Note: For best results, it is recommended you read Part 1 of this series before proceeding any further. Click here to read it now.
Journal Entry - Day 4
I could not have imagined saying this when I was suspended perpendicular to a vertical rock face - clinging to the ropes and trying to gain a foothold as my heart did its best impression of Dave Grohl in a drum battle - but it has been a good day.
When we began the day’s hike, the conditions were much the same as the past couple of days. Mud, sludge, rain, and wind made climbing difficult and dispiriting. But as Tolkien said, oft hope is born when all is forlorn. Midway through our hike, the rain subsided and by the time we reached camp, the sky cleared. We made the most of the weak sunshine by spreading the damp contents of our rucksacks over every available boulder. Like most other campsites, this one, too, served as pasture for grazing herds. This meant, of course, that the boulders (and our clothes) developed an intimate relationship with goat manure but we didn’t mind. When you haven’t bathed for days, goat manure is just one humble ingredient in the bouquet of aromas swirling around you and your crew.
In the afternoon, we began our (very) basic mountaineering training. Our first assignment was walking in snow boots. A simple enough task which had only one teensy problem: the snow boots were - in weight, flexibility, and comfort - identical to blocks of concrete. We waddled around the campsite for an hour or so before giving up. We will have to wear the snow boots for a full day, during our trek to the summit. I am reconciled to the possibility that I may never feel my toes again.
Next on the training agenda was rappelling and jumaring. Each of us had to wear a harness rigged with elaborate paraphernalia. (There were carabiners, ascenders, and other nameless bits and bobs). Our trek guides set up rope lines and we took turns to rappel down a sheer rock face.
Confidence, particularly when it’s unfounded, is a remarkable thing. My absolute lack of technique or prior experience mattered little to me as I stood on the lip of the drop, looked down, grinned and said, easy peasy. In fairness, the rock wall was just a few metres of descent and, I figured, could be covered in a few steps. Unfortunately, I had failed to account for the fact that when you’re walking backwards down an uneven wall, with a rope around your waist as your only defence against gravity’s murderous embrace, you tend to take rather small steps. After what felt like hours of tripping over my feet and tangling in the ropes, I finally made it to the bottom. Which was far from being a happy outcome because it meant I now had to climb back up the damn thing.
It was painful going. The recommended approach, as I understood it, was to fix the ascender (or jumar) to the rope, push it forward, use the tautness it created to haul yourself upwards, and then repeat the process. There was, however, a wide chasm between knowing and doing. I diligently performed each of the prescribed steps but no matter how hard I pushed and how much I hauled, I stood rooted at the same spot. Eventually, I eschewed skill for force, grabbed the rope with both hands and dragged myself up the wall. It was not a pretty sight. I had asked my companions to take pictures of my adventures on the rock face but perhaps out of pity - or an aversion to documenting the grotesque - they had refrained. (I thank them for their sagacity.)
The afternoon’s exertions were followed by a sedate evening. Our campsite is quite stunning, with panoramic views of snow-capped peaks. And come eventide, we even got our first look at the stars; the fabled wilderness night-sky littered with constellations, galaxies, meteors, and an unfathomable number of dazzling pinpricks that contain entire worlds. It made for spectacular viewing and helped buoy our spirits.
We’re hoping the weather will continue to co-operate as we climb to the advanced base camp tomorrow. Perhaps our fortunes have turned and we will be able to make it to the mountaintop after all. Here’s hoping.
Journal Entry - Day 5
So, there is both good news and bad news.
The good news is that rain has not played spoilsport and we will be attempting to summit Friendship Peak tomorrow.
The bad news is that rain has not played spoilsport and we will be attempting to summit Friendship Peak tomorrow.
I had been so caught up in the vagaries of the weather and the disquiet it produced, that I had not paused to consider the enormity of the final task in front of us.
Until now.
We will be climbing a mountain. A 5289-metre-tall Himalayan mountain. On a good day, our guide says, that could mean twelve hours of trekking over boulders, scree, ice, and snow. On a bad day, well, we have been advised not to have a bad day.
The last few hours have been quite surreal. We reached advanced base camp around lunchtime. We had dinner at 6PM and will have breakfast at 11PM. We will begin our ascent to the summit at 1230AM. As if the adrenaline and anxiety weren’t bad enough, these timings have ensured I will get little sleep today.
The air in the campsite is charged with nervous anticipation. I can feel it tingling against my skin. Although, to be honest, the tingling could be due to the fact that earlier today, I was dragged across a pebble-strewn hillside by our guide. While pulling at the rope tied around my waist, he assured me that this training exercise was for my own benefit. I needed to hone my instincts and learn to anchor myself in case of any misstep in the mountains. He derived no pleasure, he clarified, from sending me sprawling to the ground and then bouncing me off the rocks like a marionette. I believed him the first time. But precisely why I was made to undergo this exercise more than any of the others in the group, is a mystery that will remain unsolved.
I have been trying not to think of the pain and suffering heading our way but it is, I suppose, inevitable. The next time I write in this journal, it’ll all be in the past. There is some comfort in that thought. Until next time then.
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Especially enjoying this series. "Confidence, particularly when it’s unfounded, is a remarkable thing. My absolute lack of technique or prior experience mattered little to me..." Unfounded confidence is the root of all travel gems like this one!
Really enjoyed this.