and wide spaces, aspects that were to feature strongly in his African paintings. He is on record as saying that he preferred landscapes and seascapes to portraits because he could go away on his own, often combining his field trips with fishing expeditions, during which he could turn to his sketch book when the trout would not jump!
In 1958, when back in England on home-leave, he told The Worthing Herald:
”I always paint sunshine. It was the sunshine that attracted me. I can’t paint greyness and cloudy skies, so Kenya is definitely the place for me.”