Today is the big day
The Classic Rock Climb of the Southern Hemisphere
When it's winter up north, this is a 15 pitch rock climb that can be done with a small rack, single 60m rope, and rock shoes (or boots). Lots of novices have been guided up Nelion, even though it takes thirteen rappels to get down (25m raps). January and February are the driest months. The rains might stop by December for Christmas holidays - Mountain Project
Make it stand out.
Day 4
I forced myself to have some breakfast at 5am even though I was not in the mood. I dressed in 4 bottom layers and many more on top. At 5:30am, we turned on our headlamps and began the trek to the base of the climb next to the Lewis Glacier, with boulders hopping up followed by a very steep talus scree field. A beautiful sunrise greeted the world with warmth and light in every corner. I shed my second down jacket and gave my headlamp to Samson as he returned to camp.
At the base of the climb at 4800m, I could see the mountain and the rocks intimately. The rocks are black and brown, and appear solid and full of beauty. It's 7am and we put on our harnesses. Our guide John began to climb the first pitches as Malla and I took turns lead belaying with an ATC and cleaning the gear. I counted the first few pitches of the climb, then I lost count….Most climbs are class 3-5 and some are traverses. In the distance, we could see a helicopter chopper arriving at Austrian hut (later I learned that one of the Polish hiker was rescued).
At 11am, I was enjoying the climb in general but feeling pretty tired. Thankfully no headache and Malla was in similar spirits. I think it was about 8 pitches in. I know that Baitian is out of the question. This is because yesterday John indicated that we would need to be at the summit of Nelion by 12pm in order to attempt Baitian. At this point, I wasn't even sure if we could summit Nelion. I checked with John and he suggested to keep moving until we have to be turned around.
The crux of the climb was very challenging. I believe it's rated 5.6 or 5.8 depending on the source but it definitely felt more intense than that - there was one point where there was a green sling and I couldn't find any place to place my foot. The cracks I could find were too small to jam my trail running shoes in. The sling was placed by previous climbers and I used it to pull myself up.
At this time it was 12:30pm and the weather had turned. It's been wickedly foggy for the past two hours, and now, pea-sized hail ☄️rhythmically falls on the ground. I asked John if there has to be a turn around time for Nelion and he said that up to 4pm is acceptable weather dependent.
Are you strong enough?
The rocks became extremely cold as they became wet and slippery 💦. I was then climbing sometimes with my gloves and definitely kept them on when John or Malla were climbing. In the hail and cold, I wondered what I was doing here on this mountain. John did a lot of yelling that the rocks were slippery and we needed to be careful on the traverses. After climbing another hard move at 2pm, Malla and I asked John about the remaining difficulty. John informed us that the rest of the climb will not be as difficult as what we've just experienced but we will turn around on the next pitch. Malla asked why we were turning around and John said "because I worried you're not strong enough. Are you strong enough?". Malla and I both answered "we are strong enough!!" 💪💪
As we continued, I reminded myself that the summit is two pitches away as we push through the weather, our lungs and our bodies. At 3:15pm, I made my last climb, securing myself to the anchor as John said "congratulations, you are at the summit of Nelion". I don't know if it was because I was tired, or combined with the adrenaline of climbing - I teared up feeling so proud of Malla and I for pushing through and making it here 🥲We took a few photos and quickly reorganized the gear for the rappel.