It is the eve of our summit attempt. We spend a very short night at the Saddle Hut and get woken up at midnight for a departure for the summit a 1.30am. Saddle Hut is at 3,500m. It’s a miserable night, and we get no more than two hours’ sleep before we are woken up and force-fed a heavy breakfast to energize us for the summit ascent.
We hike up the mountain in complete darkness for five hours, using head lamps until we reach to mid-point to the summit. It’s a challenging walk and at times we are clinging onto the mountainside, with sheer drops of several hundred meters just beneath us. By the time we get to the midway point, at 4,100m, we’re tired, hungry and running low on motivation.
At this point, the boys decide to return to Base Camp with Oswald, the Ranger, while Laura and I carry on towards the summit with Edward, the Head Guide, and Isaac, one of our porters. We are so proud of what they’ve achieved, overcoming their fears and physical limits to come this far !
