A truly epic day , with a 5am pickup for a tour bus that took us on a long 4 hour drive up to the start point for this walk at 3800 metres . The road was not particularly pleasant , poorly maintained and steep switchbacks as we got ever higher and to the start point . As luck would have it we had the rear seats in the bus , and it was challenging let’s say.

We had an 800 metre climb to get to this most beautiful of lakes and the pressure was on as we all needed to be back before 3:30 pm to catch our bus . This meant we needed to allow approx 3 hours to make 6.5 km but with an elevation gain of 800 metres . Sounds too easy eh .

We are attempting to use different techniques to make progress as we climb , number of steps before rest , breathing techniques and most importantly selection of pace that allows for better progress. The pace needs to be consciously very very slow to prevent severe distress from inability to utilise oxygen.

Stunning views as we slowly painstakingly made our way upwards .Moving too slowly we were given a garbled lost in translation message on our tour guides phone ( we called her Miss Vamos ) that we might not make it to the lake at our current rate of climb . I sped up , anxious to make it .

The last km was particularly cruel , ascending quite steeply .

Barb admits that hills are not her strong point , but stubborn perseverance is her her ace card and she played it out and stubbornly pushed on to get to the top with just enough time to enjoy the majestic panorama revealed . We descended together .

We made it back in time for our bone jarring ride home in the bus . A fantastic day out , but Barb needs a rest now .