23:11, Heathrow Terminal 5, extremely quite. Just a few lost soles like ourselves waiting out the night. The Terminal is open, but closed. Devoid of staff , except security, who are there to check that you have a valid ticket and more importantly to remind you that a mask is mandatory at all times. The nearest person to me, other than James, is approximately 30 or 40 metres away.
In the morning I board my first plane for 17 months. James and I have checked in and dropped our luggage off using the overnight facility so, hopefully in the morning we’ll sail through security into International Departures. I was unable to check us in online as we had to prove that we’d both had, had the two doses of the Covid Vaccine. The big test is ‘will they let us into Iceland’. Have all my hours of internet research been in vain, have I filled in all the correct forms and booked all the right tests? Tomorrow I will know the answers!
We should have been climbing the Matterhorn this week, but neither the French or Swiss seemed to want us. Seems we’re the lepers of Europe. This is the second year that we’ve had to cancel the climb. I wonder if the mountain is trying to tell me something? That final arête of the Hornli Ridge, just before the summit looked to require a head for heights, that scares me. The steepness of the 1,000 metre climb from the Hornli Hut doesn’t bother me, but that short arête with 60 degree slopes on two sides, falling off for that 1,000 odd metres does. Fear’s a very peculiar sense and one that can be hard to face and pass your mind through. The thought of that summit arête has been troubling me for a while and I had already promised myself that if an any point I felt too insecure, I’d retreat. It seems though that I won’t have to face that fear, instead James and I are going on a four day trek in the heart of Iceland’s glacial region and then climb Hvannadalshukur. The highest mountain in Iceland, weather permitting. Firstly we are going to see the newly erupting volcano near Iceland’s International Airport, for me to take photographs!
Looking forward to a great trip.