Day9

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Yesterday turned out to be a walk in the park despite my illness compared to the "killer trek" today. We started at 6:30am and went climbing and climbing until we reached "Dead Woman's Pass" where the air was so thin and the wind so raw as we were just below the snow-line! Ollie was first to the top in under 3 hours, it took me half as long again to reach the same point. The views from the top of the pass were fantastic at a "lung-busting" 4200m. The descent into our valley camp was equally tough, this time on my kness which were beginning to feel the strain. I eventually reached Pacamayo camp nearly seven hours after the start having covered 8km of the toughest hike imaginable. Ollie waited for me at the top of the pass and we descended together. The temperature plummeted from around 6pm as a result of a cloudless sky. By the middle of the night it was several degrees below freezing, by which time I had about six layers of clothes on, Ollie wondered what all the fuss was about!

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