And then there were two

Quite early on I realised that while I was happy to climb alone it would be much nicer to travel with a friend. So I took to Facebook again and employed my best persuasive skills (obviously I didn’t mention the sickness and death part!). After various rejections I finally found a travelling companion. Adele (Dele) and I have been friends for as long as we can remember. We’ve had the odd falling out – I slapped her because someone told me to; she retaliated by chasing me home and hitting me with her lunchbox – but our friendship has lasted over 30 years, surely it could survive ten days up a mountain? With the two of us the planning took on a new dimension – what sweets should we take (for energy of course) and exactly how many toilet rolls would we need? We also started thinking about equipment and visited an outdoor leisure shop. It was a whole new world with its own language. Within days I was discussing the wicking properties of various fabrics, the thickness and thermal qualities of socks and the merits of different types of water purification.  Shopping lists compiled we finally sat down and set the date – August 2012.