Our day started at 01:00.  As always on summit days no one spoke and quietly went about their business.  Without ceremony Ron and Ryan started their climb at 02:00.  I was due to leave at 03:00 and therefore headed for breakfast when Ron and Ryan left.

After wolfing down my porridge I was itching to get started.  Soon enough we were on our way.  My new group for the summit attempt contained two people: me and a Croatian climber called Jasna.  By 03:30 we were at Pastukhov Rocks.  My breathing was severely hampered by me chest problems but I was determined to keep going.

At 06:00 we were on ‘the traverse’ at 5000m and heading for the Saddle.  The weather was good but bitterly cold.  My camera and camcorder had frozen meaning I couldn’t take any pictures or videos.  This was a shame but I couldn’t take my mind off the job at hand.

By 08:00 we could turn off our headtorches and had progressed to 5300m.  The biting wind had eased but my progress was still slow.  My chest was hurting.  How could a minor chest problem take away so much energy?

By 09:30 we had slapped on as much sun cream as possible (which is always pointless with me as I always burn anyway!) and waited at the bottom of the summit ridge for Ron and Ryan.  It was always our intention to summit together.

A few minutes after we had stopped we were reunited for the summit push.  It took two hours to reach the summit as the route was at a 45º angle and we had wlaked into a snow shower.

Eventually we all made it to the summit at 11:25.  As if the weather knew we had arrived at the summit the clouds cleared and we could see the entire Caucasus range.  What an incredible view – and so fitting after such a hard climb.

The summiteers (me, Ryan and Ron along with a French climber called Vincent and Jasna) spent 20 minutes on the summit taking pictures and enjoying the view.  Before too long we had to make the long trip back to The Barrels.  With the midday sun beating down on us it seemed a good idea to get to The Barrels as soon as possible.  To save time on the descent we sat down on our bottoms and slid down the mountain – sliding hundreds of feet at a time!  By 15:00 we were all safely back at base camp and were being congratulated by fellow climbers who were yet to make their summit bids.  Even my chest problem was showing some early signs of improvement!

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