fears and desperately wanted for Rob’s sake to get to the top. In parts it was also getting really muddy due to the snow melting and the number of people walking on the track. It was also becoming less of a walk and more of a climb and I was getting less and less confident with the whole thing. If you could have just carried on walking up it to the top then it would have been fine, but it had definitely been the hardest thing I had ever climbed up before and the most scary. I didn’t like the drops or the slipping and sliding I was doing and ended up having to say to Rob that I didn’t want to continue. All of the advice in the DOC office had said if you don’t feel comfortable then turn back and this is what we had to do. I did feel so sorry for Rob as I knew how much he had wanted to climb it. He said he didn’t mind and I believe him but it still doesn’t stop you from feeling a little bit sorry that I felt like I was unable to do it. Afterwards I was annoyed with myself but at the time I was

scared stiff and not enjoying it at all so there you go, it seems that I’m not destined for climbing scary mountains!

It has to be said, I thought climbing up it was bad, but coming down was in some ways even worse. It was a killer, the pressure on your legs and knees was pretty intense and it was equally as difficult to make it down. After what seemed like an eternity we finally made it to the road, my legs were killing me, they hated me and didn’t want to move anymore! There was just a short walk back to where we had parked the van so with incredibly tired legs and a weary body I plodded back to the van. We both collapsed into the seats and reflected on our walk, we were glad we had done it but I was still sorry that because of me we hadn’t made it to the top. The thoughts of another cold night in the van weren’t too appealing and we both sort of suggested that we stay in the DOC