Sam Mwangi is on a multi-pitch route called Seventh Wave on Main Wall in Lukenya. Photo Credit: Kang-Chun Cheng
Lukenya Hills, a popular crag less than an hour’s drive from the concrete jungle that is Nairobi, is like a breath of fresh air. Boasting of 572 routes on granitoid gneiss rock - mostly trad and bouldering but also offering some beloved sport routes - Lukenya is the most accessible outdoor climbing spot from the city. Set amongst a stunning view of the acacia tree-studded savannah, one can spot giraffes, dik diks, gazelles, zebras, and even hyenas on the approach. On a serene Sunday in late February, Main Wall is occupied by a good number of climbers revelling in the beautiful weather. Sam Mwangi, the climbing manager and route setter at Climb Bluesky climbing gym in the Parklands neighbourhood of Nairobi, has carved out the day to enjoy with four other climbers.
Sam Mwangi atop the climb "Mouse" located at Samburu near Ololokwe. Photo Credit: Ian Lekiluai
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Climb Bluesky is currently the only rock climbing gym in East Africa, offering bouldering, top-roping, and outside climbing trips to places like Lukenya and Hell’s Gate National Park. Sam has been involved with the gym since its inception in 2012 - a venture founded with the mission to catalyse a climbing community in Kenya and introduce the sport to the country. Sam is also a committee member of the Mountain Club of Kenya (MCK.) MCK is a members’ club that promotes climbing and mountaineering while stewarding all routes in Kenya.
Sam’s own journey with rock-climbing began over ten years ago at Hell’s Gate National Park, a two-hour drive northwest of Nairobi. It started on a trad route at a place called Fisher’s Tower - initially a weekend affair, but one that very quickly developed into a lifelong love. “I’m totally addicted to this lifestyle,” Sam explains. “I can’t do without it.” After that first experience at Hell’s Gate - one that Sam confirms truly felt like an epiphany - he was driven to return to that feeling of being disconnected with the world but connected with the wall, his body on the rock, and the razor focus of being in the flow as everything else melts away. As one of the first black rock climbers on the elite climbing scene back in 2014, Sam felt a distinct need to prove himself to his white peers. He needed to show others that he was damn serious about climbing and that he was legitimately good at the sport. He also wanted to ensure that other black Kenyans would not be faced with the obstacles that he did. Sam realized that there would be several stages to his journey of making rock climbing accessible in Kenya. Firstly, he was driven to research and consolidate information about the technicalities and process of climbing itself. Next came the process of acquiring gear - no small feat in Kenya, where importing foreign gear is often expensive and difficult to arrange. |
Sam Mwangi is a climber, route-setter, and climbing advocate in Kenya. Photo Credit: Kang-Chun Cheng
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Lastly came the community barrier and challenge in gathering momentum to create awareness about climbing in a country where the population is largely risk averse when it comes to leisure and hobbies. These challenges have gradually receded with the growing popularity of the very climbing community in Kenya which Sam has tirelessly worked to build.
Over the years, Sam has embraced all forms of rock climbing - trad, sport, and bouldering. Sam is a lanky, 6-foot tall self-described dark African with remarkably long legs and arms (to the envy of every short climber in the area.) He is foundational to both the Kenyan climbing community and even climbers just passing through. Sam is outgoing and generous with his energy, willing to climb with anyone and everyone. He has roped with countless climbers over the years - some local, others international (some notables include Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright).
Over the years, Sam has embraced all forms of rock climbing - trad, sport, and bouldering. Sam is a lanky, 6-foot tall self-described dark African with remarkably long legs and arms (to the envy of every short climber in the area.) He is foundational to both the Kenyan climbing community and even climbers just passing through. Sam is outgoing and generous with his energy, willing to climb with anyone and everyone. He has roped with countless climbers over the years - some local, others international (some notables include Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright).
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Sam explains, “I constantly want to gain more skills that I can pass on to other people. I’m sure I’ve taught more than a hundred climbers. It doesn’t always stick with people, but when it does, that’s the most rewarding.” Sam is constantly learning about climbing, believing one can learn different skills and perspectives from every culture and experience. Sam reiterates, “You can learn a lot of skills from Italians. As you translate the French system into the Yosemite Decimal system it gives you more information.”
Sam has dedicated his life to connecting Kenyans with both rock climbing and the rush that comes with sport and adventure. He is a patient trainer and coach, mentoring locals and expats alike on skills, techniques, and safety. He makes both weekend trips to Lukenya and more ambitious ones to Ololokwe and Mt. Kenya with people of all ages and levels. Safety comes first, followed closely by inclusivity - making sure that everyone feels that rock climbing is for them. On the Main Wall, as Sam abseils down to help the “Trad Girlz” (a movement of female Kenyan climbers celebrating female companionship in the outdoors) with unsticking a jammed toprope, one of them shouts, “When you climb with Sam, you’re able to do things you never thought you could. He exudes that kind of confidence!” Ian Thorpe, the MCK librarian, has declared, “Sam is the best rock climber I have ever seen. Even if he is often scared by [outside] boulders.” |
Akhil Malde leading "Hope Floats" at Lukenya. Photo Credit: Kang-Chun Cheng
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Esha Bakari on a first ascent of "COVID-2" located at Kalama area in Machakos. Photo by Sam Mwangi
Sam’s natural affinity for mentoring finds its way to me. “You need to ask yourself why you climb,” he said after a particularly frustrating session at Bluesky, where I climbed poorly and had been visibly disparaging to myself. “This is something I like asking people. For me, climbing is to be free. When I’m on the wall, I concentrate only on climbing. I don’t think about anything else, there’s no stress or worry. Find your purpose in climbing.”
Sam welcomes all into climbing, but also emphasizes that, “One of my goals is to ensure rock climbing is accepted by Kenyans.” As Africans realize climbing’s remarkable capacity for deepening both human relations and connections to the outdoors, the sport has been gaining momentum on the continent.
Sam welcomes all into climbing, but also emphasizes that, “One of my goals is to ensure rock climbing is accepted by Kenyans.” As Africans realize climbing’s remarkable capacity for deepening both human relations and connections to the outdoors, the sport has been gaining momentum on the continent.
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Sam’s mission to encourage Kenyans to seek a similar form of achievement and contentment through climbing faces a number of barriers. For an urban population such as Nairobi, money is intrinsically tied to access. Most individuals who have the opportunity to get outdoors enjoy the financial stability to do so. They also need someone to introduce them to the concept of type-2 fun.
While there is currently a lack of resources to help overcome the monetary barrier, the community is working to attenuate this obstacle. Sam frequently contributes not only time but also personal savings to make trips happen, but he also hopes to help develop an African climbing movement or federation to coalesce climbing clubs such as MCK with its counterparts in Uganda, South Africa, Egypt, and elsewhere on the continent. Such a cooperative would encourage locals to share personal stories, challenges, and achievements within the sport while also advocating for diversity and inclusion. Risk aversion is another significant factor that can deter Kenyans from climbing. It is not uncommon for African parents to scold or discipline their kids for brash or potentially unsafe activities such as climbing trees. During those formative years, protective parenting can very easily deter kids from more adrenaline-fueled activities. But by placing a strong emphasis on the cohesive community of rock climbing and how one may gain morale and poise through deepening relationships with fear and risk, Sam works to highlight the advantages that come with embracing climbing as a culture. Sam states, “The beauty of climbing is seeing someone walk in our gym without any understanding of climbing, then walk out with the confidence and skills to tackle hard climbs outdoors. It is so humbling to witness the process.” Indoor climbing has really grown in Africa from City Rock, a maze of a climbing gym in Johannesburg, South Africa, to Climb Bluesky in Nairobi. Now, people can climb any time without going to the crag. “[Having these gyms] has opened up access and made organizing climbing competitions easier,” Sam explains. As March rolls around, Sam is helping organize Jamrock, the only indoor climbing competition in Kenya which has been an annual affair since 2013. |
Bindi Gudhka on "Ulf Carlsson." Photo Credit: Sam Mwangi
Roy Xu topping out on "Tombstone" in Lukenya PhotoCredit: Kang-Chun Cheng
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Another challenge with Kenyan climbing is the bucket-list mentality, where people do something once, take a photo, and never come back. Sam has been working to break down this barrier in the hopes that people will come back and keep on climbing. Gitonga Wandai is one such mentee whom Sam has been training with since 2020. Together, they work on rope management, jumaring, and building endurance through long multi-pitch climbs. Gitonga’s goal is to become the first black Kenyan to climb Mt. Everest in 2022. With Gitonga breaking such major barriers, Sam emphasizes, “It’s very inspiring to see how far climbing has come in Kenya. I find motivation in people.”
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The issues of safety and certification of climbing guides remain an ongoing process. Sam is ACCT (Association for Challenge Course Technology) certified but otherwise self-taught, and constantly works to fill in knowledge gaps through readings, YouTube, learning from visiting climbers, and further practice. Increasing access to formal climbing certification processes in Kenya is yet another barrier to overcome, but one that Sam embraces.
From places like Mt. Kenya - home to Batian, Kenya’s highest peak at just over 17,000 feet - to the most difficult climbs in Mt. Ololokwe and Kitchwa Tembo, rock climbing in Africa provides a special sense of purpose and connection to an incredible land. Expanding climbing in Kenya is a multi-faceted task, but anchored in people like Sam who dedicate their life to the sport and have a special vision for what it can give to others. “Africa has such beautiful crags, some in national parks. Locations range from Tsavo and Kitchwa Tembo to Mavoloni and Baringo and from South Africa to Egypt, Malawi to Morocco, Ethiopia to Niger..... let's climb the African way.” |
Sam Mwangi is a mentor in the Nairobi climbing community and seeks to exapnd climbing opportunities like competitions and guiding certifications. Photo Credit: Kang-Chun Cheng
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Sam Mwangi abseiling down "Boiler Plate" in Lukenya after anchor building. This is the granitoid gneiss of the area. Photo Credit: Kang-Chun Cheng