Some 3000m above the ground

My biggest adventure so far was the Alp-hike with my boyfriend where we marched from Weer, in Autria, to Stretzing, in Italy, within 7 days. The route we set for ourselves was on a relatively high altitude, considering that I was a complete novice to the whole hiking business. Looking back, the project was very courageous and adventurous but also on the verge of stupid. But decide yourself by letting the following extract talk for itself:
It was the 5th day which held the highest mountain pass of the whole route for us in store: 2965m! The evening before I experienced my first nervous break-down, something that has never happened to me so far.The problem was not so much the 20kg backpack I had to carry for some 9 hours a day but that it had started to snow on the top region of the pass a few days ago and more was expected on that night. Being warned about snow by my mother (an experienced hiker), I trembled and cried that night, feeling panic and fear rising up within me because I knew that there were no alternative routes at that stage (being extremely competitive, returning was not an option for me).

Weirdly, I feel perfectly calm again the next day, so we start our ascend. Hiking through the lower parts is not as hard as I expected because the snow the frozen bit on top of the snow layer gives you an excellent grip. My returning confidence and enthusiasm are dampened by the eerie location we reach next. At about 200m we find the entrance to a long dark tunnel of an old Nazi mine where war prisoners were forced to work. There is a gloomy aura around this place for it seems to have been stopped in time: old picks and buckets remain lying randomly scattered on the tunnel floor.
Trying to forget the mine, we set out to master the most dangerous bit of the tour. Not being prepared for the weather we don't have the appropriate snow equipment so we improvise, e.g. using socks instead of gloves! The main problem up here, however, is the 30 cm layer of powdery snow, not because it's cold or slippery but because you cannot see the ground underneath. Therefore each step has to be taken with extreme precaution. The last 50m of altitude are even that steep that there are ropes attached to massive stone blocks to help you pass - though it doesn't feel very safe basically leaning into the precipice, being pulled back by a huge backpack.
Finally we reach the tiny plateau of about 10 cm2 and I feel like a absolute winner for I have just won against myself in a game of beat the fear! I feel a sudden surge of adrenalin and pride that are strong enough to give rise to that crazy courage again and thus override the dizzy feeling when seeing the descend on the other side...