Day 36 - Move to ABC

For one reason or another, we don't manage to get away that promptly and end up leaving at about 9am which is not the best start for a long day! We also take a number of longish rests throughout the morning. So whilst we move at a reasonable pace at times, we make pretty slow overall progress up the mountain. There is a bit of a split in the group with a couple of hours to go (partially caused by a pretty meagre lunch of a couple of pieces of cheese and some biscuits)

Rest of the team having a break

and, shortly after, the promised late afternoon snow arrives. This leads to a pretty miserable final hour or so walk up to ABC in the gloom and snow and with little left in the tank.

I get into camp at about half five, which is a lot longer than it should have taken, and get our cook team to put on the kettles for hot drinks and noodle soup to be ready when the others arrive.

By 18:15 there is a pretty bedraggled group of us sitting round one of our gas fires and I start to feel terrible. I am pretty surprised and disappointed that the trek has put me in such a state and soon it gets worse as I feel dizzy, nauseous and very sleepy. I try to get up but almost fall off my chair; I have not been able to sit up straight for quite a long time, but am now slouching to such a degree that I am almost slipping off. All of a sudden I realise that these are the classic signs of carbon monoxide poisoning from our quality heaters so I head out into the cold, wind and snow and immediately start feeling better.

I head back in for some supper in a bit but after eating quickly I feel the telltale signs coming back - there are still some burners on and I probably haven't cleared my body of the last dosing yet - so head off for an early bed.