Day 3 - Heidi

Waking ahead of my 5:30 am alarm, I decide to get up early in order to take my time getting ready and organised. Paul had commented yesterday that we had "taken a wee bit too long to get ready," so I wanted to make sure I was ready in good time. With the stealth and silence of a ninja, I crept out of bed and slid silently down from the top bunk. However, my phone decided it had other ideas, and proceeded to launch itself off from the bed, clattering down onto the wooden floor with a quite incredible racket, just as I appeared into full view of the others...who promptly woke up and glared / tutted at me. Muttering an apology, I hurried off to the showers.. what would be our last shower for 6 days. 

After a spectacular breakfast of freshly baked bread and a huge selection of different meats, we headed off back up into the mountains, following the path into the warm sunrise. As we left, we heard a tremendous boom like thunder behind us, and looked round to see an avalanche of rocks tumbling down the mountain. It wasn't a big avalanche, but it was a stark reminder of how volatile the mountains can be.

Walking into the warm sunrise

Following the path through the valleys

After a pleasant walk through the valleys, we reach a hut that we stop at for a coffee break. This was quite a new hut, and to see such a modern stylish building located so remotely was a surprise. I stay outside in the warm sunshine to admire the amazing view. 

After a while, some of the others emerge from the hut, and excitedly announce that they've sighted a pretty blonde girl working there. She doesn't have pigtails or Lederhosen or Toberlone or a heard of friendly goats, but the suggestion that she is the nearest thing we might find to actual Heidi is an interesting prospect. This starts a discussion on what would be the best ice breaker to get chatting with someone you meet working in a remote mountain hut. I suggest (a little too loudly) "guten tag meine schatz, wie gehts?" (Hello my darling, how are you?)

Suddenly a deep stern voice announces in a heavy German accent: "I vood not say zat if I were you;" somehow we had all missed the guy sweeping behind us. To this day I have no idea whether this was meant as advice, or criticism of my German, or whether the girl was in fact his girlfriend and he was seriously warning me not to say this. Either way, we all had a good laugh about it, at my expense, for a long time after. 

From left to right: Jason, Chrissy, Paul, Ross, Nicola, Me, Ian. 

After our antics at the hut, we trek for a while longer before finding ourselves back on the glacier. This glacier was incredibly steep, easily a 45° angle, and the sight of it is intimidating. However it's dry, meaning there's no snow on it, so walking up this with our crampons feels a little like being spiderman, the traction is amazing. As we can see the holes and crevasses we don't need to rope up; however it's my turn to carry the rope today, meaning the steep climb is extra hard work for me - the rope is surprisingly heavy! 

Trekking down towards the glacier

The glacier was very steep

As we rise higher, the views up the glacier were breathtaking. Before long we're on snow again, meaning we rope back up together. We often hear rumbles like distant thunder around us, as a volley of rocks tumbles down from the mountains somewhere. 

Safety briefing from guide Paul

Working our way up the glacier

The views are unbelievable 

Back on to the snow

Not far from the top now

Finally we spot our hut, the Hollandia Hut, miraculously perched 3235m up a high precipice above the glacier. However, once we draw level to the hut, the intensity of the final hurdle becomes apparent, as we see how incredibly steep this part of the climb is. 

The impressive Hollandia Hut, perched on the edge of the mountain

The view from the top - amazing! You can see the hut sat on the cliff to the right of the photo

Ross happy to have made it to the top

Jason and I happy to have made it to the top of the glacier

The approach to the hut is hair-raising, as the drop to my left is high and steep. But this works in my favor; the adrenaline allows me to surge up the mountain much more easily. 

The terrifyingly steep climb up to the hut 

The first team finally arriving at the hut

That evening over a delicious beef goulash dinner, Paul announces that a storm is forecast for tomorrow. This concerns me, as the idea of being caught out in a lightning storm in the middle of an open glacier sounds dangerous. Paul assures me that it's very rare to be struck by lightning, and that "you have more chance of winning the lottery than being struck." I point out that whilst this statistic is probably generally true, I'm sure the stakes are significantly higher if you're exposed out in the open on a vast expanse of glacier. Paul then decided to further comfort me by casually telling the horrific story of how he once witnessed a girl get struck by lightning in the mountains.

Not a bad view out of the bedroom window

The hut balances precariously on the cliff edge

Panorama taken from outside the hut

Me nervously standing as close as I dare to the edge

That evening, I sit downstairs sharing a beer with the lady who works in the cabin, as I don't feel like sleeping. Chatting by candle light as the dark storm clouds roll in and lightning flashes across the peaks, we sit and share stories about the mountains and places we'd like to visit.

Storm clouds roll in over the mountains

Finally attiring to bed shortly before midnight, Ross asks: "so how'd it go with Heidi then?" It was then that I discovered that the combination of alcohol and thin air had the unexpected effect of causing me to laugh hysterically, harder than I have laughed in years. I laughed until I cried. I laughed until I stopped breathing, and then I couldn't start breathing again because there wasn't very much oxygen because of the high altitude, and I laughed some more and choked until I thought I was going to throw up from coughing so hard and my lungs felt like they were in a vice. 

As a child, having seen the old man in Mary Poppins die laughing, I had decided that this would probably be the best way to go. That night, as I lay choking and still laughing, my theory was reaffirmed; despite my suffering, I was still finding the whole thing hilarious. Finally my breathing returned to normal, and to the others great relief, I shut up and went to sleep.