Peru Day 5: Dead Woman's Pass

It was really hard to pick a photo for today but in the end I've gone with one that's not the best, but sums up the day for me as I don't want to forget the feeling of elation and achievement that I experienced when I reached the summit of Dead Woman's Pass.

We were all worried about today. A six hour, relentless climb up to a height of well over 12 000ft. Would we make it? Would the altitude be too much? In the end, I quite enjoyed it - it was a varied walk and although hard, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. As long as I stopped to admire the view every few minutes, I quickly recovered my breath and could carry on.

When I got to the top, I was clapped in by the guides, the chaskis (who'd stopped and waited) and about 10 of the group - I amazed myself by making it to the top an hour and a half before the final person reached the summit.

The worst bit of the day was that after climbing for 6 hours, we had a 2 hour descent to camp, which became a race against the approaching darkness and incredibly hard on the knees and ankles as the steps and ground were incredibly tough to walk on.

Not many made it to dinner tonight - although we all made it, it was too much for some and they went straight to bed. Even those of us who felt fine, were shattered and in bed by 7.30pm.

I've put some more photos from today in my blipfolio:
The last climb to Dead Woman's Pass
Not a bad view for lunch
At the top of Dead Woman's Pass
A rare stationary moment for the chaskis