On top of the world... almost!

I think someone, somewhere heard that I was writing a blog and decided I ought to have a story or two to tell in it!

We woke this morning full of trepidation about our climb ahead. This wasn't helped by the guide, Pedro, then deciding that due to the amount of ice on the volcano at this time of year that we should all be fitted for crampons and hard hats! Finally, after a lot of procrastination, we were on our way in our 4x4...

... which it turns out ought to have gone to scrapheap heaven a long time ago. I accept that the road was in absolutely dire condition but at about 7.30 this morning we found ourselves thrown out of the 4x4 (which it actually turns out didn't have functioning four-wheel drive at all!) in order to try and dig ourselves out of a rather muddy ditch!

Well, to cut a very, very long story short, having involved half of Ecuador (I have video footage) and carried a lot of rocks down to the truck, the driver was able to back down the hill. At 11am.

Then it was decision time. Obviously we were over 3 hours late starting by this point and the other four people we were with decided to call it quits and try again tomorrow. Jon and I didn't have that luxury due to our timetable, so chose to press on instead with our new target being the refuge rather than the summit. Disappointed, we got on our way again and after some pretty hair-raising driving (and remember, I've been driven in Mumbai and Cairo!), we made it to the starting point.

And, oh my goodness, it was tough. I like to think that I've had some practice walking in the past year but this is like nothing else. The walk is advertised as a 'moderate hike'. I thought parts of the St. Oswald´s Way or the South Downs were 'moderate hikes' but I'm having to completely reframe my experience!

I just can't breathe here! When the guide heard how long I'd been at altitude (1.5 days), he laughed - apparently he would recommend 1-2 weeks with several other climbs in the preceding days but we were only following the description on the website which said 2 days acclimatisation (which I would have had if my flight hadn't been delayed!)

Anyhow, we pressed on as well as we could but it probably counts as the hardest physical thing I've ever done. When the snow started to come down thick and fast about 3 hours in, we had to make another disappointing but inevitable call to cut our losses and start our descent.

Seb Coe will be pleased to hear what happened next as he now has another serious gold medal contender in the 2012 Olympics! Jon says my front somersault down the mountain was practically flawless. I landed on my knees, winded but I figure I've still got some time to work on that before the London Games. Please don't worry though, I was soon back on my feet. The bad thing about being hypermobile is that you have a propensity to fall over; the good thing about being hypermobile is that you have a tendency to bounce!

After a perilous descent and another bone-rattling drive, we were very pleased to make it back to the hostel, where we both climbed straight into bed for a well-earned siesta.

I would like to point out four things:

1. We didn't make it to the top. We didn't even make it to the refuge but we are still immensely proud of ourselves.
2. It is stunning up there. When the clouds parted and we could see the summit of the mountain and the surrounding scenery, it was truly awe-inspiring and like nothing else I've ever seen.
3. It's made me more determined to do more of this sort of thing
4. A half-marathon is going to be child's play now!

Right, that's all for now folks. I wish you all a very Happy New Year's Eve!