There is a pinnacle that stands in the sea off the south coast of Tasmania that, for a climber, is one of the world's 'must dos'. It is 250 feet high and 12ft wide and it is utterly beautiful. It is called the Totem Pole and I had to have a go at it. On Friday 13 February 1998, I attempted the climb. As I was descending on the rope a boulder fell 90ft and smashed my skull in. The rescue was long and involved and I had to undergo six hours of surgery on my brain. I couldn't speak for a month and one side of my body was left paralysed.
Three years on I'm still recovering. It's a slow process. Many people with brain injuries can't see an end to it; they give up on their physiotherapy or neuro-psychology and their families give up on them too. I wanted to prove to people like myself that you don't have to give up on life just because you have a head injury. You can still follow your passion, whether it be cooking, reading or hang gliding. My passion happens to be mountaineering.
I decided to climb Mount Kenya, the second largest mountain in Africa (after Kilimanjaro), famed for its mighty twin peaks of Bation (5,199m) and Nelion (5,188m). At this stage of my recovery the peaks were too big a challenge for me. But Point Lenana is only 667ft lower than Nelion and can be climbed with minimal technical know-how or ability.
I would be accompanied by my wife Jane, who was part of my nursing team in Tasmania, and a small film crew from BBC Wales that wanted to make a documentary about the climb. I immersed myself in raising £5,000 for Headway, the brain injury association, but as the departure date grew nearer I began to get edgy. Would I be able to climb it? What if I found the terrain too tough? What if I couldn't cope with the altitude? I started having nightmares about the summit ridge where the rock would crumble, turn to dust and my feet would be left pedalling loose shale.
There are several routes up Mt Kenya. We were taking the most beautiful, the Chogoria route up the east side. In Chogoria, we hired nine porters and a guide and began the 23km drive up the boggiest road imaginable. I lost count of the number of times we had to get out of the Land Rovers and start digging or rocking our way out of the mire. We finally reached Urumandi Lodge at 3,000m, the starting point for the long trek up. Strange gruntings and howlings disturbed our sleep but we awoke to blazing sunshine. I decided to walk the short distance to the next camp, just to get me acclimatised; 200m before the campsite I was forced to stop and deal with painful blisters caused by my foot splint rubbing under my toes.
The next day's trek up to a flat ridge was rewarded with the most beautiful view I have ever seen. On the other side orange cliffs dropped steeply to a flat-bottomed valley 1,000m below and, in the distance, the Vivian Falls tumbled down from the glistening waters of Lake Michaelson.
There was still a long way to walk that day and I was already feeling giddy with the altitude. I fell off the path and tumbled down a small drop but Bernard, our guide, was there as always to pick me up. We scrambled up a cliff face and as I grabbed on to the rock holds I remembered their texture. I was a good climber once. Now I had to have Jane behind me and Bernard on the outside making sure I didn't fall. But I was doing it! I was climbing Mt Kenya. I was actually on my way.
When we came to a stream at 4,000m I couldn't go on. We were a couple of miles from our camp but I just had to stop so we put the tents up and got a brew on. It was here that, for the first time since my accident, I felt the intense beauty of the mountain - indeed, the beauty of any mountain, from Snowdonia to the Himalayas. I sobbed uncontrollably. All those emotions that I had felt when I had been to those wondrous places came flooding back to me. I had held those memories at bay for too long for fear of hurting myself. Now it was like I was seeing, hearing, smelling and feeling those mountains all at once.
The next day we walked the short distance to Mintos Camp at 4,300m. I was showing most of the symptoms of mountain sickness: headaches, lethargy, dizziness and lack of co-ordination. I needed an acclimatisation day and couldn't have chosen a more impressive spot for it. It was like a scene from Star Trek with the weird rocks and plants all around, the strangest of which has to be the giant groundsel, which stands 4m high with a massive pineapple head.
The fifth day saw an ant line of porters, film crew and climbers trailing up the mountain on what was to be my most arduous test. In his typical laid-back style, Bernard pointed out a ridge in the distance and told us that the hut was just the other side of it. After four hours of hard, sweaty work we rounded the ridge. The hut was nowhere in sight. I had to scramble across a further couple of kilometres of loose scree and across another ridge before I eventually reached the camp. We now saw several brightly coloured tents among the moraine. We had hardly seen a soul until then and were a bit put out to have our solitude interrupted.
The night was freezing cold and when the alarm sounded at 5.15am there was rime ice all over the inside of the tent. We started the final 250m to the summit in the half-light of dawn. After about an hour we came to the first difficult section. I didn't have a rope on and felt the exposure, the void below me, with a dizzying pressure from above. I got stuck at one step on the sharp ridge for 15 minutes. Imagine a shelf sticking out at waist height with nothing underneath it. Now imagine you only have the use of one arm and one leg. With Jane and Bernard on either side of me I hopped in the air and spun my bottom round so that I could perch on the ledge. In a sitting position I walked my cheeks backward onto the projection and with my hand swung my leg up onto it. I lifted my other leg up on its own and then powered up on just one leg. I was shaking with fear, and told Jane that I would need a rope from now on.
A little further along the ridge was a wall that I had to be belayed up. The joy of actually climbing again, on a rope, was overwhelming. My face was split from ear to ear with a huge grin. I made it quite easily and straightaway my mind was occupied by imaginings of harder climbs.
The Bation and the Nelion were just on the other side of the Lewis glacier and we could see the summit hut glowing in the sun. Just one last step of about a few metres and we had made it. After the photos and hugs I felt strangely deflated. I think it was because now I had to search for a new goal. I thought I would be emotional and teary but I must have been all cried out.
I fell on the descent and was left dangling painfully from the rope around my waist. Bernard came to the rescue again. As we approached Minto's campsite it began to hail. The hail then turned to snow and put down six inches in three hours.
Had we been a day later we wouldn't have climbed Mt Kenya. It had been the most arduous climb of my life and I was sated again for a while... I was still a climber.
Tips to the top
Best ways up: There are three main routes to climb Mt Kenya. The quickest and most popular is Naro Moro on the south-west of the mountain but be warned: part of the walk takes you through a vertical bog. Sirimon on the north-west offers great forest walking, while Chogoria in the east is the most dramatic and beautiful route. Tarmac roads lead to towns at the starts of the three main routes up the mountain.
When to go: Between mid-December and February or July and August during the dry season.
How to do it: Point Lenana, the third highest point on Mt Kenya, is a good target if you are a walker. A technical climb is required to reach the summit of Bation at 17,058ft.
Take it slowly - many people try to ascend too quickly and end up suffering from altitude sickness. A minimum of four days is required to climb to Point Lenana, the main destination for walkers. Fluid loss occurs rapidly at high altitudes accentuating altitude sickness so drink copious amounts of fluids.
Be prepared to rough it. Walkers camp out or stay in very basic huts without proper sanitation. Porters can be hired to carry your luggage.
Getting there
Sample prices
Sherpa Expeditions (020 8577 2717) features a 17-day Mt Kenya and Mt Kilimanjaro walking tour, which includes an overnight stay in Nairobi and five nights on Mt Kenya. A holiday in July or August starts from £1,722 per person including flights.
Exodus Travel (020 8675 5550) offers a combined Kenya/Tanzania walking tour that includes an ascent to Point Lenana. The 15-day tour, which includes six days in Kenya, starts from £1,875 inc flights and porterage.
Mt Kenya walking specialist EWP (01550 721319) offers tailor-made climbing trips for individuals or groups. A four-night trip from Nairobi costs about £365 each for two people (excluding international flights). This includes transport, food, camping, porterage and a guide.
Mt Kenya National Park fees: $14 a day for adults and $7 for children.
Useful reading
Trekking in East Africa by David Else (Lonely Planet). Mount Kenya 1:50,000 Map and Guide (1993), stocked by bookshops in Nairobi and Stanford's in London. EWP (01550 721319) also sells a Mount Kenya map for £6.50.
Websites
www.mountkenya.com
www.kilimanjaro.cc
More information
Mountain Club of Kenya (002542 501 747).
Kenya National Tourist Office (020 7355 3144/5/6)
Headway, the brain injury association charity (0115 924 0800)
Paul Pritchard's book The Totem Pole (Constable Robinson) recalls the accident that paralysed him and his battle to recover.
Readers can order a copy for £7.99 with free p&p. Freephone 0800 3168 171
• Life Matters, a documentary on Paul Pritchard's climb is being shown on BBC Wales in two parts on 25 April and 2 May
