The Ayas Hut
Just over three years ago my brother and I went climbing in the Swiss Alps for the first time. The following story is a short recollection of my first experience of altitude sickness in a small mountain hut high up on the Swiss/Italian border. I have had a go at using dialogue in this piece as this was something we discussed in a recent lecture. I hope you enjoy it.
I felt rough, really rough! It turns out altitude sickness is actually real. “It’s definitely bedtime”, I announced to the group but they all seemed too intoxicated to pay any notice. That’s the trouble with charging less money for beer than for water I thought to myself. Oh well, too ill to care! Crazy Italians.
I woke up the next morning at the time agreed; the headache hit me like a high speed train and I let out a series of groans that eventually culminated in a loud but not so coherent “GOOD GOD”. My brother responded by slurring the words “You OK man?”. “What do you think”, I muttered under my breath, secretly grateful for his concern, “How are you?”, I enquired. “Oh, so-so” came his response. I continued to question him, “You excited about today?”. He hesitated for a few seconds before managing to muster up an unenthusiastic, “Yeh”. I was not convinced!
