Day Nine - Monte Baldo or Bust

Having been forced back by snow whilst attempting the Monte Baldo mountain via the Stelvio Pass approach it was time to make some difficult decisions. A brief meeting was convened over cornflakes and iced tea and it was decided to attempt the ascent on the summit via the notorious 'cable car' route. We knew this route was fraught with danger but time was not on our side now. Leaving Tracey to man the mobile phone communication at base camp we began the final
approach in the early morning.
By dinner time we had not reached camp one at Malcesine having been slowed by the lake beach traffic and the need to stop for dinner , and it was beginning to look as if we would fail to reach our final target. We were also lost again !
By early afternoon we finally reached Malcesine and Matt set up the communication point here leaving the rest of the team to push on upwards. The tearful farewell over, we set off. We can report that the summit was reached by mid afternoon without loss of life to any of the team or sherpas, and the goal of our mission was completed.

Thanks for all the good wishes and news of the allotment back home. We'll see you all soon.
XXX

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More from Monte Baldo here .....