Ithumba Hill All Trad climbing 1 route in crag

Ithumba Hill, which should not be confused with another hill also called lthumba, east of the Athi River in lower Kitui, rises out of the plains north of Simba. Ithumba Hill can be seea from the main Nairobi-Mombasa road between Emali and Simba - the big easterly precipice is particularly prominent from here.

The rock is gneiss, and slants at at an excellent angle for climbing. The type of climbing is similar to that of Lukenya, but the rocks are more impressive than anything there, not excluding the Main Face [Editor's note - personal opinion from 1949, take with a pinch of salt]. Whether the Ithumba rocks, as a whole, will give as much fun as Lukenya, though, remains to be seen, they might.

As with Lukenya, Ithumba is easily accessible to the motorist, the main face being within 200 metres of the nearest road. It is only 160 km from Nairobi, the first 134 of which (Nairobi to Emali) are along the main Mombasa road, and the crag could well be visited from Nairobi in the course of a long weekend. The dry weather is best, because in the rains the Muoni River, which must be crossed, may be in spate. [Ed. a 2023 recce is needed to check access now].

The road which skirts the east face of Ithumba passes through tall shady trees near the base of the crag, and this locality is suitable for a campsite. There is water locally, the nearest being 6 km away at Mbulutini, but this is too brackish to drink. The nearest good water is at a spring which feeds the Masai dam dear the railway half a mile west of Simba. The country immediately east of Irhumba is mostly uninhabited and covered with thick bush. There are rhino here, but it is unlikely that a climber will be molested in the immediate vicinity of the hill, although those who want to roam in the bush should carry a rifle.

Ithumba is at an altitude of around 1300 m, rising 213 m from the surrounding plains. The main face is 91 m high (3,800 to 4,100 figures by aneroid).

The main face is intersected by series of approximately horizontal terraces which (unfortunately, perhaps) provide a number of easy ways off the rocks. Only one route has been done to date on this face - the Aloe Climb, described below - but there should be many other climbs awaiting discovery both here and on the subsidiary tocks along the south flank of the hill. The photographs give a fair idea of the sort of climbing to be expected the only things I don't like about this crag are the belays. These are even smaller than on Lukenya, the average being a couple of thumbnails high. They are solid enough, but I can never make up my mind how they should be used. Should one lean trustfully on the belay, making little use of the normally inadequate stance below, or should one perch precariously on the stance, making little use of the belay, in which case as the loop is not pulled off, it will almost certainly flop off.