While perched uneasily on a bunch of dislocated rocks, I was aching to end this ordeal I had gotten myself into. What seemed to be an easy climb over snow from afar turned out to be ice, remnants of a glacier that had flowed here for a few months now. I was in pain. But I would have to push harder to achieve what I had come here for.

I am not a mountaineer, for fortunes do not permit me to. But the overwhelming desire to go higher and higher it is difficult to resist particularly if I see a 25,000-foot mountain first thing every morning. The torch of adventure lights in my mind as I see the burning reddish hues at first light.

Fortune had brought me to Shandur in September this year. Disembarking at an altitude of 12,336 feet at 1.20pm, I motivated my mates -- Irshad Sodhar, an assistant commissioner, and his friend, Naqash, a captain in the army -- to try and hike as high as they could. It was to be a high altitude hike. Serious business.

I, on the other hand, decided to make a speed climb to the snowline as it shone atop the hills all around the lake-studded plateau of Shandur. The snowline in September is always pretty high!

It was getting late in the day. Time was of essence. So, I had to abandon Irshad and the worthy captain to their slow march and race up the mountain as fast as I could. With an altimeter assisting in determining time and elevation, I rushed over boulders till the first sounds of running water struckmy ears. A short stopover, a sip or two of water straight off the spring, and a look at the altimeter that told me I was already 59 minutes and 1,600 feet into the climb…. I was about to touch the 14,000 feet mark soon.

The autumn sun overhead was energising me despite the chilly winds blowing at that altitude. It dawned on me that I must climb down in day light and that I would be able to complete the assault only if I kept going at the same pace.

I had crossed the 14,000 feet mark in over an hour. After the 15,000 feet mark, the next target in sight was a small patch of white that saddled two mountain peaks, a few hundred feet below the actual snowline. As I got higher, the climb got tougher, because of the increase in gradient and gravel caused by the frequent freezing and thawing of the underlying soil. I had a few scary slips but they were not cause for much worries.

This white patch of white, at an altitude of 16,096 feet, turned out to be glacial ice. I had pledged some fresh snow off the mountain for Irshad and the captain, who couldn’t make it so high. But this ice was anything but fresh.

By now, I could feel a slight pain in my right leg as I had been pushing hard for the last couple of hours. I was nearing the 5,000 metre mark (16,500 feet) and spirits were running high.

I decided to push one last time to reach the snow above me.

I scrambled, slipped and checked the altimeter for one last reading… I was now at the point that saddles the two peaks. There was fresh snow around me.

The altimeter showed I was 16,721 feet above sea level, and the clock ticked 4.14pm. I had ascended 4,385 feet in 174 minutes.

I later came to know that Irshad had climbed up to 15,300 feet and was understandably exhausted, while captain sahib preferred to turn back earlier and enjoy tea by the Shandur Lake.

Irshad and I would have to go down in less than two hours -- and then await another five hours to pass before we would be back home in Chitral.

The climb was tortuous. For Irshad, however, I am sure, the ecstasy of this hike would live forever.