Midnight.  Crash.  Crackle.  Boom.  Rumble.  Flash.  An electrical storm is upon us.  A few minutes later the skies unleash a torrent of rain.  We are awakened by all the noise, except Maruis who hadn’t slept yet from the anticipation and was one of the 4 getting up early to hike.  I tell him, you can sleep now, we aren’t going anywhere today.  The rain goes on for about an hour and then turns to snow.  Maruis and Marek get up in the night to go to the latrine to pee (they don’t have pee bottles) they make it about as far as the door to the barrel.  We empty one of our 5L bottles of water into the others and use it as a pee bottle in the entryway from now on.  At 2am the news is confirmed, no one hiking; at 5am if it has cleared we will all take the snow cats.  At 5am, the weather has not cleared so summit today is cancelled.  

 

At breakfast, again for a variety of reasons (like no backup summit day), the rest decide to take Snow Cat.  Boredom sets in this day in the Barrels.  We have nothing to do and nothing to say to each other.  Damn I wish Hendrik was here now to cut the boredom.  I did not bring my book up, but I did bring an iPod, thank God.  The most interesting thing we say to each other all day is “Lunch in 5 minutes” and “Dinner in 5 minutes”.  At lunch, Patrick says (as he has at every meal), “We need a teabag trash plate” and we all erupt in laughter - that’s how utterly boring the day was.  

 

In the afternoon though, Marek organizes barrel mates Marius and Bjoern to test out walking in crampons.  They find that leading in the new snow and mush underneath from the rain is very difficult and the further back you are in the line the easier it is.  What no one knows at this point (and what Marek is keeping to himself) is that the plastic boots he rented are cutting into the bone in his leg with every step.  He is really out there trying to find a way to minimize the pain; Marek determines that if he does not tie the boots then he can climb upwards without pain, but walking down he has no real solution.  

 

Marek also spends time in the Barrels being innovative.  His walking poles have no snow catch, so he fabricates some out of the bottoms of water bottles.  He cuts his thermal underwear pants at the knees because they would simply be too hot.  He also cuts a balaclava out of a thermal shirt.  Another innovation is that he writes on the wall of snow outside our hut :

Girls

Welcome

--------->

Rob