I can't express my gratitude for Mindu's affection and humility. He (a thirteen time Everest summiteer plus many more mountainous achievements) took the time, for what was to him a walk in the park, to make us feel like we had achieved something close to what he is capable of. A remarkable man.
An abseil descent to the ice and snow plain below then connected to each other by our accomplishment and again the link-line we headed back to the crampon point, or is it the cramp-off point? After despiking in the glaring and thankfully warming sunshine we opened our packed lunches. We each removed sweetened breadsticks, cheese, biscuits, a Snickers and all laughing aloud a frozen hard boiled egg. Frozen solider than its hardened covering.
Bellies full we made our way down the mountain, me at the rear with a pounding, vision and balance impairing headache. More to do with dehydration than altitude; attributed to my camel-back's frozen drinking tube. An apparently notorious equipment fault above four thousand metres, so Mindu told me. Mindu's patience and compassion prevailed again as he slowed his pace to accompany my slow and laboring one. By one pm we made it back to base camp. I sourced myself some warm liquid water and the strongest pain killers I had with me and collapsed happily into my tent where I slept until they woke me for dinner.
An abseil descent to the ice and snow plain below then connected to each other by our accomplishment and again the link-line we headed back to the crampon point, or is it the cramp-off point? After despiking in the glaring and thankfully warming sunshine we opened our packed lunches. We each removed sweetened breadsticks, cheese, biscuits, a Snickers and all laughing aloud a frozen hard boiled egg. Frozen solider than its hardened covering.Bellies full we made our way down the mountain, me at the rear with a pounding, vision and balance impairing headache. More to do with dehydration than altitude; attributed to my camel-back's frozen drinking tube. An apparently notorious equipment fault above four thousand metres, so Mindu told me. Mindu's patience and compassion prevailed again as he slowed his pace to accompany my slow and laboring one. By one pm we made it back to base camp. I sourced myself some warm liquid water and the strongest pain killers I had with me and collapsed happily into my tent where I slept until they woke me for dinner.
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