Day 6 29th April  with Pascal Lee Denis Li Lung Hok Jul Mercier Rhony Leek
It's planned summit attempt day today. Wake up at 3.20, and it's a constant drizzle outside, with a thick fog. Debate time again; should we attempt the summit? Is it even worth it, since we would probably see nothing? Should we wait till after sunrise to see if the weather improves and decide then? Or just plain forget about the summit, and head straight back down to cilaos? After a couple of back and forths, we finally decide to set off later than we had initially intended, bar Rhony, who really didn't fancy the self imposed ‘torture’.
1. With the weather as is, the odds of a clear summit were virtually nil, so missing sunrise would not be such a big deal
2. We had been systematically significantly ahead of recommended hike times, and based on our estimates, we could probably still make it in time for sunrise despite the later start
3. It would ensure that we spent the least unfruitful time on the summit (assuming the adverse weather conditions persisted), which is known for having freezing temperatures with extreme wind chill.
4. The guys get to spend a little extra time under their warm duvet to prepare mentally for the challenge ahead !!! :P
2 hikers set off just before 4 am. The second batch of summiters (around 8) gather at 4 am at the entrance of the mountain hut, all cyclically gazing at the sky, and each other! This little ritual lasted for about 15 mins, and then suddenly, without any warning or verbal communication, someone made a move, and the others followed. The remaining hikers (probably about half of all those who slept at the mtn hut) who had been watching the second batch raised the white flag, back to bed or hot tea/coffee for them!
Armed with our head lamps, our ordeal starts at 4.35. As usual Jules imposes an impossible pace, and we all get dropped, one after the other. At some point, I'm left stranded alone, having diverted from the proper path. Luckily the uploaded gps track on the fenix 3 gets me back on the route, where I wait for Pascal and denis. I'm informed that I just need to follow the white markings denoting the path all the way to the summit. (Duh!!! Stupid!!! :P )
March on again, and settle in a decent, but comfortable pace. The air is so cold that my nostrils burn up at every inhale. Hands and face are numb, and my nose is dripping profusely, but I'm ok as long as I keep moving, despite being drenched and dressed in only a short, breathable shirt and a thin fleece. As mentioned in my previous post, I had forgotten my jacket at the lodge in Cilaos, so not much else to do than endure.
With the rain, the pathway had turned into a mini stream that, coupled with the white lichen on the rocks, made spotting the correct aforementioned white markings a tad tricky, and I did veer off track a few more times.

Also happy about my decision to use my waterproof hiking boots instead of my trail shoes. Normally, it's a no brainer; weight on my back equates hiking boots! But somehow, I was on the fence in this occasion. I guess wisdom always prevails :P
I could just plough thru the puddles without being worried about getting my feet wet. They also spared me a bad ankle sprain on quite a few occasions!

I catch and overtake the second group of summiters around the halfway mark, and just before the summit, madman juls comes running towards me. The guy had made it to the top in less than 1 hour, about 20 minutes before me!!! He told me he was fed up freezing his balls alone at the summit, and decided to jog down to warm up.
30 mins left till sunrise,with little physical exertion to keep warm!
Decide to mimic one of those who had arrived before, and wrap myself with my rescue blanket waiting for:
1. Pascal and denis
2. Sunrise
3. Weather to clear up.
Guess which 2 of the above happened!!!???!!!
As soon as the guys joined us, quick photo, and we headed down, but this time via the shorter, but more treacherous path with extremely loose gravel.

I did manage to get a couple of decent shots (I hope) on the way down when the sun briefly pierced the clouds (very short lived).what a waste though, after having lugged all my camera gear to the mountain, I only used 1 lens for just a few shots!!! The tripod was left at Rhony's custody earlier on. The legendary sunrise on top of piton des neiges, will remain a legend!!! Despite the above, I'm happy we decided to climb to the top. The challenge was definitely interesting, and the few pictures I did manage to take (which hopefully will turn out to be fabulous) were worth the effort!

Back at the mountain hut, we take a quick pause for breakfast in the company of the 2 French ladies of the Eve, with whom we did the descent from the summit.

After good byes with our hiking companions of the day, we swallowed the downhill section to Cilaos. Initially tried to follow jules the mad trailer, but quickly gave up as my knees and quads threatened to seize up. 90 mins down for an uphill that took an extra hour. Not bad :-) and the knees held up pretty well, considering the amount of descent for the day, and their notorious delicate nature.:)

Super Jules came to pick us by car and saved us walking the road section from the start of the trail to our accommodation. Yes, he was that fast! !!! Is anyone surprised any more??? :P

Hot shower, food, followed by nap for everyone!

The guys again decide to cook for dinner. On the menu this time, ‘merguez du pays’ with mash potato. No greens since the supermarket didn't have any, and the normal open market was already closed by then.

Cilaos has been really mean to us so far. It better make up for it in the next 2 days!!!