Not the best night's sleep, but clearly I got some shut-eye so no complaints. Victor's alarm went off at 5.00am, but we didn't need to get up for another 45 minutes, so I closed my eyes and made the most of those extra few minutes I'd been given.
Got my bag sorted and went down for breakfast, which wasn't particularly good. To make matters worse, those fucking flies were all over the food. So it was Coco Pops and coffee for me, then outside to wait for everyone.
We set off at 6.40am. Manu was concerned about the weather and wanted to get us moving early to avoid the afternoon storms that his weather app was predicting.
We started with a steep slope to warm us up, followed by a long traverse for an hour or so. We then descended about 300m, walked a few hundred metres along the bottom of the valley and then started ascending again – another 300m or so – towards the refuge where we were stopping for drinks.
This was quite hard and, unsurprisingly, I ended up at the back and was left behind. It was exhausting.
Got there eventually, as I always do, and had 15 minutes to recover before we set off for the 800m climb.
Fuck me, that was hard.
Thankfully it wasn't as hot as it has been, but it was still incredibly draining. By this point it was me and Kathy at the back by some distance, but there was no pressure and no particular pace that we had to maintain, which is good.
We made it in about 70 minutes, despite the expected time being 90 minutes, so I was actually pretty pleased with that.
We sat at the top of the rise – the highest point of the entire trek at 2,500 metres – and took in the views while we rested.
Then we had to hit the trail again and, within about 10 metres, we were in Switzerland!
The change in scenery as we crossed the pass was amazing. On the Italian side we'd had these rough, rugged mountains and glaciers, whereas Switzerland suddenly opened up into lush green meadows.
There were still enormous mountains towering above us, but somehow they didn't seem quite as harsh and rugged.
We continued for another hour or so on a steady downhill until we reached the next refuge, where we had a milkshake made from milk from the local cows and a cheese and ham "toastie", also supposedly from the local cows. It was excellent.
Then the predicted rain arrived.
We decided to wait for a while, the temperature dropped and it became quite chilly. I was writing this at the time, waiting for the green light to continue and hoping the rain would ease off.
It didn't.
The heavens opened and we had proper thunder and lightning. Everyone piled into the food hall to wait it out.
As it turned out, we were incredibly lucky. Manu's food order had been delayed by half an hour, so we'd already been sitting there waiting. Had it arrived when it was supposed to, we'd have been caught right in the middle of the storm.
Phew.
We eventually set off around 2.45pm, meaning we'd spent nearly three hours at the refuge because of the weather. During that time quite a few of us had actually fallen asleep – we were absolutely knackered.
We put on our waterproofs, both jackets and leggings. I have to admit I was a little jealous of some of the proper rain jackets people had, but I had my trusty poncho.
And I'll be honest – I was absolutely delighted with it.
It covered my backpack, kept me completely dry and worked an absolute treat.
The storm had abated to constant drizzle by the time we set off, which continued for about an hour. Manu took us along a different route to the one most people normally use. He really doesn't like walking along pavements and roads, and we benefit from that because we're generally taken along proper trails, mud and all.
We went through an area with a load of cows that seemed to be fighting, which wasn't particularly enjoyable, and then continued on to our accommodation.
It was actually a nice hotel/hostel and we ended up in a room with four bunk beds – eight of us in total. Tong and Ang went into another dorm. They really don't care about anything, as would become apparent shortly afterwards!
We got ourselves sorted and went down for showers.
There were four shower cubicles, but they were mixed and the only privacy was provided by a very thin shower curtain. One of them didn't even have a curtain.
Tong took that one.
Ang was wandering around naked too.
It was absolutely mental and surreal.
I managed to have a shower while maintaining what little modesty was available and then got myself sorted back in the room.
Lewis and Charl called while Charl and Miles were up there visiting him, and we had a lovely FaceTime call. They've got it incredibly hot over there at the moment and everyone is suffering, so it was great to catch up with them. It'll be nice to go up and see them when we get back.
After that I had a wander around some of the shops underneath the hotel. I was very tempted by a couple of T-shirts, but things are expensive over here in Switzerland so I decided against it.
Hope I don't regret that decision.
Back upstairs and the group were already downstairs. Mary-Lou bought me a drink, which was lovely and very generous, and I stayed down with them.
Tash came down, then Manu joined us and eventually the whole group was together again.
We had another cheese-tasting experience and today's was easily the best. Manu had bought quite a hard cheese which was absolutely delicious.
My favourite by an absolute mile.
We then had a lovely dinner – salad, chicken curry/casserole with rice and then chocolate mousse for dessert.
The chocolate mousse was to die for.
Absolutely amazing.
We had another drink and then, one by one, people started heading off to bed. It was only 7.30pm!
Tash and I were pretty much left behind, so we went for a walk through the village. There wasn't really much there, so we came back and were upstairs in the bedroom by about 8.15pm.
I would have happily had another beer, but that wasn't happening.
So I got a few things sorted and then started writing my diary. It's now 8.45pm and almost the entire group is asleep.
There is, of course, the England v Norway quarter-final tonight, but over here kick-off is 11.00pm.
That's too late.
Not sure what to expect anyway. Hopefully England will do it and we'll get to watch the semi-final next week, but I'm not expecting anything.
It's been a good day today. The climbs were painful, I have to say, although it seems that some of the others who didn't show it and got to the top without too much fuss found it just as hard.
That doesn't actually make me feel any better because I know how much I struggled.
I can do it, but I can't do it at anyone else's pace. It has to be my slow and steady pace.
Which, let's be honest, is basically a snail's crawl!
Tash and I keep giggling about Tong and Ang wandering around naked without a care in the world. They're such a lovely, friendly couple. Hopefully we'll all be that comfortable with each other by the end of this.
Early start again tomorrow. Breakfast at 6.30am and the bus at 7.12am.
We can't miss that one.
End of Day Summary
Another bloody good day, although definitely one of the harder ones physically.
That 800m climb was a proper test for me and I was really struggling towards the back, but getting to the top in 70 minutes rather than the expected 90 minutes is something I should probably give myself a bit of credit for.
And then crossing into Switzerland at the highest point of the trek was a brilliant moment. The change in landscape was spectacular and probably one of those moments I'll remember for a long time.
The weather certainly made things interesting. The storm was incredible and we were very lucky to be sitting safely inside when it really kicked off. The poncho proved its worth too – probably one of the better bits of kit I've brought with me.
The group continues to get better and better. We're laughing, eating, drinking and generally taking the piss out of each other now, which is exactly what you want on something like this.
And then there's Tong and Ang.
Still can't get over the nakedness. 😂
Tomorrow is another early start and another day on the trail. I'm definitely aching tonight, but we're getting very close to the end now.
One more big push.
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