Day 2 Beyond the Forest
We knew that we had 2 hours left for the Summit because our plan was to start our descent by 3 pm. We could see the summit after crossing the forest. First, we had entered into a small relatively plain patch of snow with very few trees or plants. It was a sigh of relief seeing that this portion was not as steep as the forest we had just traversed. Also, the sun was shining brilliantly on this plain and keeping us warm.
The Best View Comes After the Hardest Climb!!!!!
Arslan Ahmed Leading the way.
Soon after about 20 minutes, this small patch ended and the terrain became steep again. By spending the whole day on the mountain, we had learned some techniques to deal with the snow. We were now less frightened. We knew that the best way to traverse was to move in an S shape, traverse on the shoulders of the mountain, and move slowly but steadily. Another technique that helped boost our confidence was that we were placing our steps such that if we fell, we would not fall through the whole valley but we will be stuck in a tree below. We were using trees and plants as sources of support.
We climbed the steep snowy section. We started taking pictures again and started sharing stories of each other about the traverse in the forest below. The summit was only about 100 meters above us now and we were closing in with every passing moment.
