I let them fool me. I went to the mountains. Again. When I heard the proposal, I didn't say no. Why? Because deep inside me, a wish for a new challenge appeard. I wanted to try myself, I guess – can I do it, or can I not? How else would I know unless I said yes, and go straight towards the new challenge? In two days, I reached 3798 meters altitude, felt the sharp wind at the summit of the Austrian giant, and even jumped over the crevasses. Did it pay off? Of course. Would I do it again? Well, I doubt that, but deep inside me, I know that trying out how much we can take, and expanding our horizons is very important for each one of us.
Hiking of day one started with two heavy backpacks, additionaly loaded with sleeping bags, and grounding, because my dad and I were completely sure we'll have to sleep outside. A day before the expedition, we were told that there's no more available space in the hut. The hike was relatively short, the terrain not too harsh, so we reached the hut on 2804 meters in three hours. When we ordered tea, and I happily realized that they have a WiFi hotspot, I also heard the news, that we carried our sleeping supplies for nothing. There werebeds available.
On the second morning, we started very early. I was trying all night, but I barely slept, and then I was thrown out of bed at four thirty in the morning! Is that fair? Of course I know, that everything has its purpuse in the mountains. If we started early, we were able to avoid hords of other mountaineers, besides, all the glaciers are easier to walk over in the morning. Anyway, we were on our way to the foot of Großlgockner, when the sun hasn't even peeked over the tops of Austrian Alps. I have to admit, that the glacier, that we walked over then, enchanted me. The ice surface sparkling, when the first rays of sunshine illuminated it at last. And all the cracks in the ice. Big, dark holes, without a visible bottom, inviting you to join them in their mysterious depths. And then we climbed. My dad was at the front, deliberately reaching inside cracks, and ledges, and then came I, following him by the rope. I have to admit, that doing so, it wasn't very exhausting, but climbing on more than 3500 meters altitude, makes everything a little bit tricky. I didn't get altitude sickness, but the higher we went, the more I felt my aching head, and realized that I need to rest more often. Don't get me wrong, I continued to the summit with the tempo notslower a lot. I didn't feel terribly sick, or completely exhausted, however, I just felt … different.
When we finally reached the summit, we asked friendly Czechs for a picture, and of course proudly smiled in front of the cross marking it. Later, my mom admitted that I looked tired in the photo. I really can't deny that, but I was very proud of myself. Proud, that I'm capable of climbing the highest peak of Austria.
The descent felt much harder than the ascent. You know, that terrible feeling, when you think, that you're almost there, but you still have a long way to go. On the next glacier, I was struggling a bit, because the sun softened the ice and snow. I fortunately soon knew how to „slide“ down the hill with my shoes. A few more hours,andthen only two kilometers more. Those were very long kilometers. I don't know if I put up with it till the end due tothe fact I conquered 3798 meters, and nobody can deny it, or because of my huge wish to go home already.
Anyway, I did. And now I'm sitting in my room, writing this article, and thinking about where my friends were, while I was climbing a 3,8 thousand meter mountain. Probably glued to their computers, or laying on the sofa watching TV. Well, at least I'll have something exciting to tell and remember.
Katarina Tič
