Today, we were fortunate enough to get a bit of a lie in before we started our walk to Barafu camp. It was a short day, only walking 4km in 4 hours, but the altitude makes things that would be easy at sea level harder. We went pole pole.
The most challenging part was the very steep trail: it was just up and up all of the time, but some singing, mind puzzles and chatting helped time go by.
Everyone is on a bit of a high as we are so close to the summit. We can see the peak from where we are camping and it is starting to feel more doable. We’ve learnt so much about different cultures – Canadian, American, German and Australian.
Today, one of our friends from the group had to go down the mountain. It surprised us how quickly altitude sickness can take effect. We feel for him and hope he knows he has still accomplished so much. (His family and school have been informed, and he is recovering well after returning to camp, where he is being monitored and supported by the expedition team.)
We are so excited to see the sunrise on the summit tomorrow. We are eating dinner tonight around 5pm and then we have to rest, maybe get some sleep, before we start walking from Base Camp at midnight. From here, it is 7 hours to the summit, so we will walk through the night.
“I am very excited for the hike tomorrow as I think I will be pushing myself very close to the edge of what I can do physically. I am pretty proud of myself for making it this far and I know that even if I don’t make it to the top I will be satisfied. I know that by the end of the day I will feel a massive sense of accomplishment.” – Eytan, USA.
by Izzy, Asta, Pierre, Charlie and Eytan
