If I am bored doing mountain updates, I can't even imagine how bored you lot are with it. Last two coming up!

Days 7 and 8
It's a pity that the role of Harvey Twoface has been filled for the new Batman movie, as I would be a shoe-in in my current state. Only the right side of my face has been affected by the sun and the skin is now peeling off in huge chunks. I would post a picture, but it is truly repulsive.

The storm due later today will be more severe than orignally expected, so no-one will be attempting Mont Blanc. Instead the group will be splitting up, some doing ice-climbing, some rock climbing and others, myself included, will be taking off on a nice long hike at around 2000m.

Going was good as we weren't high enough for snow. We got to watch the clouds from the south gathering ominously over Mont Blanc and the other high peaks. Our guide was really chatty, a welcome break from the monosyllabic mountain men that we had had until now. He had a story from almost every slope and peak that we could see - an informative history lesson as well as a highly enjoyable six hour trek.

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Kinda glad I wasn't up there in the middle of that...

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Decided to sit the last day out, since I didn't really really fancy hiking in the rain. I also didn't want to put any more strain on the dodgy ankle - hiking through snow was no problem but yesterday's outing on rocky paths left me feeling a little tender. Interesting to note my priority shift - playing football on Sunday is more important than hiking at this point.

Myself and Alan spent the day watching DVDs and trying to avoid other members of the group. They're nice and all, but I simply can't put up with constantly being around the same people for a whole week.

It was a low-key ending to the week, but somehow fitting. It's not as if there was anything to celebrate, after all. It feels odd that I planned and trained for this for nine months, only to fail without even setting foot on the slopes of Mont Blanc.

I won't be trying again anytime soon. I don't want my life dominated by something for quite a while. A difficult ask for someone with a mildly obsessive personality, but I'll try. That said, myself and Alan are already planning a 2009 hiking expedition - Poland's highest and Germany's highest in the space of a week. Achievable enough not to obsess about.

Well, one can hope...