So off we went...the walk out of the saddle is pretty straight forward at first, but then you hit that traverse section with the really narrow path and drop off on the right...thank goodness I was roped up to Yuriy, it just made me feel a bit safer, especially in the white out conditions, wind blowing and snow swirling all around!
So we got into the traverse quite well when Ray wanted to have a quick rest, re-adjust some gear and just get comfy for the long 4 hour slog all the way down to 4700m. I don't know what I was doing but I literally just fell flat on my back wahahaha, at least I still had a sense of humour at this stage, so I just burst out laughing at myself, hoisted myself back up with great difficulty and dusted off the snow...everyone was quite funny about it....Joe even asked what are you doing Hooke? Haha just thinking about it brings me such laughter...these are the moments I cherish forever...this is why I do this and why it is so rewarding...it's the littlest things on these huge expeditions which just fill my soul with so much joy! I mean there I am at 5200m, high above the clouds lying in the snow laughing at myself....utter joy! What's life if you can't laugh at yourself sometimes hey?
We continued on down, and things were really really tough...Yuriy and I were quite far in the lead, and had to stop to wait for the guys...by now we had a couple of guys who had joined us...they didn't want to go down alone without a guide as there were no tracks again...the snow and whiteout conditions had just removed any trace of previous climbers by now.
Going down was hard...and I mean seriously tough....I remember saying to Joe once or twice, I don't know if I can do this so quickly...the storm was raging and Yuriy was basically chasing us down...and rightly so!
Ray was really battling with his leg cramps and it was slowing him down a lot. I could imagine his pain, as I myself was not in heaven anymore...my knees and feet had never worked so hard before. I am short...seriously short (think 1.5m ish) and the snow was over my knees, up to mid thigh most of the way down...sometimes I would just disappear into a huge hole covering up to my waist! I made sure to watch what Yuriy was doing and not to step too far off his tracks..there are crevasses here and it is imperative to follow the flags as well as someone who climbs this mountain weekly to make sure safety is always first.
After some time, Yuriy removed the rope between us and told me that I would find it easier to go on my own, as it's hard to stay in tune when the snow is so deep and the terrain so unpredictable. Ray was adamant that he thinks we should call a snow cat to collect us below the rocks as it would be another 2 hour walk at least if we continued on foot to the barrels...when you are in agony and exhausted this is just a hellish thought to process! Joe and I were ok to carry on walking as the cost of the snow cat is exorbitant...400 dollars (around R2900) for a one way trip is very steep and we just didn't have that kind of cash at our disposal after all the trip expenses. We also felt very bad to just get onto this cat that Ray had to pay for...but he insisted and said it was a gift to us from him...well Ray, all I can say is THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart...I honestly don't know how worn I would've been if we had to walk the extra 2/3 hours...I can seriously admit that once Yuriy had made the call and got the driver to agree I felt this relief wash over me, and I really just was so so thankful.
The loooooong slope just seemed never ending?? The flags kept appearing out of the whiteout...it was hard to make out shapes and objects...I clearly remember mistaking a group sitting down at the bottom of a flag for a snow cat?? I even asked Joe, and he just shook his head at me! I think I just wanted to get some relief, my shoulder and my neck was now beyond a major spasm...the pain was constant, it was burning, I had a hell of a headache and it felt like I couldn't look down for one more second! There was no time to just sit down and relax...I remember Ray asking Yuriy if he could just lie down for 10 minutes and then catch us up, but obviously that was totally out of the question...but not an unreasonable question when every muscle in your body is crying out in pain! I even thought about how nice it would feel to lie down on my pack and just rest my neck, I could not look down for much longer, and the terrain was so hard that you couldn't just look ahead.
A few of the guys who were walking down with us were keen to share the snow cat with us, so Yuriy called the driver again (of course the price changes on the amount of people!) and a deal was struck which meant Ray would only have to pay half of the original amount out of his pocket...yay!
I cannot stress enough how long this walk/fall down was taking...I was constantly fighting with my muscles, joints and legs in my head, trying to convince myself that it would be at the next flag, the end would be soon, and so on and so on, it's amazing where you can find reserves when you absolutely have no other option.
I went on ahead, with Joe close behind and Yuriy stayed behind a bit to coax Ray down a bit faster...eventually he just grabbed Ray's pack and came flying down past me...basically running down this slope towards the rocks we could just make out in the distance!? I turned around and saw Ray up the slope slowly moving forward, and Joe decided to go back and wait to walk with him...encouraging him all the way. I was like a drunk, swaying, falling from side to side, sinking in the deep snow, but trying to just get my butt down towards those elusive rocks...I even thought of shedding a tear again, how hard is this going to be??
The hard work eventually paid off and there it was, the beast I loathed and was terrified of, but yet now I found myself in awe....wanting to get onto it's metal back as fast as my jelly legs could get me there. I pushed with all I had left in me and managed a half run half stumble the last few hundred metres down the slope to the snow cat where Yuriy was already waiting to help me on. I gave him my pack and literally wobbled onto the ruts and into the back...I was finished!!! Joe came along a little while later and we waited for Ray to bring up the rear. I was just hanging onto that chair, head on metal and staring into space, wow, what an adventure, what a day! Everything was so wet and slippery in the back of the cat that as soon as we were all on we were sliding forward and it was near impossible to brace ourselves. Joe got pushed right onto the engine part and was burning, so we had to use all our energy reserves to just force our bodies backwards...I wedged my cramponed boot forward and kept it there for the duration of the ride..it seemed to keep me from pushing Joe forward.
The drive down the slopes was a lot faster than going up and with no sliding as the scraper thing up front was down and pushing snow as we went. We had to make a pit stop at the upper huts for two of the guys who had to quickly collect their bags and drive down to the barrels with us. I didn't care where we went, I was sitting and I could rest my neck for the first time in 15 hours!
We pulled up outside the barrels and I just had to get up the last slope to get to barrel number 8! I forced myself up there so fast and flung the door open...the relief is just something I won't forget very quickly. I was too tired to bother taking my crampons off outside, I just went in and sat in the front room on the floor and wrestled the frozen straps off my boots...it took a long time and my hands were so cold after! I was starving, thirsty and I needed a huge wee!!
Yuriy said that Vladimir had been waiting for us and that lunch was ready!! What?? How amazing, I couldn't think of anything better to end this adventure we had just accomplished. I dumped my goodies and hurried over to the little kitchen container...oh wow, hot tea, cookies, choccies, fruit, fruit and more fruit!!! I just scoffed down everything I could and after thanking Vladimir and Yuriy profusely headed for the barrel, my sleeping bag and my pack of pills! A voltaren was just what the doctor ordered and I got myself dressed warmly and prepared for this amazing sleep to come...ear plugs in and bob's your uncle!
