MON. MAR. 13 DAY 8 KARANGA-BARAFU

After yesterday's "terror" on the Barranco Wall, today's climb up to Barafu was relatively easy: I use the word "easy" very advisedly, for nothing is easy on this climb. But the distance was fairly manageable and the scenery was interesting. It was a lunar landscape of sand of varying shades of brown and strewn rock.

Mercifully, the trek today was relatively short in duration and I arrived in Barafu Camp in good spirits and brimming with confidence. Barafu is at 15,000 feet and we encountered our first hint of ominous weather: cold winds and sleet. Elly told us that he doesn't trust this camp because of the sudden and changeable weather. He then started to prep us for the midnight assault on the summit. All of a sudden, my good feelings and optimism disappeared. This is for real: this is hard-core: this is either triumph or heartbreak. This is what we came for.

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