Fluffy Kittens and Embroidery: A quick walk up a big hill

As part of ‘Operation complete tick list’ Ella, Micky and I headed up Mt. Hodges bright and early on Sunday morning. The weather wasn’t looking great, and the wind was probably a little more determined than we might have liked. However, time was ticking by and we didn’t want to leave South Georgia without getting up it. We decided to head up via the front face, as although it is probably a little more exposed and tricky than the other available options, we would be sheltered from the wind for most of the way up and get amazing views over Grytviken.

Looking over towards Deadman's Pass from part way up a damp gully

View down to Grytviken from the same damp gully

The route involved some absolute delights, including a loose, damp and moss-filled gulley, a wonderful traverse across a steep snow slope with thin air below us (ice axes definitely a good call) and even a bit of climbing up some icy rock. I always forget just how much effort it is to kick steps into hard snow and arrived on the ridge feeling very warm and fairly tired!

This would be the loose, damp moss-filled gully

And this is the steep traverse

Ella looking pretty hardcore - not bad for someone who doesn't much like heights!

The three false summits on the way up were mildly distressing, especially when accompanied by the occasional strong gust trying to knock us over. However, we eventually we made it up to the top and the clouds even cleared enough for us to get an awesome view.

Looking down over Maiviken

The view of KEP from the top of Mt Hodges

After a brief and breezy stop for lunch we headed down by a different route which involved crossing a waterfall and some excellent snow running (that may have just been me).