One after another, my feet slipped an inch or two as I focused every bit of my strength onto my legs to ascend the 45-degree steep slope. It has been three and a half hours, and I was at the last burst to the summit. As I continued to make my way up the last 300-metre push, the loose gravels that formed the 'pathway' never seem to stay in place, crumbling as I stumbled my way up, slipping back a step after making four steps forward. By then, I fully understood what my other friends meant by "4 steps up, 1 step down". Just 150 metres before the summit, I looked behind me, realizing that everyone who planned to summit that day has already passed me. I said out loud to myself, "Why the hell did I get myself into this shit"……

( It all started ... )