We made it; we climbed the Island

Peak eventually. But until then, there was a much bigger challenge and story behind than we expected...

We left Chukhung (the place of arrival coming from the Konma La Pass) after one night and reached the Island Peak base camp (5,100m) following a three-hour trek through a beautiful valley. The base camp offered well developed infrastructure with a cook, separate kitchen and dining tent. Diner was already served at 5pm as our departure time was set at 1am (yes, in the morning). This evening we were lucky to enjoy the company of an Italian group (with whom we were already crossing the pass). The Italians were a bunch of 11 old friends that have already traveled together on most continents climbing different mountains. As Italians are being world famous for their good lifestyle, it did not suprise us when they took out their Italian dry sausages as starters which they kindly shared with us. After almost two weeks of all kinds of rice and potatoes only, the sausages tasted like heaven.

Following the early diner, we tried to catch some sleep until the wake-up call at midnight. At breakfast (which could be diner given the time of the day/night) we were all sitting covered in many layers of jackets and pants; clearly, it was freaking cold. We started the climb past 1am. Most groups set off at the same time (around 30 people in total) which we could tell by the number of headlights walking around.

The ascent turned up to be quite challenging, steep and rocky. We were walking the trail in special high moutaineering shoes which we rented back in Chukhung. Those kept us warm but were heavy, similar to ski boots with a plastic cover. On the rocky trail, it was very difficult to walk with them and this turned out to be a fatal mistake. At 5,700m, following some difficult rocky passages and almost 4h of climbing, we had to give up and turn. The pain in the shoes was too much and the feet of one of us started to be numb. It was quite a dramatic scene, as it was still dark, cold and we were discussing on a cliff for several minutes what to do since turning down would have been such a great disappointment. However, Kristina caught the high altitude sickness on top of that (as a result of fatigue) and the decision has become clear... Back at base camp, the situation got more critical as the symptoms of the sickness became much stronger (terrible headache, fainting! etc). We had to act quickly and go further down in elevation. We were even discussing rescue by helicopter down to the valley as this sickness may become lethal if not properly treated.

Luckily, the situation relaxed in Chukhung and we were able to take some rest. In the evening it was terrible to see all the returning groups, exhausted but with big smiles on their faces. We decided between ourselves that we have to go back and try again (but this time with our own shoes).‎ Too much time and efforts have been spent on this to let it go that easily. Our guide' initial reaction was negative as assumed but we managed to convince him at last. ‎ Russian stubborness and high aspiration trumped any evident doubts.

So the following day, we headed off back to base camp with same procedure to follow (however without any Italian delicattesse but an old Belgium grumpy couple). People there greeted us like old regulars... without repeating ourselves, this time it went much smoother. The rocky part remained difficult but still was much easier to handle with our hiking shoes. We arrived at the crampon changing point (which is the beginning of the glacier at 5,850m) after 5h of hiking, just before sunrise. At that time we thought that worst would be behind us. On the glacier, we used ropes and a ladder to cross cravasses. When we passed the first difficulties, a final 200m ice wall leading to the top presented itself in the sunrise. It reminded us somehow of the GOT wall in the North... From the bottom it looked nearly impossible to climb, you could see though a few people in the wall moving slowly (including the grumpy couple that did the whole climb without a single rest!). We had to use fixed ropes and all our power to lift ourselves. It took us more than an hour to climb it up. Certainly, a much bigger challenge than expected from the google pictures.

However, reaching the top was as rewarding as imagined. At that moment, we were two of the most happy people in the world sharing our joy with everyone. Difficult to describe our feelings though. The views were fantastic. Unfortunately, we have only one pic from the top as our phone camera died due to cold. We have a few pics on the other camera that we will post later once we are back in Tbilisi.

It has been an incredible challenge and we are both happy to have made it. Now we are on the way back. We will also spend two days in Kathmandu from where‎ we will share further impressions with you.

K + S