I got 5 hours of sleep and felt the toll from the past 3 days of hiking. The team had breakfast, and at about 9am, we loaded our gear for Camp 1. Before moving, we stayed in a nice hotel in Elbrus village, and I especially loved the hot water.
A cable car took us to Camp 1, where we settled into a small cabin. Akin, Nancy, and I are in a VIP room. I can’t remember the last time I shared a room, let alone a bunk bed. I silently hoped no one snored, as I struggle with noise at night. They assured me they don’t snore, joking that they will stay quiet if I’m nice to them.
After settling in, we had a quick breakfast and a briefing from our guide. Today’s acclimatization hike was different from the past 3 days.
There was hardly any vegetation, just rocks, patches of snow, and a couple of distant waterfalls. We hiked up to 3280 meters and saw a frozen, dark-colored lake.
Akin and I didn’t try to dip in the lake. On our way down, the weather changed from normal to light rain, hail, and scary thunder, with the temperature getting chilly. We got back to the cabin safely, for which I’m very grateful. Walking on the patches of snow was tricky and sometimes scary, requiring careful steps. The entire hike took us about 4 hours.
The team took the afternoon off to relax. At 6pm, we met with the guide to learn how to use harnesses and fixed ropes, a critical skill for our summit push.
After that, we learned how to pack our backpacks and fix our boots with crampons. Then, we had dinner and were briefed for Day 5 activities.
Tomorrow, Day 5, will be more challenging than the past 4 days. It’s a dry run for summit night, requiring us to reach 4600 meters and use all the gear needed for the summit push.
If anyone can’t reach 4600 meters tomorrow, they might not make it to the summit on summit night. Our summit night push is on Sunday, and most of us are a bit anxious. At this point, I look up to the heavens for guidance and favor, as many things can go wrong.
All in all, I will keep pushing until I reach the summit. My mates are equally fired up. We are bonding well and supporting each other.
Do Hard Things 🙂
