Start Point: Base Camp – Emmanuel Meadows, 2,575m

High Point: Camp 1, 3,730m

End Point: Base Camp – Emmanuel Meadows, 2,575m

Today was our first real day of hiking. We hiked from basecamp 7km (horizontally) and 1.2km (vertically) up to Camp 1. We did it in our heavy mountain boots, both to get more used to them (essential for the people with new or rental boots) and for the 300m snow field just before camp 1. We carried up some gear we knew we wouldn’t need until later in the trip like our ice axes, crampons, harnesses and some food. We were up at 6am, hiking at 7 and back to basecamp at about 6pm. I’m absolutely feckin wrecked. I think everyone is.

We started off in bright sunshine and the route up was really picturesque. People were more worried about sunscreen and sunglasses than anything else. We started by trekking up the side of a steep rocky river valley and then crossed a wide flat green meadow amd spotted little marmots scurrying out of our way. They’re a cute little rodent that live in mountains and look about 10% squirrel (but without the tail), 10% rabbit (but without the ears) and 80% rat (but without the evil yellow-eyed glare of a creature from hell intent on destroying humanity).

After we’d climbed about 400m or 500m the weather started to change. We realised we were climbing up into a cloud and from that point nothing any of us any of us one had will ever be fully dry again. The rain stopped and started and switched between mist, rain, hail and snow – the sun even came out every now and again, but only for short bursts to trick us into taking off raingear. At times I think the sun is playing us like it’s a evil giant rat in the sky. But I may only be saying that because I’m cold, my gear is wet, I’ve no way to dry it and I need a pee. Basically I’m feeling grumpy.

Despite the effort and planning that we put into packing, I went and forgot the snowbaskets for my walking poles (the round plastic dealios that stop the narrow pole just sliding right down into the deep snow). So I struggled a little getting up the hill. I wasn’t as unlucky as one of the Wexford lads who bent his pole right out of shape on the snow and in trying to fix it, snapped it in two.

Camp 1 is not quite as swish as basecamp though it’s still no bad. The word is they’ve neither WiFi nor a sauna, so things will be tough up there and this is likely the last live blog for about a week. They do however have a dog and two toilets numbered No.1 and No.2, as No.1 has no door.

They also have a little plaque on the wall from Sean O’Mara from Ireland who summited 5 years ago aged 42. Well done Sean.

After dropping our gear, we started back down. One of Dubs tried his “trusty old heel toe technique” to keep moving and promptly pirouetted and fell on his arse.

A good few people (including me) were a little concerned that sore feet today was an indicator of impending blisters but luckily that does not seem to be the case. In one case, an odd clicking in his boots and a loseness in the grip was investigated by our head guide and found to be a case of ‘not having bothered tied his fucking laces’.

Walking down through the mist, somebody looked ahead at what was obviously a trekker walking towards us up the hill and asked “is that a bull?!”. I asked if her eyesight was okay but concluded she must have just looked into his soul to see he was a taurus.

Dinner tonight was greatly enhanced by a mild tomato sauce which was quite tasty and a chilli paste that nearly burned my mouth off.

It’s raining heavily outside now. I’m still cold, damp and exhausted and I still need to pee. Tomorrow we get a lie in and only wake up at 6.30am – I wonder can I wait til then.