Month: February 2020

All together it has been a quite long journey & today this climb will come to an end. Today is the last day of climbing/descending. It will take us from Plaza de Mulas basecamp back to Penitentes/exit of the Aconcagua Park.

First off we had breakfast altogether as a group. Some people didn’t bother to setup the tent (which by now is very understandable) and slept on the floor of the dinner tent. Jurjen and myself choose to setup the tent once more the evening before and finished this ritual by disassembling it after breakfast. As we had a busy (hiking) schedule ahead, Jelle helped us taking it down. One last time packing up all the (dusty) contents of the tent.

Today we had 25-ish km walk (all day long) ahead in mainly flat valleys. Once again I was happy we did the 360 tour, so this would be all new terrain, mostly made up of dry river scenery. Somewhere halfway we found a rock (in the river) an to most of us that seemd as a perfect spot for a rest (finally some rest in the shade) but as Jelle is, he saw it as the perfect boulder location. Before we knew it, he had managed to do the left to right side crossing of the rock.

After the break the hike continued. Along the way we encountered something I had seen on one of my maps along the preparation. At one time a couple of years ago an Inka body was found. This is close to what is called the Pyramid Mountain. As we came from Basecamp you do not see it immediately, but if you are doing the standard Aconcagua climbing route (with Plaza de Mulas as your “default” basecamp) you cannot miss it. Pyramid mountain is an eyecatcher mountain with a silhouette which to me is as prominent as the Matterhorn. Our guide Giorgio told us something interesting as to the location of the Inka Mummy (and this I found interesting, because it could related to an ancient universal mountain theory – in Nepal it is also common knowledge) As the top of the mountains belong to the gods, no human being/body may stay there, so that possibly would be the reason for the body laying meters below the summit and not near the top.

After nearly 26km of hiking we arrived at our destination: the entrance/parking of the Aconcagua National Park. With this our adventure came to an end. We have endured headaches, very uncomfortable toilet visits, tons of dust, sunburns but also lots of laughing, happy moments with the group and in solitude, scenic views to the top of the mountain and down to the valley. New friendships have been created and unerasable/life long lasting memories have been shaped. Thank you Aconcagua that you have allowed us to be your guests.

One would think that after such an intensive day – the day before – one would sleep for 12 hours straight. Unluckily this was not the case, mostly because Camp 3 still is at approx 5900 meters – which is just not comfortable for a human being (lack of oxygen, hurting throats, going to toilet in the outside/exposed to the wind)

The heavy winds ripping our tents (the reason in the first place why we had to do the summit push days earlier) also didn’t help with getting good rest. So the day after – we knew – would also be a day of not so much rest and hard work descending.

As soon as we woke up, we started undoing the tent and started the descent. Today we would finally start descending with more oxygen and perhaps a little bit more comfort. By now the circumstances were creating some stress and good rest was something I was craving for.

As we did the Aconcagua 360 degrees route, the descend would be through a different route than the ascent. We would also stay at a different Basecamp (Plaza de Mulas) I guess everybody was happy to move down as we went pretty fast down the mountain, partly skiing (On this part a word of thanks to Jelle for taking the time to give us some theory lessons about moving up & down the mountain)

At the end of the day we arrived at Basecamp/Plaza de Mulas. Jurjen and myself setup our tent one last time. By now we had become very handy at it and we made a sport out of it/to place on the best ground we could found (away from “possible” rivers and on flat ground)

After setting up the tent we joined the group at the main tent for food & (surprise, surprise!) some bottles of champagne. The Camp cook had prepared fresh pizza’s and it was a great evening to think back of what we had experienced and achieved the past days. Seeing Jelle and Giorgio working towards a draw on the chessboard, I decided it was time to get some sleep and try to achieve a 6 hours plus sleep, the first time in de past couple of says/since leaving Plaza Argentina Basecamp.

Once again a short night : due to bad sleep and 3:45 (!) wake up. The idea was to wake up at around 4:00 and start the summit attempt at 5:00/5:30. At the moment we started it was still pitch dark and very cold. Winds were gutsing against our tent. As I was expecting this little bit, I had visited the modified The North Face V25 tent (a.k.a. The Toilet Tent) the evening before, instead of early this morning.

We got on our different layers (it must have been 4 layers on the upper body) and packed only the most important things (being 2,5 liter of water/thee & gel’s amongst other things)

A line of light started ascending. The picture was pretty surreal. We started walking and kept walking (as we had a 1000 altitude meter climb before us) The first reality check came at Plaza de Independencia, were one felt the shortage of oxygen in the air and also the effort it takes to climb. We had something to drink and I took a gel.

At that point a discussion started concerning our state(s). Jan and Linda decided (wisely) – together with the guides – to discontinue. After this the rest of the group continued. Pace was slowing down and I guess everybody was having their hard time continuing. At around this time we needed to put on our crampons the first time (good test to check mental health/how much time it would take to test speed/technical skills at this altitude) I managed to get them on pretty swift. For now everything felt good/right.

Later at “the cave” Jurjen fell back, I actually was so busy/concerned with my state & keep on pushing, that I didn’t realize, until I asked Jelle and he told me Jurjen was having a hard time keeping up with the pace/continuing. At the end he fell back too much & he had to abort the summit attempt. So with three persons less we continued the climb.

We kept on going, and what made it heavy for me in particular was looking up and seeing the steep pitches still ahead (this went on just until the summit) By now I was really in the mode of calculation. As climbing a mountain is not the same as running a marathon/doing a triathlon. You cannot give all you have/effort to reach the summit, you have to keep 35% tot 25% of energy left for safely coming down. I knew (due to lesser acclimatization and not taking Diamox) that I was reaching this threshold.

At 14:33 I reached as one of the first (together with Gert-Jan) the summit. I was really happy! We waited for the others and took some pictures. Pretty fast, I realized that it would take me amounts of efforts and concentration to go back c.q. I went into serious mode (especially with the steep descends ahead) As the guides told us to prepare for the descent, I told them & Jelle that I knew that I had to take good care in descending (I knew I was less secure in my steps – but at that moment I wasn’t sure why, calculations and solving logical questions worked out/was fine, that was comforting for me)

On purpose I stayed in the back of the group and I had arranged with the guide Giorgio to keep an eye on me. Descending the first meters was so-so and at the first rest Hernan gave me one of his gels. From that point on it went better and better. It seems thus – on hindsight – that I was low on energy at the start of the descent. From that point on I ate and drank as much as I could on the descent (haha, reminds me of the lessons learned during the Ironmans: eat & drink all you can, if possible:)

Somewhere at around 19:00 as one of the firsts we arrived back at Camp 3. It was a beautiful sight, the whole camp was cheering and yelling. We sat together in the guide’s tent and ate some good pasta. About thirty minutes later I found my way to my tent and layed down. It must have taken 5 minutes to be knocked off the world and be in very deep sleep, end of a hard but successful journey (having reached my goal to feel what it takes to climb at around 7000 meters of altitude and maybe opening the way to 8000 meters+)

Yesterday I had to decide before 18:00 if we were/I was going to use a porter. As we will have to carry not only all our gear (since Basecamp) but also do a carry with 5kg of expedition material. I felt strong – like I wrote yesterday – and decided not to use a porter but carry approx. 20kg. to Camp 3 (to 5900 mtr.) by myself.

Furthermore I decided – as I felt well /slight headache when going to sleep – not to use Diamox. The whole group decided (except for Lahbib – the strong Marrocan climber – and myself) to use Diamox, as there would be fair legitimation for it (3 days less acclimatization/earlier Summit attempt)

I had a clear plan when I was in Rotterdam with the regard to the use of Diamox and as I really wanted to feel my body/what it takes to climb at this extreme altitude I decided only to use it when my guides would tell me to do so and when I would feel horrible/have extreme headache(s) As both was not the case I gave my Diamox to Jurjen – happy to support him – but I passed for the use of it.

It was a tough climb today, but I was very happy to have accomplished it without the use of porters/carrying aid & Diamox. Happy with my body & my state of mind supporting this:)

Tomorrow Summit attempt/Day!

Yesterday we did the same route, but today we left Camp 1 for good and moved to Camp 2.

My night was not to good as the tent was positioned wrongly, note to (Jurjen &) myself: when positioning the tent watch the mountain inclination/place the tent so that the head is higher, but never a left to right difference (a Dutch saying says: one learns whilst doing:)

Somewhere in the middle of the night I build a leveled platform (with my dawn jackets – not only good for the cold:) and from that point on I managed to get some sleep. I slept until I heard the first voices at around 8:15. I stayed in the tent until the guides told us breakfast was ready. I passed by their tent and got some backed bacon and toast bread. My thermos bottle got filled and that together with the powder gave a delicious Cappuccino. It are the small things in the mountain that give tons of joy! (Like the wet toilet paper with Aloe Vera – what a treat:)

We took down the tents and left at approx. 11:00 on time. As we knew the walk it was pretty nice. I chatted a lot with my neighbors and time flew past. In no time we were at Camp 2. The guides had prepared some small bites and Jelle gave us a last briefing concerning the weather and the climbing strategy.

The weather outlook was getting even worse for the days after the 11th. So now for sure the 11th would be the day to try to Summit. The plan is now to head to Camp 3 tomorrow with all gear + 5 kg of expedition material. The 11th we will start in two groups so the faster people would/could stay warm during the summit attempt (as there is a difference in “natural” speeds)

Because the Summit attempt will be really tough (heavy carry the day before – day 11 -not enough acclimatization – we have three day less – and strong winds – 65 km/h +) we discuss some options to lessen the effort. The two options being:

1. rent a porter for the load carry to Camp 3 (20kg at cost $ 468)

2. take Diamox

Although I feel very strong (I hoped to feel like this, but never could have expected) I need to consider both/it would be irrational not to give both options a second thought….food for thought the coming hours.

For day nine we had a carry planned. We needed to transport 8kg of expedition material to Camp 2.

First of was the Toilettent experience. I was used to the fact that in the mountains comfort goes/leaves by the altitude meter. This sure also was the case here. Going to the toilet from now on was a challenge. We did have some kind of (old) tent but stil it was sitting on your knees and going for it. Luckily we had some views whilst doing this, so that helped.

After this, I was ready to start the climb of the day/carry up. At the end it took us 3 hours to get to Camp 2. We dropped the supplies and took some time to get used to the new altitude.

After some talking and relaxing – the weather was great – it took us 1,5 hours to get back down to Camp 1. Once there we had a little briefing concerning the days ahead and the upcoming weather.

The weather outlook gives a weather window for the 10th or 11th of February, this is three days before the actual plan (which was 13 or 14th) The forecast now states that for the planned dates the wind will be 100km/h + which is far above the max to climb (60km/h)

This gave me mixed feelings, as you can never know if you are ready in this high altitude, but on the other side I am really happy that although the weather is turning really bad, we get a chance to reach the summit. The positive feelings about this stay in my mind while I slowly fall a sleep.

For today the plan was to pack for the last time, as we were going to leave Basecamp for good and the duffels were going down with the donkeys. Jelle briefed us one last time on which items to take with & what to leave behind.

We left Basecamp on time and started the climb (which we already knew) along the way I came across the Austrian guide Hans-Jorg and we arranged that we would drink a Weizen beer once back in Mendoza.

After reaching the camp, we started setting up tents. Luckily the wind was less intense than 2 days before. We did this in an group effort as not everybody felt to strong. It was nice to see how everybody helped each other. It took us almost 1 hour – good to see we were getting better and better at it/also taking down the tent earlier today.

I was very happy I felt very strong today. I didn’t track my GPS (as we has walked the route before and I want to save battery if possible) but I checked on my hart rate and it was steady and low at about 90 an 110 on the harder parts of the track.

After setting up tents Lahbib and myself decided to hike up a little more (climb high & sleep low:) and Jurjen joined us on adding another 150 to 200 altitude meters (we must have crossed the 5000 for the first time)

Getting back to the tents we made our selves comfortable and we were surprised by the guides with fresh made hamburgers (they are truly caretakers:) Now I am finishing my blog post and will do some reading (in my sleeping bag with my summit down jacket on:)

After a good night of sleep (with a couple of wake-ups) I woke up at 7:30. The day started full of sun and I sat down in our main tent. There were Gert-Jan, Rob and Frank and we discussed the days ahead, the weather and expectations.

Yesterday Hans-Jorg, my Austrian tourski guide – which I met/got to now through Jelle/Mountain Network – arrived at Basecamp with two of his clients. Weather was discussed and apparently the 11th would be a great summit day, but the days later weather would be less good (as Hans Jorg and his clients had been acclimatizing with altitude tents in Austria they would be ready, despite their late arrival) For us that date would be to early (even if we skipped our rest day today) Our target is the 13th with two spare days (reach until the 15th) Hopefully the weather window will be/turn good for that period.

After a good resting yesterday, today the expedition would continue. The plan was to hike to Camp 1 with a double function: acclimatize further/get used to the higher altitude and next to this we were going to carry up the supplies (13kg per person) to Camp 1, for use there and the higher camps.

Breakfast was planned for 9 o’clock and we would leave Plaza Argentina at 10:00. As we would return to Basecamp, no special material was needed. We left camp on time and with the backpack fully packed (in my case with macaroni, soup etc.) we started our walk.

We were all very anxious and ready to move up the mountain, to get just a little bit closer to the summit. Along the way – above 4810 meters – I celebrated that this was (already:) the highest point I’ve ever reached (after reaching the Mt Blanc summit – 4808 mtr. – in 2008) The walk continued and was fine until we got approx. 150 altitude meters under Camp 1. The stretch that followed was pretty steep and hard wind(s) came down the slope, throwing ruble and debris straight in our faces. This climb was planned with wearing helmets, so luckily we could protect ourselves by bending over/against the wind.

After a 3 hours (pretty intense) walk we arrived at the camp site. A Norwegian group climbing together with us was already there, so we could not enter the main tent yet. After waiting for a while they left and we sat inside for an hour to get used to the altitude. Meanwhile we dropped the supplies/we left them at Camp 1 and started the descent.

Returning to basecamp we got to realize that there were not only heavy winds up in the mountain, but also at the camp site. Jurjen and my tent was partly blown away and the personnel at the camp site had taken out the poles and put stones on the tent to further mitigate any damage (as loosing/heavily damaging a tent would have serious impact on the rest of the expedition) After restoring our tent with guide Hernán, we evaluated the situation and heard that couple of tents had a kind of “liftoff” situation and one tent of the Norwegian expedition was heavily damaged.

The rest of the day we had some time off and at 19:30 a great meal was being served. Now is time to do some writing and reading and afterwards early to bed/get some well deserved rest.

Today we had a rest day as yesterday we climbed for almost a 1000 meters. In the “ideal acclimatization” theory 450 to 500 meters per day is ideal, so having a rest day will balance this out.

For this day one task was planned: visiting the Mountain Doctor/do a medical checkup. The result was luckily fine, so tomorrow I can continue climbing/go to higher camps.