Each day starts with green Japanese tea. My alarm goes off half an hour before Nick's for this purpose. Half an hour of slowly coming round, then it's a bowl of Norwegian Go'dag muesli (masticatorily challenging).

Even without the chewy muesli, at this stage Nick and I are barely able to exchange grunts over the breakfast table.

Nick's aeropress coffee maker brings us back to life. It’s an fine device, simple and effective. With the Lavazza red label coffee we brought with us, it makes strong, aromatic black coffee with a kick big enough to dispel our morning sluggishness.

Then it's on with the base layer (top and bottom), knee pads, guide pants and windproof top. If we’re organised, we'll have packed our rucsacs the night before, with rope, crampons, harness, quick draws, ice screws, helmet, duvet jacket, 3 pairs of gloves and a daypack for the climb. All that remains is to fill the thermos (more green tea), pack lunch (tortillas with chorizo and cheese is our staple this trip) plus 2 cereal bars each, and pack a litre of squash, a walkie talkie, and camera.

Carry all to the car, and drive.