So we woke up throughout the night last night to absolute pouring rain, which was making us quite nervous. However, we still got up and ready and were standing outside to meet for breakfast at 7:00. Our guide, Jeffry, was not very optimistic, and said if it was still raining after breakfast, we only had a 50/50 chance of going ahead with the hike. We were all quite shocked and disappointed with that, as we knew there was a chance we could have been rained out of the summit climb, but hadn't thought about the main climb! We headed down to our buffet breakfast, which wasn't the best, but had rice and toppings and boiled eggs so I focused on that stuff and some fruit. During breakfast we met one of our mountain guides, who was marginally more optimistic, but then as we were eating the rain cleared. We knew it was a good sign when they gave us our packed lunches. By the time it was time for our safety briefing and registration, the rain had stopped and the clouds had cleared a bit. Hooray!

We got our permits and met our other mountain guides and porters (for those who were having them), and hopped in the bus. We were dropped off 5km up the road at the Timpohon Gate, the official starting point of the trail. The first part of the trail was a descent, just to lull us into a false sense of security, and then the steps began. By the end (to 'base camp' Laban Rata) we ascended 1400 metres over 6km in about 4 hours and 45-50 minutes. It rained on us basically the whole time, so we all got quite wet, so I appreciated the Goretex in my shoes as between the puddles, rain and sweat, I was drenched! We had little stops in huts every 800m or so, so about 7 huts over the distance, including lunch. I was very happy with my snack packs, especially the banana chips! The packed lunch had a chicken wing and boiled eggs as well as sandwiches, so that was lucky, and was good fuel for the second half. The second half after lunch was definitely harder than the first, although it was all pretty hard. The last kilometre was verrryy difficult, steep 'steps' up smooth, slippery rocks, but the rain had created a waterfall/creek running against us the whole way. Needless to say, we were verrry excited to reach the rest house at Laban Rata! And quite happy with our timing, as we'd been expecting 5-6 hours.

The summit looks very intimidating from the rest house! 12 of us are sharing a dorm, which will actually be quite good for getting psyched up for the evening/morning. At this stage, we're just crossing our fingers that the weather is clear tonight, because if it is, we head up to the summit at 2:30, to arrive at 6 or so for sunrise.

The last members of our group arrived (with our guide, who 'sweeps' the back) at about 4, so they took about 6 and a half hours. We had dinner at 4:30 (buffet again, so rice with bits and pieces plus fruit and banana fritters), then a safety briefing in our room about the final part of the climb. Then it was just getting our stuff sorted for tomorrow, making sure we had enough water and were only taking the essentials (we can leave some stuff in the rest house because we come back for second breakfast). Then a lot of us basically got ready for bed at about 6:30, as we have to get up at 1:40am, and are also very tired after a big day and the altitude (I assume).