Sometimes the body gives up easier than it ought to. Heaving and panting I made my way up the mountain to hit the glacier again. We had decided to take a tougher route up and with a heavier pack on my back I knew I was pooped. Moti Sir thankfully had other ideas. We switched gears after we reached the top to traverse a cliff face so that we could reach the glacier without losing the height we’d gained. The series of ups and downs helped infuse some energy into the climb and it was a breeze onto the glacier from there.
The glacier today was like being on national geographic yourself. Crevasses, blue ice, snouts, scree – one could see it all. We ascended a high ridge on the glacier and got a clear view of the Machoi peak for the first time. As we were ascending though the weather which had been packing up, went from bad to worse. We could also hear the rope fixing team that was climbing radio in that a blizzard had hit them. When it started snowing on the glacier we realized things were bad up there and orders were passed for the team to hold on till the storm passed. Eventually the team managed to cross the gully and as the storm blew over crossed the rock face onto the final stretch that helped them reach the summit.
As we came back down the glacier we spotted a lot of marmots out to see what the rain was all about. A marmot is a court jester reincarnated and their antics can be hilarious as they stretch their belies, sun themselves and play the fool. Quite an entertaining watch. A short walk around the camp this evening did not reveal too many though.
We leave tomorrow for the summit attempt – the kit is packed & camera charged. I think I just missed a family of bears caught stalking the dump from the camp mess it would be exciting to be woken up to see them. Looking forward to the morning!
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