December 03, 2021 near Karpacz
Decision:
The hardest part was to decide whether I take on adventure with friends or I spend quality more time with my girl friend. Both options were had it’s pros and cons. I wanted to have a cake and eat it. I was constantly changing my mind till last minute. First I committed to the team shortly after to Asia. After two days, I changed my mind and decided to climb, but the thought, that I would abandon the mission just before the departure, was constantly on my mind till the last moment. I also had feeling that no matter what I had decided, I would have regret my decision. This is what exactly happened. During the whole journey, I felt that I want to precipitate the moment I will arrive to Asia’s home.
Feeling of being unprepared:
Due to the fact I was not sure whether I go or not I was not investing much time in due diligence. I trusted that Marek and Łukasz will take care of that and I trust their organisation skills, but I started to feel anxious that I did not take care responsibility for safety of myself and did not investigate well the rout.
When and which route to climb:
It was expected that Saturday would more windy (80km/h) and colder (-10˚) than Sunday. The person, who had done this stunt multiple times before, was encouraging all the groups to climb on Sunday. I thought that it would be good Idea to at least try on Saturday and see how it will go. We felt well prepared and were taking into account the situation that we will quit the hike on Saturday and try again on Sunday. We decided to take our chance and go on Saturday, because all of us wanted to get back to our families as soon as possible. We were also considering to join a person who wanted to take different rout on Saturday, but he was still not sure and we exchanged telephone numbers and wait his decision. The alternative rout was especially appealing to Marek because there were places with better food offer on the top of the mountain ;). The guy did not call at the time he had promised and we took the decision to stick to our original plan.
UNCERTAINTY:
As usual before an event, which is physically demanding and it is done for the first time, I was concerned about the fact that I can hurt myself or get sick afterwards. Is it fear of death manifesting itself? Maybe it is natural that self-preservation instinct is whispering to your ear to stay in cosy bad spooning your “other-half”. I was also anticipating that the last bit will be very unpleasant and I wanted to avoid pain.
Hard start:
It was very unexpected to me that my lower-back froze and disabled me from walking fast during the initial inclination that lasted for 2km. I was struggling to make every step and had to stop from time to time in order to stretch my back what additionally was cooling my body down and making my lower-back even more stiff. I thought, it will be very hard way up filled with pain, if I will not warm up my body, but I was not able to accelerate and was condemned to struggle. I already accepted that next two hours will be very challenging and prepared myself mentally to experience a lot of pain.
Adrenalin:
Fortunately, the rout flattened after 1.5 km and I felt I was able to walk faster. My body was getting warmer, my back more relaxed. The life is good I though. When we reached the first acclivity and we were not protected any more by the terrain, the wind started to blow really fast and our skin started to burn. This exposure to called helped us, because our body secreted adrenaline. I felt so energised that I wanted to run, but guys stopped me saying that we still have 3/4 to go and it would be better to go at steady pace.
Almost there:
The last bit of very inclined and exposed to wind and theoretically was the hardest, but paradoxically, it was getting easier with every step, because I saw the end.
Frienship:
Although the adventure was very thrilling and showy, it was more important for me that I did it with my closed friends and we could share this experience together giving ourself support. I have a feeling that we form very good team with Marek, Łukasz, Siwy and Conradin. I look forward to the next adventure.
