Today, we woke up earlier than planned at 7:30 a.m. for a 9 a.m. breakfast. We spent the extra time relaxing in the tent until 8:30, when we put on our Christmas hats and headed to the mess hall dome. To set the festive mood, we played Christmas music and enjoyed a breakfast of bacon. A few group members brought along some Christmas-themed decorations, including a small Christmas tree, a mountain ornament, and a tiny panda, which we used to decorate the dome.
After breakfast, we packed our share of the food into our bags. My bag ended up weighing 16 kg, a bit lighter than my target weight of 17 kg. Once everything was ready, we waited until 10:15 a.m., when we set off for Camp Two, still wearing our Santa hats.
The first part of the hike took us through the same valley as Camp One and involved scrambling up a zigzagging path to reach the top of a col. This section took about two hours. Once we crossed the col, we entered a second valley, which was more gradual but exposed to strong, cold winds. The unexpected chill made the hike more challenging. To keep my hands warm, I stopped using my trekking poles and kept my hands in my pockets instead.
After crossing the second valley, we entered a final stretch where we could see Camp Two, Campo Cañonaco, in the distance. By this point, the cold winds were biting, but after about three hours of hiking and a 500-meter altitude gain, we finally reached the camp at 5,500 meters.
The first thing we did upon arrival was fix and reposition the camp sign, which had fallen over. We took some celebratory photos with it before heading to the dome to rest. There, we ate some snacks, refilled our water, and unpacked the equipment we’d carried up. After about an hour of acclimatizing and relaxing, we turned around to head back to Camp One.
The return journey was thankfully much faster. We took a few shortcuts on the scramble sections, which sped up our descent. What had taken three hours to climb only took an hour and a half to descend.
Once back at Camp One, we returned to our tent, changed into warmer layers, and I took a well-earned nap—which turned out to be excellent and very refreshing.
By 8 p.m., we gathered in the mess hall dome for dinner. We played Christmas music again and enjoyed a special festive meal of tacos filled with lentils, olives, and cheese. After dinner, we took some photos of the sunset before heading back to our tent early to catch up on sleep after a long but rewarding day.