A very happy group to see base cam again, what a long nights ‘happy joyous fun walkout’
Some really strange beers but big smiles all round
Two very exhausted guides
Day Eighteen – 21st June
Woke up, had breakfast with Mike. Today is D-Day. I can’t wait for the guys to come down. I just want to get out of this camp now. I can’t beat myself up for ever.
So the guys came back down and it was so lovely to see them. I wanted to try and sleep but I find it difficult during the day.
We had dinner at 8pm and left for the death march at 10.30pm.
Jo decided that the ‘death march’ should be renamed so we came up with the Happy Joyous Walk Out’.
So eleven hours later after walking all through the night the Happy Joyous Walk Out had kinda turned into the Death March. Everyone was feeling the pinch, were tired and on the edge. We returned to base camp, we dug up the beers and we had to carry all 60 beers and couple sacks of snacks as well as all out stuff on sleds up about a mile further from where we got off the plane. This is beavise on the 3 weeks that we e been on the glacier with the summer time sun the planes can’t land there. This mile took is another hour to walk. After digging up the beer, I just wanted to drink some so I was really going for it.
Now after some beers I’m sitting here enjoying the view, most of the group is dozing and Tim is holding court with Bill and Dan. There are another two groups of people here waiting on planes. We have no idea who goes first. We are just sprawled on our little groups on the snow waiting for a plane to land.
Back where the journey started 18 days ago. It feels like I’ve been here for five years.