I expected to reach Noshaq base camp (4450m) and to feel such an overwhelming sense of achievement that it made the gruelling climb worthwhile. It didn't. The shortness of breath, sweat and fatigue were omnipresent, so much so that I felt almost resentful. What on earth was I doing struggling up a mountain no one has heard of in the absolute back of beyond? What was the point?
As we descended, retracing our steps along the rocky ledges and mine-littered scree, my mood began to change. Perhaps it was the renewed thickness of the air, the lower temperature of a cloudy day, or simply that the going is less tough downhill. Everything around me seemed a little brighter and, for the first time, I could appreciate my epic surroundings.
During the ascent I put my slow progress, sweat and pain down to a lack of fitness and lingering food poisoning. On the retreat I realised I'd been overly harsh on myself - the track was in fact incredibly steep and some of the climbs exceptionally long. We had completed what is advertised as a 5-6 day trek in four days and so, although it felt awful, we must have been moving at quite a pace.
Lastly, having not trekked before, I took the trek's guidebook rating of "moderate" as read. However, having later discussed this with Bill, a keen mountaineer and our party's most seasoned trekker, it appears that although the duration and change in elevation put our trek firmly in the moderate category, the condition under foot was quite the worst he had seen. Looking back at my sweaty scrambles across rockfalls, slipping and sliding on slopes of gravel and sand, and hoping feverishly my foothold would stand, I realised that finishing the trek was a challenge but also an achievement. I won't be attempting to climb Noshaq again, but I'm glad I tried it once.
As we descended, retracing our steps along the rocky ledges and mine-littered scree, my mood began to change. Perhaps it was the renewed thickness of the air, the lower temperature of a cloudy day, or simply that the going is less tough downhill. Everything around me seemed a little brighter and, for the first time, I could appreciate my epic surroundings.
During the ascent I put my slow progress, sweat and pain down to a lack of fitness and lingering food poisoning. On the retreat I realised I'd been overly harsh on myself - the track was in fact incredibly steep and some of the climbs exceptionally long. We had completed what is advertised as a 5-6 day trek in four days and so, although it felt awful, we must have been moving at quite a pace.
Lastly, having not trekked before, I took the trek's guidebook rating of "moderate" as read. However, having later discussed this with Bill, a keen mountaineer and our party's most seasoned trekker, it appears that although the duration and change in elevation put our trek firmly in the moderate category, the condition under foot was quite the worst he had seen. Looking back at my sweaty scrambles across rockfalls, slipping and sliding on slopes of gravel and sand, and hoping feverishly my foothold would stand, I realised that finishing the trek was a challenge but also an achievement. I won't be attempting to climb Noshaq again, but I'm glad I tried it once.
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