Today, we woke up at 7:30 a.m. and slowly began packing, figuring out what we would carry ourselves and what we would send with the porters. We decided to share 20 kg of gear between us, and by the end of it, we had packed 21 kg for the porters and 12.5 kg for me to carry.
After packing, we went to breakfast, where we had toast and cheese, before heading back out to dismantle the tent, leaving it ready for the porters to pick up.
At around 10:30 a.m., we set off on the hike to Camp Three, a trek that took us over four hours to cover just 1.4 km, moving polepole (slowly, slowly). The hike began with a zigzagging climb up a steep wall visible from Camp Two. Once over the wall, we entered a seemingly endless valley where we could faintly see our destination in the distance.
As we progressed, we reached a section of rocks that led us into a sheltered area where Camp Three is located. Just as we arrived, it started snowing. We took refuge in the mess hall dome for a while before braving the weather to set up our tent. Once inside, we organized our space, including setting up our beds.
Next, we started preparing for the following day by dividing our gear and placing everything in specific locations to make dressing and packing easier in the morning. We also pre-packed items we wouldn’t need until later, like crampons, to save time.
After our preparations, we returned to the mess hall dome, where we had soup before being asked to leave so the guides could prepare dinner.
Back at the tent, with everything already sorted, there wasn’t much to do, and it was hard to resist falling asleep. However, we knew it was important to stay awake to ensure we could fall asleep easily later that evening.
At 6 p.m., it was time for dinner. We headed back to the dome, refilled our bottles, and were served freeze-dried pasta. While it was okay, it was a bit watery for our liking.
After dinner, we returned to the tent, did some final checks, and got into our sleeping bags by 7:30 p.m., hoping to get as much rest as possible before the big day ahead.