As usual we began the day with our breakfast at 9:00 am after which we left for more altitude training, but this time we were asked to take all our mountaineering gears with us from Ice axe to crampon and the many other tools we came with, but the guide was to deal with the ropes.That said, the enthusiasm grew as we realized the progress and the impact of our earlier preparations.
The journey up with full readiness began.We started slowly and the guide was curious about how we were feeling , everyone sounded great and ready, so as we proceeded we came across a group of Russian soldiers, and I thought of taking their pictures even though it was forbidden to do so in Russia.That temptation was not long enough for me to fall for it, so I found my focus back on the journey upwards.
Interestingly there were a lot of other groups out there for the same training, so it was looking interesting always.When we got to the 4500 meters altitude, we started with the Ice axe training,but I quickly realized that the procedure and technique here was quite different from what I already learnt with the Swiss Alpine club Geneva, so that was a wake up call for me , and a confirmation that every mountain is indeed different.I heard my heart saying be open man, this is a different terrain and you are here to learn.That was voice of the learner in me , and I obeyed without any doubt.And guess what , it was of great value.
However I asked her latter why she was employing this technique here, so she explained that the main reason is that the mountain is not very steep as we have in Switzerland and France and that she has had that kind of question coming up among steep alps climbers from mostly France and Switzerland.
We continued with our training up until we got to heights of about 4700m and we had a short break up there before we made our way down.It was a great experience especially with the Russian soldiers around. They proved to be very friendly and quite positive, so once again, i said to myself , what is this thing about the negative views about Russia. I am still to find anything different in the way they receive strangers like me and the way other cultures we call positive do theirs.To be clear I like Russia because they are a very positive part of the human race.That I can confirm and thanks to this journey.
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Sadly when we got back down, my climbing mate was not feeling well,and could not eat any thing solid for that moment.S he took some Aspirin and got some rest and at Dinner time he was already feeling better so we were all feeling complete in the team and on the dinner table.
In total our altitude training for that day was for about 6 hours the kind weather was not going to last forever, but I feel grateful for this wonderful day and I will not forget to tell you to keep the smile forever because it is worth it and you deserve it .
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