39-year- old Steve Obbayi will take on the challenge to be the first Kenyan to get to the top of the world’s tallest mountain.
Partnering with Toby Storie-Pugh, founder of Expedition Everest, the ascent will begin early next year.
Steve Obbayi cannot pinpoint the exact moment that his love relationship with the great outdoors began. However, one thing he is sure about is the thrill he gets from climbing anything that can be climbed.
As a young boy, he spent the better part of his day climbing walls and trees. The higher the climb, the more thrilling it was for him. Now, he is taking the challenge a notch higher to conquer Mt Everest.
39-year- old Obbayi will take on the challenge to be the first Kenyan to get to the top of the world’s tallest mountain whose highest peak stands at 8,848 metres above sea level.
Partnering with Toby Storie-Pugh, founder of Expedition Everest, the ascent will begin early next year.
In preparation for Everest, they will travel to Nepal in October of this year, for their next training session on Baruntse, 7168 metres above sea level, before heading to the Everest base camp in March 2014.
Storie-Pugh, 38, has been an avid climber since his youth in England. Combining his desire for adventure and goal of climbing Everest, he has also partnered with a US-based non-profit organisation known as Toilet Hackers to raise awareness of global sanitation issues.
After failing a medical exam that saw him miss out on joining the British Army, Storie-Pugh went on two solo motorcycling tours across Europe and Africa, it was in 2006 that he ended up in Kenya.
Volunteering in Nairobi, he and two friends co-founded a school and home for orphans, Flying Kites.
With a passion for extreme outdoor activities, he has been up the French Alps, Mt Kilimanjaro, and Mt Aconcagua in Argentina.
He recently started Advencha, an adventure company that has allowed him to lead treks in the Grand Canyon in the US, Kilimanjaro, Everest base camp and other destinations across the world.
Compatible
Obbayi and Storie-Pugh met in 2012 when the latter was in the country in search of a climbing partner for Everest.
Making a call through the Mountain Club of Kenya, the two met and took on Mt Kenya together to see if they were a compatible match. “I answered the call and about a week later, we spent a few days on Mt Kenya and we got along fairly well,” says Obbayi.
To take on the mountain, which is part of the Himalayas, intensive training is underway for the duo in preparation for the climb. They aim to put Kenya on the Everest map as well as raise awareness on the global sanitation situation through Toilet Hackers.
Toilet Hackers is a non-profit organisation based in New York with the aim of building over 10 million toilets around the world to expand the reach to proper sanitation.
“I wanted to climb Everest and do it in a way that would make a difference,” says Storie-Pugh.
The most challenging climb for Obbayi has been Mt Kenya. He took up the ascent of Kenya’s tallest mountain in 2011.
“A few short days up Mt Kenya and traversing over the summit with lack of sleep, carrying my entire pack and the effects of reduced oxygen just took its toll on me. I found myself having to rest and catch my breath every other step I took,” he explains.
To prepare for the journey, Obbayi has been ploughing through mountaineering books, watching information DVDs on past expeditions to Everest.
“This is to prepare myself mentally,” he explains. “In inhospitable environments such as those on Mt Everest, your thinking is not always up to speed. If something goes wrong, it needs to be second nature.”
So far, 3,000 climbers have successfully made it to the top of the mountain. Every year, hundreds gather at the slopes to take on certain parts of the mountain.
“It takes heart, courage, good physical shape, a sober mental state, the proper equipment and prior knowledge of what could be expected as far as mountain conditions go,” he explains.
The knowledge for the climber will come in handy as he strives to take on the course that will take nearly three months to complete.
Obbayi aims to be the first Kenyan to make it to the summit of Everest, 60 years after the first man made it to the top of the mountain.
According to BBC, it takes approximately 50,000 pounds (Sh6.8 million) to climb to the summit. The cost for the climb shall be catered for by sponsors through Expedition Everest.
