Cold Hike in the Dark to the Summit

At 3 am, the group braved the cold and the dark, and headed up the mountain. It was a very slow process, as there were groups ahead of us, slowly crawling up the mountain. Some of the slower hikers let people pass, but there were plenty who stopped and sat in the middle of the trail while they caught their breath. Some even laid down!

I stayed with the German couple until we reached the ropes section. While on a narrow ledge, I wedged my foot into a crack and couldn't move it. They kept moving for their safety. It took 2 guides to help me dislodge my foot and get moving again. I was probably stuck for less than a minute, but it seemed like an eternity and really shook my confidence. I uneasily finished the rope section, feeling like I was about to fall in a couple of places.When I finally got off that section, my entire body was shaking and all my energy was drained. I really wanted to turn around and go back, but that wasn't possible until all the climbers going up were off the ropes. So I forged forward, making my way to the Sayat-Sayat check point and registering. I was there plenty early and allowed to continue to the summit.
Slowly, I trudged upward, passing people too exhausted to continue.



I was still about 400 m from the summit as I started to see the sun rise. I continued forward, my fingers frozen in my gloves.





At 200 m before the summit, the sun was above the horizon and climbing. I could see other hikers crowded at the summit and a few were just starting their descent. The last 200 m consisted of scrambling and climbing up boulders. I knew I could make it to the summit - I just wasn't sure how I would get back down!
I decided to worry about one direction at a time, and continued forward. By the time I reached the summit, I could no longer feel my fingers and could barely move them. I pulled off a glove to check for frostbite, but they were just cold.
Smiling happily at the top, before making my way back down. I'm glad I climbed up in the dark, because had I known how scary it would be coming back down, I'm not sure I would have done it!

(All the pictures are from the summit and back down, since it was too dark on the way up to see anything).