Today began with my alarm going off at 3:45 a.m., after a night of trying to get as much rest as possible. As soon as the alarm rang, we rushed to get dressed, putting on all the clothing we had kept warm inside our sleeping bags overnight. Within 40 minutes, we were fully geared up from head to toe and exited the tent to head to the mess hall dome for a quick chocolate bar and drink before starting the climb.
At around 5 a.m., we began the hike in the dark, following the line of people ahead of us. My goggles quickly fogged up and iced over, making it difficult to see where to step. This caused me to slide a lot and struggle through the initial section.
After about two hours of zigzagging uphill, the sun began to rise over the horizon, creating a beautiful view. The sunlight also melted the ice inside my goggles, allowing me to see clearly again. We continued climbing until we reached an old camp where we stopped to take a break, put on our crampons and helmets, and prepared for the next stretch.
Five hours into the hike, we entered the traverse, where we faced strong winds. This section also marked the spot where Mathieu had turned around during our last attempt. We continued across the traverse for three hours before starting up a steep hill. By then, I was feeling extremely tired and even drowsy, falling toward the back of the group. Just as we were about to take a break, Maike fell, and I instinctively tried to catch her. The effort left me completely drained, and I had to lie down to recover, taking deep breaths to regain my strength.
Unfortunately, this was also when Maike was turned around for being too fatigued, and Coky warned me that I might have to do the same. I explained that my exhaustion was due to catching Maike and convinced him to let me continue until we reached the cave. Determined to prove myself, I mustered all my energy and stayed in line with the group, avoiding falling behind.
At the cave, no one said anything about me turning back, so I prepared like everyone else for the summit attempt. I decided to be more efficient: I finished my Coca-Cola, ditched the Gatorade that I suspected was making me feel worse, ate some glucose gummies to stay alert, and left my bag in the cave, keeping only two bottles of water in my summit jacket.
This decision turned out to be the right one. Without the extra weight, I felt more alert and less tired. From the cave, we hiked for another four hours toward the summit. With Coky keeping me from being at the back of the group, I ended up near the front, following closely behind Chacho. He maintained a steady pace, keeping an eye on my breathing.
At 5:20 p.m., we finally reached the summit. I was thrilled to make it before Mathieu! When Mathieu arrived, I could tell he wasn’t doing well. Chacho gave him some drinks and pills to help boost his energy and breathing. We took a few photos together at the summit, but it was clear we needed to head back down quickly.
As we began the descent, I started feeling sick from everything I had consumed during the climb—Gatorade, Coke, and energy gummies—which upset my stomach and made me feel faint. I had to stop periodically to catch my breath before continuing.
Mathieu, however, was in worse shape. He wasn’t walking straight, so I stayed close to ensure he didn’t fall on the wrong side of the hill, which could have been fatal. I also gave him my trekking poles since his had been damaged.
As the sun began to set, Mathieu was still struggling, so I helped by removing his crampons and carrying his backpack for a while until Chacho stepped in to assist.
We finally arrived back at camp around 10:30 p.m. after 17 grueling hours. Exhausted, we entered the mess hall dome and were served soup and rice. However, my stomach was still upset, so I couldn’t eat much and decided to head back to the tent to sleep instead.