Heading for the summit of Misti

The last few hundred meters we needed crampons and ice axe. Well, strictly speaking, we didn't really need the axe. In fact, the guiding agency that provided all the necessary gear to those that didn't bring their own didn't give any instruction, neither about how to walk with crampons nor on how to use an axe. All they did was to help people with putting on their crampons. And as for having an axe, well, in my book, its useless without basic knowledge and practice on how to use it. Mind you, the slopes were not all that steep and the snow wasn't icy, so even without knowing how to stop, any halfhearted attempt would probably be enough. However, you wouldn't need an axe for that. Fortunately, nobody fell, so we didn't have to find out the hard way. 15 May 2011.