Summit! Woke up at 02:30 and dressed up. After a quick breakfast I turned on the headlamp and started walking in the dark at 03:20. The other persons which had breakfast started atleast 10min later but they never catched up - I kept a high speed on the frozen snow. The slope looked endless and every 15min I took a candy to get some quick carbo-hydrates. The wind was moderate and my feets were not cold as long as I kept moving. My watch stopped working but approx. 06:20 there was no longer a higher place to go! It was getting light and the siluette of Matterhorn could be seen in the distance. Spanish guys at the summit were waiting for the sunrise, I asked them to take a picture of me before I descended. It was bitterly cold and I wanted to cross the Grand coloir before it was too late. On the descent I met all the people going up, on the sharp ridges I kindly stepped aside when I found a good spot. On the way down I took this picture - the shadow of Mont Blanc in the sky at sunrise! Last time I saw this was in Russia on Elbrus, another big mountain. Descended in 2 hours and finally came back down in Chamonix. The ascent and descent from Gouter hut took 5 h, guidebook specifies 5h 30min for ascent only. Maybe I am at fit after all ;-)?
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