Emerging out of the tent at 6 am I look up and there is not a cloud in the sky. Finally the weather gods are with us on the most important day’s trek. Ahead of us is a 24 km return trip up to the flat top ridge to the right of Mt Tolbachik (3682 metres) Our destination is only at 2600 metres but the time for the round trip is 12 hours reflecting the grueling conditions up the mountain. Personally I have hit a couple of snags. Firstly a painful right knee after pivoting on it to put my pack on 2 weeks ago. Regular antiinflammatory medication has eased the pain only slightly and I wonder if I have torn my cartilage. Secondly, my faithful boots have decided to pick now to retire themselves with the sole of my left boot showing signs of separation from the upper. I tape the front of the boot with the elastoplast I brought for any blisters and it is onward and upward.
The walk is a steady upward grade for 6 hours. Early on its a scramble and hop over the lava field from the adjacent Naboko crater. The lava is a confused and jumbled mass of rock twisted into often fantastic shapes but it certainly stirs up my sore knee. Interestingly beyond it I settle into a stride and the knee pain abates.
As we climb our guides are gobsmacked by the clear skies. It begins to dawn on me that the wild inhospitable weather we have had is not the norm rather than the exception. Our experienced Russian guide admits later that out of scores of trips here this is only the 4th time he has seen the mountain and the crater which is our destination crystal clear. The mountain is a beautiful snow capped cone with the elegant Schmidt glacier cascading down.
Five hours of steep ascent and I reach a high plateau. It is now freezing and the cloud has come over. I assume that I have made it but am crestfallen to hear we have another kilometre to go with a gain of 400 metres. I turn to trudge up and reassure myself that 1 km is not much and that I am nearly there. That last kilometre turns out to be among the most arduous hours of my life, and with 20 minutes to go I feel absolutely “cooked”. I grind out the ascent counting 30 steps at a time and having a breather in between. At the top, amazingly, the cloud has cleared again and beneath my feet is a gaping crater, red rocks with frozen rims. It is absolutely beautiful and suddenly my exhaustion is forgotten as I hurry to find the best vantage point for photographs.
It is on the descent that I am in awe of the steepness of the gradient not just at the end but for the whole 6 kilometres. I feel that I am justified in feeling tired. The descent is only slightly quicker than the ascent as steep and treacherous and required great concentration. I am pleasantly surprised that both my knee and boots have pulled up OK!
