From Day 1 of our climb, some of the climbers remembered a
game that they used to play as kids to pass the time. Since the days were long
and the walking was at times monotonous and at times quite rough, we began to
play along.
It goes like this:
Think of two dreadful scenarios and ask which you would
rather do...
Some examples would be:
Would you rather do the summit walk in the freezing cold
(-15 to -25 degrees Celsius) in wet clothes or no clothes at all?
OR
Would you rather sleep in a wet sleeping bag or in wet clothes?
Would you rather sleep in a wet sleeping bag or in wet clothes?
And this is how it would go on, forcing us to choose between
ridiculous scenarios that mainly had to do with wet clothes, no clothes and
freezing cold weather. As this chatter went on, I would go in my mind to a much
more pleasant 'would you rather' game.
For me it went like this:
Would I rather get into a warm bath, surrounded by scented
candles sipping on hot chocolate or snuggle in my warm bed, electric blanket
switched on and good book in tow?
I would imagine these wonderful scenarios, knowing none of
these would be forthcoming for a long time but revelling in the images and
feelings as I trudged along in the sometimes wet and often very cold
conditions. When I suggested this game to my fellow climbers, they said it was
no where near as exciting, funny or fun so there I was, left to my own musings
and dreaming to keep me going strong!
Now that I’m back the 'would you rather' question becomes:
Would you rather fantasise about your next holiday – warm,
comfortable, 5-star hotel and beach included or go back to climb Kili again?
Hmmm…
