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The morning of December 29th was amazing. I slept very well and apart from a little pressure in my forehead and the soulful sounds of Jason's snoring I felt good. The picture below is of our camp directly above the tree line.

One of the Americans in our group was severely sick during the night. This made me somewhat anxious since I was concerned there may have been something in the food. In the morning he took some antibiotics and claimed to feel much better. The clouds quickly began to roll in soon after taking this picture and this mist would become a common occurrence every day we set off. By late morning the mist had turned to drizzle and the route became much steeper. Fortunately there was less mud to deal with because the path was much more rocky. It was important to place your feet carefully since the rocks were very slippery when wet. I preferred to climb with just one pole and my right hand free to grab onto the rocks. This worked much better for me. We reached Shira plateau shortly after about five hours of steady climbing.

	This is a view of the summit from a stream just below camp. This was taken the morning before we left camp. I went down with my filter and filled bottles for me and Jason. The view was amazing and I felt like running off to explore the mountain myself. The water looked crystal clear but I knew it would be foolish not to filter it.
	This is looking west at the tail end of the Shira range of peaks that are visible farther up on the Shira Plateau. This was taken from the camp before beginning the days trek.
	Half way to Shira Camp. The mist occasionally turned to drizzle which forced us to change clothing at times. From the top of this crest there supposedly was some great vistas to see but the fog sort of got in the way. The temperature was quite mild.
	Just another foggy picture but it does give you an indication of the incline we walked up most of the way.
	The Canadians, Chris, Bruce Chin, Jason Moretto, Sandro Grigio (Me), Lars Roberts. I'm really not that short I must have been in a dip, or something...