When the going gets tough.. the tough get going

4:55pm 5th February 2017
"That's seven hours straight watching the episodes of Suits on Netflix .. " i think to myself "another day another weekend glued to the couch"
My name is Ro... at this moment of life you could call me Mr couch potato. As the years had rolled by I had found myself to becoming lazier .. we could blame the damn technology that shows the world outside without having to move an inch..
Order food at touch of a button and connect to others via a virtual world is the accepted norm for many of us nowadays
However... a moment arrives in all our lives when we see ourselves becoming something we dislike in others
And that Sunday afternoon was one such moment that pushed me to go do more and take up a challenge
I live in the UK .. and what could be a bigger challenge than to trek up the highest mountain peak in Great Britain .. the Ben Nevis !

Now, the goal is set .. but I ask myself "am I prepared ?have I ever trekker something like this before??"
The answer was a big fat NO
But we can achieve more only when we get out of our comfort zones

Now, in matter of 6 weeks I need to get fitter .. mind you I never been a person who runs or does any cardio .. but like many us have an ongoing gym membership only to name a gym in a social gathering and someone asks "hey, which gym do you go to ? " lol

Week 1 :
I walk into my gym .. greeted kindly by the receptionist who unfortunately has a good memory and remembers the last time I visited the gym.. erm.. 6 months ago
Oh well .. let's get to the work out .. focussed to get more cardio in the routine.. here I begin

Week 2:
I wanted to give up ..
Surrounded by temptations we all know harder it's to stick to a diet..
coming up with excuses to skip the gym was easy
but i had to push harder

Week 3-6:
Diet was good with a few a cheat days
Sessions in the gym got more frequent

But hey this isn't a story of me magically getting a six pack in 6 weeks .. this is an overweight ailing body of someone in the 30s .. so let's not expect a miracle here

Days before the trek :
Shopping for the gear .. I tell you this ain't cheap .. so I looked for a discounted warehouse
Boots, jackets, bag, water packs, poles, emergency kit etc all still adding up to a blimey £800!

Laughing stock :
That's what I became when I told my friends and colleagues about the adventure I am about to go on
Crazy as it seems to them .. I was still was going !

Getting there :
Accompanied by 3 friends who were relatively more experienced than me we took the train to Fort William, Scotland

Day of trek:
Woke up at 6am and quick shower
I wore multiple layers of clothes since I had heard the temperatures drop to -14c at the top of Ben Nevis ..
Bags were packed - with extra shirt, socks, 2lts of water, protein bars, phone, battery pack.l, selfie stick etc
After some selfies .. We set off at 7:45am

I was very excited since I been looking forward to this day for last 6 weeks. However the excitement didn't last too long since after first 20mins of uphill walking I was panting for a breath... "what the hell am I doing !!?" Why am I even attempting to complete this challenge?" This was the question in my mind.

Friends of mine were at a pace that I couldn't match ..hence they went ahead leaving me.
However, being a Saturday .: there were other groups of trekkers walking the path so kept me on the track to the summit

My overzealous prep with multiple layers of clothing to beat the low temperatures ended up as a bad idea since we sweat as we walk up and I had to carry my heavy jackets by hand and walk.

Within the first hour of trek I was struggling with a cramp in my right thigh muscle .. must be the one that I never had to use in my sedentary lifestyle for years :(
But I couldn't stop .. if I did .. I would be ridiculed as a failure when I get back... so I carried on
I rested a few mins every time I was struggling with the pain due to the cramp
And then I moved on

Weird and wonderful people I came across.
Even some older people who were faster than me...
Some laughed at my plight and some encouraged me to keep going... and I did

The path laid with stones and obstacles only got tougher when the snowy part of the mountain began. Three quarters of the trekkers go back at this point since it can be dangerous without proper equipment and shoes with crampons. Fortunately, I had some crampons - thanks to the guy in the warehouse store who recommended that I carry them.

Further from here I was walking all alone along a track that was only noticeable by the foot prints of a handful who had walked ahead of me that day..if not there were several stories of ones who had wandered off the mountain and died.

Walking along the edge of the mountain..a slip to the left would take me tumbling down over the rocks and likely to break few bones and ribs. My eyes watching carefully the path my and my breathing got heavier and slower...
the dropping temperature as I climbed up .. only made the the cramp in my thigh worse..."ouch" it hurt at every step :(
I spoke to myself "Ro, don't give up now .. you have to keep going.." I even tried singing songs to keep me distracted and keep myself distracted from the pain.

The snowy mountain got steeper and steeper adding more challenges to this already exhausted amateur trekker
I could barely see the path due to the cloud and mist reducing visibility to less than few metres..

By this point I have already walked 5hrs and still no sign of the summit

As I walked ahead .. I followed the outline of a couple of people whom I presumed were on the right track .. only to find out they were lost and reached the edge of the mountain.
Oh shit ! Should we call mountain rescue was the thought on our minds
Tracing the steps back we managed to get back on the right way
(Note to self - learn mountain maps for next trek.. if I survive this that is)

How much longer to reach the top .. how much longer will I be able to walk
One step after another .. I kept going
Exhausted and sweating .. multiple layers of clothes soaking wet with the moisture in the air made it heavier and with temperatures dipping to -14c.. I really couldn't tell anymore if I was feeling hot or cold ..

14:25hrs 18th March 2017
I reached the goal .. the highest point in Great Britain.
For a guy, who just a few weeks ago, spent 7hours watching back to back episodes of shows on Netflix .. had now spent 7 hours to reach to the top of Ben Nevis .. this was an achievement

Not sure if it is the craziness of the human brain or the desire of the heart that pushes one to take up new challenges .. and complete them
Against all odds and obstacles to prove to the world...
Yes I can !

• RG

See the video link below
That I shot when I reached the top of Ben Nevis
And you can appreciate my story better