Monday, November 27, 2006
Go to smsmart.blogspot.com to find out about my trip to Equadors' Volcanoes.
Monday, January 17, 2005
A Selection of Photograghs
I have uploaded some photos for those who would like to see where I went & should there be any doubting Thomas's out there, a picture or two of the top.
I arrived back 0n the 12th after an uneventfull journey home to be re-united with the Glasgow climate, something I have not missed.
I have been asked if I thought the whole enterprise was worthwhile, anyone who has managed to carry out something they consider a personal challenge will answer that. They also have asked me what is next, well.............................I have an idea or two.
Thanks to all who left comments.. to do it click on the comments below. The comments are at the end of each log & can be accessed by all.
Yours Sincerely Stephen W M Smart.
I arrived back 0n the 12th after an uneventfull journey home to be re-united with the Glasgow climate, something I have not missed.
I have been asked if I thought the whole enterprise was worthwhile, anyone who has managed to carry out something they consider a personal challenge will answer that. They also have asked me what is next, well.............................I have an idea or two.
Thanks to all who left comments.. to do it click on the comments below. The comments are at the end of each log & can be accessed by all.
Yours Sincerely Stephen W M Smart.
The lone hiker with Aconcagua in the background, I could get up that!
Horcones river which is the colour of hot chocolate due to the sediment.
The South Face of Aconcagua The highest point is on the right side, the bealach is the lowest point between the two tops.
Looking up the Horcones Valley, Mulas del Mulas is only 7 hrs away.
Mulas with Sugar Loaf ( the mountain with the snow on it) in the background.
From above Mulas with Sugar Loaf, the mountain with the snow on it.
Looking over Mulas from Sugar Loaf the flatish area on Aconcagua is Nido de Condors.
Tomas at Camp Canada before I went back down to Plaza des Mulas.
New tent at Nido de Condores or Nest of the Condors No sight of any condors. Alt 5350m
Nido, note all the rocks round the tent, I had rocks round the inside as well.
View from Berlin camp, so called because the wee huts were build by climbers from Berlin who's friend lost his life here.
Berlin Camp with two wee wooden huts both of which were full of snow.
Independencia Hut, at 6400m. this now ruined hut was built in 1951, supposed to be the highest alpine refuge in the world, I would not like to depend on this place in a bad night.
Looking down from the bealach to the Horcones glacier The pictures from beside the glacier were taken from approx where the shadow of the cloud is.
South Face, one of the most difficult climbs in South America, viewed from the bealach.
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Looking down the notorious Canaleta, it is steeper than it looks here....
The South face viewed from the bealach between the two peaks.
The PICTURE, at the top, this will become a classic, & will be downloaded throughout the world.
The Saltire flies proudly with the South face in the background.
Looking down to Plaza del Mulas from just above Camp Canada on the far left.
An attempt at alpine architecture in Bariloche ...too bad about the muli-story flats.
I used to have a toy one of these when I was a small boy.
The lovely beach at Puntas Arenus which means sandy point.
Ushuaia with cruise ships for Antartica in the background.
There are a few nuisance penguins to be found on the streets of Ushuaia which pester passers by for fish & money.
Monday, January 10, 2005
The Last Post From The Americas.
Again nothing interesting has happened to me since the last communication, I left Puntas Arenus innocent & unmolested on sun & caught another LanChile flight to Santiago which was late AGAIN, 2 LanChile flights & both were 2hrs late taking off from almost deserted aerodromes, what a bunch!!!
The flight flew over Torres Del Paine & a superb view was to be had of these most peculiar of mountains, the flight continued north with magnificent views of the Chilean side of southern Patagonia, where there are vast areas of mountains with almost no access, all with glaciers streching either down to the sea or to lakes, you could easily count hundreds of these glaciers, some lakes full of ice that had broken off the glaciers, We must have been close to Argentina as I could clearly see Mount Fitzroy, which is another impressive vertical pillar of rock dwarfing its neighbours ( not unlike the In Pin some might be moved to observe ) The mountains & glaciers continued all the way as we flew over the Carretera Austral before stopping at Puerto Montt. A most impressive flight far better than the Alps as these mountains continued almost non-stop for the 2000k between Puntas Arenus & Puerto Montt, unfortunatly it was almost dark as we took off from Puerto Montt so I only had a hazy view of the volcano Osorno, which is quite conical with the top third covered in snow - just what a volcano is supposed to look like.
Arrived in Santiago at almost midnight so I was fearfull the last of the service buses had left the airport & I would have to pay for a taxi ( a difference of 15Quid ) so you can imagine my utter relief when I spotted one and was able to hop aboard.
Just as I left the Plane a passenger (a german) was having a wrestling match with the security personnel I wanted to stay & watch but,, that bus was more important.
Arrived at Hotel Londres at almost 1am and fortunatly they had a room.
Lovely day here in Santiago, must be 85+ but a bit sticky. Spent the day sitting about mostly eating ice lollys.I fly out of Santiago tomorrow at 3pm so this will be my last post from SA. When I arrive home I will set up a photo album on this sight & put a selection up for your perusal, so give me a couple of days.
Some of you might wonder why I wanted to travel down to Ushuaia at all as it is not a common holiday destination well.....when I was about 8 or 9 my Gran used to come over to my house every Wednesday bringing with her the latest Peoples Friend for my mother. You may or may not know that the Peoples Friend had a childrens page at the back, on one occasion they were running a competition....I cannot remember what it was about but I entered it,
About 3weeks later I received through the post, to my delight & astonishment, second prize of a metal globe about 6 inches in diameter, I used to often study it and one of the places that constantly drew my eye was the isolated tip of South America, I cannot say that I decided then that one day.......but I always harboured a notion, just to see what it would be like. SO I KNOW NOW!!!
I would like to thank everyone who posted a comment, as they both provided amusement
& a little knowledge ( I was perfectly aware that Fray Bentos was in Uraguay, but I thought that I would try it on for the sake of a cheap laugh)
I do wonder why so many of the comments were all by anon?
The home fire seems to have gone out, perhaps it needs a good poke?
Do look in again at the end of the week when I hope to have the photos available
Hasta lumbago SS
The flight flew over Torres Del Paine & a superb view was to be had of these most peculiar of mountains, the flight continued north with magnificent views of the Chilean side of southern Patagonia, where there are vast areas of mountains with almost no access, all with glaciers streching either down to the sea or to lakes, you could easily count hundreds of these glaciers, some lakes full of ice that had broken off the glaciers, We must have been close to Argentina as I could clearly see Mount Fitzroy, which is another impressive vertical pillar of rock dwarfing its neighbours ( not unlike the In Pin some might be moved to observe ) The mountains & glaciers continued all the way as we flew over the Carretera Austral before stopping at Puerto Montt. A most impressive flight far better than the Alps as these mountains continued almost non-stop for the 2000k between Puntas Arenus & Puerto Montt, unfortunatly it was almost dark as we took off from Puerto Montt so I only had a hazy view of the volcano Osorno, which is quite conical with the top third covered in snow - just what a volcano is supposed to look like.
Arrived in Santiago at almost midnight so I was fearfull the last of the service buses had left the airport & I would have to pay for a taxi ( a difference of 15Quid ) so you can imagine my utter relief when I spotted one and was able to hop aboard.
Just as I left the Plane a passenger (a german) was having a wrestling match with the security personnel I wanted to stay & watch but,, that bus was more important.
Arrived at Hotel Londres at almost 1am and fortunatly they had a room.
Lovely day here in Santiago, must be 85+ but a bit sticky. Spent the day sitting about mostly eating ice lollys.I fly out of Santiago tomorrow at 3pm so this will be my last post from SA. When I arrive home I will set up a photo album on this sight & put a selection up for your perusal, so give me a couple of days.
Some of you might wonder why I wanted to travel down to Ushuaia at all as it is not a common holiday destination well.....when I was about 8 or 9 my Gran used to come over to my house every Wednesday bringing with her the latest Peoples Friend for my mother. You may or may not know that the Peoples Friend had a childrens page at the back, on one occasion they were running a competition....I cannot remember what it was about but I entered it,
About 3weeks later I received through the post, to my delight & astonishment, second prize of a metal globe about 6 inches in diameter, I used to often study it and one of the places that constantly drew my eye was the isolated tip of South America, I cannot say that I decided then that one day.......but I always harboured a notion, just to see what it would be like. SO I KNOW NOW!!!
I would like to thank everyone who posted a comment, as they both provided amusement
& a little knowledge ( I was perfectly aware that Fray Bentos was in Uraguay, but I thought that I would try it on for the sake of a cheap laugh)
I do wonder why so many of the comments were all by anon?
The home fire seems to have gone out, perhaps it needs a good poke?
Do look in again at the end of the week when I hope to have the photos available
Hasta lumbago SS
Saturday, January 08, 2005
The Uttermost Part of the Earth
Nothing much to report I am afraid, Steak & wine tea again last night Total cost 10Quid & then a beer in the Irish bar.
Went for a walk this morning in the vain hope of seeing a beagle.....no joy.
Weather overcast & breezy, probably about 50 degrees,
Discovered to my horror that the hotel cost 24 british pounds, & the breakfast was inadaquate, watery coffee & 2 silly wee croussionts* What is the attraction of these most useless of things. are they supposed to be a sort of a designer roll? If you tried to put a slice of lorne in it more than half would stick out the side, & your fried egg would slide out & end up in your lap. Another useless french invention, they should stick to designing frocks & perfume for the effeminate.
I had to take a plane from Ushuaia back to Puntas Arenas as the buses only run every couple of days & I have to catch a flight back to Santiago tomorrow, Flight was uneventfull & late.
Staying back in the hostal Fitzroy ( quiz question: who was he) which I wisely booked before I left Puntas.
I will watch whom I talk to tonight, just in case! Yours SS
Went for a walk this morning in the vain hope of seeing a beagle.....no joy.
Weather overcast & breezy, probably about 50 degrees,
Discovered to my horror that the hotel cost 24 british pounds, & the breakfast was inadaquate, watery coffee & 2 silly wee croussionts* What is the attraction of these most useless of things. are they supposed to be a sort of a designer roll? If you tried to put a slice of lorne in it more than half would stick out the side, & your fried egg would slide out & end up in your lap. Another useless french invention, they should stick to designing frocks & perfume for the effeminate.
I had to take a plane from Ushuaia back to Puntas Arenas as the buses only run every couple of days & I have to catch a flight back to Santiago tomorrow, Flight was uneventfull & late.
Staying back in the hostal Fitzroy ( quiz question: who was he) which I wisely booked before I left Puntas.
I will watch whom I talk to tonight, just in case! Yours SS
Friday, January 07, 2005
USHUAIA or The Worlds Bottom
Well Well I am not alone after all, many thanks for all your comments. IMD will be pleased to hear that something of mild interest occured on Wed night. In what seemed to me a perfectly respectable restaurant in Puntas Areanus High St. I was enjoying my comestibles when I was engaged in conversation by a couple of women at the next table, we chatted away, they in broken English & I in appallingly fractured Spanish, after a short time one made a quite improper suggestion, I dismissed it & carried on chatting, but they were not to be put off, as you might expect from a responsible correspondent, as they say I made my excuses & left! I went to another pub & watched a pink floyd tape of all things, still it was better than the truly awful trumpet music they enjoy here (plenty of work for Neil here if he is still resting).
Next morning whilst having breakfast I overheard that one of the other guests at the Fitzroy hostal had just finished a 1100k trek across antartica, the first Malasian woman (mmmm) to do so, I was very interested to hear about this but as usuall I was late for my bus & had to dash.
The bus left at 9am for Ushuaia (pronounced oosh- y-a) at 11am we reached the Straits of Magellan & it was blowing a howler, hoped to see some sea life on the half hour crossing but disappointed only to see some seaweed. Set foot on Terra Del Fuego & found it a bleak flat barren place, with no fire & lots of wind, The bus took us south to Rio Grande where we changed buses to an old jalopy of a bus, this means a murram road I thought.... correct.
The north of Terra del Fuego is flat barren and with no houses or villages but in the south there are forests & mountains, & a sort of ski resort.
Arrived in Ushuaia at 9pm, so I have reached the top & now I have reached the bottom, so another aim achieved.
Still light of course as this is as far south as Glasgow is north , 54 deg S approx.
Ushuaia was very busy & I had to try quite a few places before finding a bed. 20 quid too!
Very good steak & wine tea. Vino de Casa only 1.60 so that cheered me up. tired so early to bed.
Ushuaia is Fin de la Monde or so they claim, he worlds most southern city pop 30k is that big enough to qualify as a city ? its a very low rise place anyway the same type of architecture as the last few places one & two storey buildings with painted corrigated iron roofs.
Went for a walk this morning & looked out over the Beagle channel, I looked up & down & across,
I looked for quite a while..........................................................................................No Beagles!!
Weather today overcast with light winds, you need a pullover on. Took a look round the museum
housed in an old prison, it was not cushy in the jail in the old days, proper striped suits & hard labour. Served them all right!
Walked down by the docks where many day trips are offered, thought about going on one to see some penguins, fortunatly the notion wore off, if I really feel like looking at penguins I will just have to go to Edinburgh zoo ( is there not some joke about a bloke finding a penguin, take him to the zoo a friend suggests......)
This is the main port of departure for Antartica, so the port is busy with supply vessels & cruise ships, I am not sure if a 2 wk cruise to Antartica appeals to me much as it costs $3000. I can resist it for the time being. Bought some tee shirts this afternoon ( an a salt dish for ma mammy)
By for now SS.
Next morning whilst having breakfast I overheard that one of the other guests at the Fitzroy hostal had just finished a 1100k trek across antartica, the first Malasian woman (mmmm) to do so, I was very interested to hear about this but as usuall I was late for my bus & had to dash.
The bus left at 9am for Ushuaia (pronounced oosh- y-a) at 11am we reached the Straits of Magellan & it was blowing a howler, hoped to see some sea life on the half hour crossing but disappointed only to see some seaweed. Set foot on Terra Del Fuego & found it a bleak flat barren place, with no fire & lots of wind, The bus took us south to Rio Grande where we changed buses to an old jalopy of a bus, this means a murram road I thought.... correct.
The north of Terra del Fuego is flat barren and with no houses or villages but in the south there are forests & mountains, & a sort of ski resort.
Arrived in Ushuaia at 9pm, so I have reached the top & now I have reached the bottom, so another aim achieved.
Still light of course as this is as far south as Glasgow is north , 54 deg S approx.
Ushuaia was very busy & I had to try quite a few places before finding a bed. 20 quid too!
Very good steak & wine tea. Vino de Casa only 1.60 so that cheered me up. tired so early to bed.
Ushuaia is Fin de la Monde or so they claim, he worlds most southern city pop 30k is that big enough to qualify as a city ? its a very low rise place anyway the same type of architecture as the last few places one & two storey buildings with painted corrigated iron roofs.
Went for a walk this morning & looked out over the Beagle channel, I looked up & down & across,
I looked for quite a while..........................................................................................No Beagles!!
Weather today overcast with light winds, you need a pullover on. Took a look round the museum
housed in an old prison, it was not cushy in the jail in the old days, proper striped suits & hard labour. Served them all right!
Walked down by the docks where many day trips are offered, thought about going on one to see some penguins, fortunatly the notion wore off, if I really feel like looking at penguins I will just have to go to Edinburgh zoo ( is there not some joke about a bloke finding a penguin, take him to the zoo a friend suggests......)
This is the main port of departure for Antartica, so the port is busy with supply vessels & cruise ships, I am not sure if a 2 wk cruise to Antartica appeals to me much as it costs $3000. I can resist it for the time being. Bought some tee shirts this afternoon ( an a salt dish for ma mammy)
By for now SS.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
To The Ends Of The Earth.
I left Bariloche on the 2nd of Jan to fly to Calafate ( I do not know what it means ) by an airline called Southern Winds, I was anticipating a flight on a small aircraft, a prop driven thing or a biplane or something hair-raiseing.... disappointingly it was a modern Boeing. The aerodrome is so far from Calafate I expected to see Ryanair using it. Buenes Aires (calafate) .
The bus took me from the aerodome to the bus station whee I discovered a connection to Portes Natales at 4pm so booked on that.
I am a bit surprised that Calafate has an airport with a daily flight from Bariloche it is about the size of Callender, it does have the Moreno glacier however & this must be the great tourist draw a after a walk round town it does not have much going for it.
I found myself the only passenger on the bus when we left & the only passenge when it stopped i Rio Turbio. The road is murram* & a bit bumpy but devoid of traffic only a couple of cars passed the other way in 3 hrs. No wonder the driver had a big comunication radio. No doubt for talking to base in the event of a problem.
The terrian we pass through is undulating but desert like, only scrubby plants & stoney ground. After 3 hrs there is enough growth to support sheep. I am glad I did not spend 30hrs in a bus getting here.
Crossed the border & arrived in Portes Natales at 9pm. Offered a hastal & shared room for 4 quid, go to a hotel & pay 15quid a bit extravagant. Find there is a bus to Torres Del Paine park the next morning at 7.30. I am there in time but no bus! The next one is at 10.30 it turns up, arrive at the park at 12.30 & pay 10Quid to get in then take a minibus to the Hosteria del Paine.
Most people when they come here either have tents & all their food & equipment or they go through a travel co. who sort everything out for a fee of course, just turning up is probably not advisable. Asked about accomodation in the Hostelria, told.. $150US..WHIT? Find out that there is a refugio on the trail to the base of the Torres del Paine
, this seems much better, it is more interesting as well. Toodle of up the trail to the refugio Chileano, which takes a leisurely 2hrs.
Elect to have Dinner Bed(shared room) & breakfast for 31.50pounds.
The Refugio of which there are perhaps ten scattered about the park sleep about 60 in shared rooms there is also a camping option, the refugio providing toilet facilities and a modest restaurant. Eat my tea with A bunch of Italians so not much chat, although one of the spics has been to Scotland 4 times he tells me, for trekking, likes Glencoe & has climbed Ben Nevis.
Torres Del Paine or towers of paine are on more callanders than Ellan* Donnan* Castle, so I will go & have a closer look tomorrow.
Torres del Paine
The bus took me from the aerodome to the bus station whee I discovered a connection to Portes Natales at 4pm so booked on that.
I am a bit surprised that Calafate has an airport with a daily flight from Bariloche it is about the size of Callender, it does have the Moreno glacier however & this must be the great tourist draw a after a walk round town it does not have much going for it.
I found myself the only passenger on the bus when we left & the only passenge when it stopped i Rio Turbio. The road is murram* & a bit bumpy but devoid of traffic only a couple of cars passed the other way in 3 hrs. No wonder the driver had a big comunication radio. No doubt for talking to base in the event of a problem.
The terrian we pass through is undulating but desert like, only scrubby plants & stoney ground. After 3 hrs there is enough growth to support sheep. I am glad I did not spend 30hrs in a bus getting here.
Crossed the border & arrived in Portes Natales at 9pm. Offered a hastal & shared room for 4 quid, go to a hotel & pay 15quid a bit extravagant. Find there is a bus to Torres Del Paine park the next morning at 7.30. I am there in time but no bus! The next one is at 10.30 it turns up, arrive at the park at 12.30 & pay 10Quid to get in then take a minibus to the Hosteria del Paine.
Most people when they come here either have tents & all their food & equipment or they go through a travel co. who sort everything out for a fee of course, just turning up is probably not advisable. Asked about accomodation in the Hostelria, told.. $150US..WHIT? Find out that there is a refugio on the trail to the base of the Torres del Paine
, this seems much better, it is more interesting as well. Toodle of up the trail to the refugio Chileano, which takes a leisurely 2hrs.
Elect to have Dinner Bed(shared room) & breakfast for 31.50pounds.
The Refugio of which there are perhaps ten scattered about the park sleep about 60 in shared rooms there is also a camping option, the refugio providing toilet facilities and a modest restaurant. Eat my tea with A bunch of Italians so not much chat, although one of the spics has been to Scotland 4 times he tells me, for trekking, likes Glencoe & has climbed Ben Nevis.
Torres Del Paine or towers of paine are on more callanders than Ellan* Donnan* Castle, so I will go & have a closer look tomorrow.
Torres del Paine
Wake up in the middle of the night to find it is utterly, utterly pitch black I can see nothing at all, & wonder if i have gone blind in the middle of the night, fumble about & find my lighter & discover 2 things A : it is 3am B : I can still see! Rise early for breakfat & leave for the base of the towers at 9am, arrive there at 11am it is very misty so I do not get to see them up close, also the batteries in my camera are flat, brilliant!! Back down to the Refugio then walk to the Hosteria area. All of my readers must know of the Torres Del Paine mountains as they are world famous, they are truly fantastic (in the true sense of the word) range of mountains which look like they might adorn the sleeve of a Yes album, unfortunatly I do not have time to walk all the way round the park (as this takes a week) & see all the different views, so I will have to make do with some distance photos from the road. The trails here are to be strictly kept to so it is like an ant trail of people, one after another & just too busy. Decide to walk the 5mls to the park gates & enjoy that walk a lot more as only 2 cars pass me & no walkers.
Take the bus back to Portes Natales and when I arrive discover there is no bus the next day to Ushuaia, only on friday, the woman I asked before I left for Torres obviously was talking rubbish, spanish rubbish at that. Book for the 7am bus to Puntas Arenas instead & I will see what transport is availible from there. Go out for my tea & notice Conger eel on the menu so have to try that, not too bad, you would not know it was an eel ( it was not eel shaped on the plate) This is the same restaurant whre I had the King crab the other night, the meat from these crabs is mainly in the legs, ( unlike me ), ok but a bit chewy though.
Take the bus to Puntas Arenas & find there are no buses today (wed) so I will catch the bus tomorow at 9am for the 12hr bus run.
I am disappointed that my ever dwindling band of readers find this narrative dull, boring even but there is not much I can do about that, I have not been robbed or conned or attacked or propositioned or have lost my passport or money or tickets home or caught some tropical disease or been run over or been used as a drug mule or been in an air crash or a victim of a tusnami, I will try and be much more careless in future, perhaps that will help. More tedium tomorrow.
Friday, December 31, 2004
THE DEEP SOUTH
I spent last weekend in Santiago in an attempt to recover. I did not think that a spot of rambling could be so exhausting, but it proved so for me, I must have lost over a stone in weight, & I was tired out for days. I have been on a strict diet of cakes, chocolate, steak beer & wine in an attempt to regain my former majestic physic, only very marginal improvements so far.
An other reason for staying in Santiago was to check out flights to Easter Island ( famous for its heads ) LanChile fly there & were offering a return for 230pounds which I thought good value but unfortunatly the only flight was on the 1st jan returning 4th jan which was not good timing as I would be stuck in Santiago for days each side of the trip, so back to plan A, & I left Santiago on 28th dec aboard a south bound train, not The Old Patagonian Express, unfortunatly.
The train took me to Temuco in 9 hours were I stayed the night in a higglety pigglty old hotel called the Colonial, (7.70pounds)The reason it is this way is due to earhquakes, either this or the builders level was a bit out.
Next day caught a bus to Puerto Montes, where the Chilian part of the pan-American hghway runs out. I was hoping to catch a ferry south but when I checked it out there were no ferries untill the 3rd of Jan, which was no use. Stayed the night in a *** hotel 13 quid. I ordered an OK Coral Burger for my tea 6.30pm on the dot, & received a meal the size of a small bungalow. It was without doubt the biggest meal I have ever seen, ate my way through the front door, along the hall & into the parlour, that was all I could manage.
Decided on going south through Argentina instead, so hopped on a bus back the way I had come back to Osorno then over the mountains again & into Argentina, to a plce called Bariloche.
This is a very European town in an alpine tradition, a lot of Gerries came here after the war apparently, Simon Wiesenthal* could probably have scooped up a fine haul here.
Attractive place all the same, South America´s answer to Zermatt, on the shores of a large lake with mountains all around. The place is full of school kids & holidaymakers so accommodation was very hard to find, trailing round innumerable hotels I have had to stay in a ****star Hotel at great cost, 28 quid!! Exellent tea last night in quite a posh restaurant, starter, steak. bottle of wine 11Quid. Yip you can swank it here!
NEW YEARS DAY
I am still in Bariloche an have decided to take a aeroplane south to Calafate. The reason for this is the alternative is a 30 hr bus journey which does not appeal to me. I leave tomorrow on a FourWinds flight, I wonder what kind of aircraft this will be. The flight cost 100quid but this will be my last major expense as I have already paid for the return flight from Pontas Areanus to Santiago.
I am still staying in the **** hotel, but its not really 4* there are no amenities not even a kettle to make coffee in the room. The weather here is a very comfortable 75 with blue sky & light winds, I am a bit bored though as all I have been doing is wandering around.
A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO BOTH MY READERS
I hope Wally has a good party tonight, Who I wonder will win the QUIZ!!
An other reason for staying in Santiago was to check out flights to Easter Island ( famous for its heads ) LanChile fly there & were offering a return for 230pounds which I thought good value but unfortunatly the only flight was on the 1st jan returning 4th jan which was not good timing as I would be stuck in Santiago for days each side of the trip, so back to plan A, & I left Santiago on 28th dec aboard a south bound train, not The Old Patagonian Express, unfortunatly.
The train took me to Temuco in 9 hours were I stayed the night in a higglety pigglty old hotel called the Colonial, (7.70pounds)The reason it is this way is due to earhquakes, either this or the builders level was a bit out.
Next day caught a bus to Puerto Montes, where the Chilian part of the pan-American hghway runs out. I was hoping to catch a ferry south but when I checked it out there were no ferries untill the 3rd of Jan, which was no use. Stayed the night in a *** hotel 13 quid. I ordered an OK Coral Burger for my tea 6.30pm on the dot, & received a meal the size of a small bungalow. It was without doubt the biggest meal I have ever seen, ate my way through the front door, along the hall & into the parlour, that was all I could manage.
Decided on going south through Argentina instead, so hopped on a bus back the way I had come back to Osorno then over the mountains again & into Argentina, to a plce called Bariloche.
This is a very European town in an alpine tradition, a lot of Gerries came here after the war apparently, Simon Wiesenthal* could probably have scooped up a fine haul here.
Attractive place all the same, South America´s answer to Zermatt, on the shores of a large lake with mountains all around. The place is full of school kids & holidaymakers so accommodation was very hard to find, trailing round innumerable hotels I have had to stay in a ****star Hotel at great cost, 28 quid!! Exellent tea last night in quite a posh restaurant, starter, steak. bottle of wine 11Quid. Yip you can swank it here!
NEW YEARS DAY
I am still in Bariloche an have decided to take a aeroplane south to Calafate. The reason for this is the alternative is a 30 hr bus journey which does not appeal to me. I leave tomorrow on a FourWinds flight, I wonder what kind of aircraft this will be. The flight cost 100quid but this will be my last major expense as I have already paid for the return flight from Pontas Areanus to Santiago.
I am still staying in the **** hotel, but its not really 4* there are no amenities not even a kettle to make coffee in the room. The weather here is a very comfortable 75 with blue sky & light winds, I am a bit bored though as all I have been doing is wandering around.
A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO BOTH MY READERS
I hope Wally has a good party tonight, Who I wonder will win the QUIZ!!
Monday, December 27, 2004
Aconcagua : A solo attempt
Dear readers do look in the Archives column for the freshest updates as I am very nearly up to date with all the high excitement. Do not read alone if you are of a nervous disposition!
Sunday, December 26, 2004
The Climb: Aconcagua a solo attempt
Arrived Pontes des Incas from Mendoza Mon 6th dec. Decided to stay in my tent to try out my equipment, sort of. It was dark & stormy night (what a start to a novel!!) yet the 15 pound tent stood up. Sleeping bag was also satisfactory, Puntas is at 2750mtrs so its quite high & cold at night, it is also 32 degrees south if your interested. Good meal in the hotel restaurant 3 quid & 50p for a beer 1.20 for a bottle of wine with the meal, & this place is the best in town!
Spoke to some Italians i the hotel, these guys were proper climbers, Mountain guides in Val Gardena ! they only managed to Independencia due to bad weather. They told me of a German & his girl friend who were climbing the Poilish Glacier when the girl slipped & slide 2000m down, the rescue helicopter went for a look but no sign, & the do not bother attempting to recover bodies round here, so she will stay there for ever & ever!
7th DEC
Spent the day in Puntas as a sort of acclimatisation day Looked at the natural bridge over the Horcones river & walked to the park gates & back. Paid $120 to have mules take my bags to Plaza des mulas.
I met an Irish guy & one Russian/american & an american in the hotel bar & had dinner with them, they had just been up to Plaza des Mulas The Russian got the collywobbles & the american lached on to the ruski & it was 2-1 & down they came ! The Irish guy was not happy!!
So Greg next time choose guys with a bit of backbone!!!
8th DEC
Left Puntas at about 1pm Did the stuff at the park gates & heavily laden with water walked up to confluencia 3300m arrived at 5pm & set up camp. Chated to an Argentinian called Tomas in the next tent, 25 & had been working in Livinio so his english was good. Went to bed at 9pm as it was dark.
9th Dec
Up & had my coffee and porridge & thought about walking up to Plaza des Mulas the alternative was to walk up to plaza francia and have a look at the notorious south face, it was 10.40 & i dithered decided on the acclimatisation walk, good choice! Due to the extra day in Confluencia I did not have enough food so paid $15 to an outfitter for a meal, soup & bread which I put in my pocket for the next day ( the bread not the soup) steak then fruit, Feeling a bit negative, slight touch of the collywobbles, decided to PULL MY SOCKS UP! felt better immediatly.
10th DEC
Up early eat the soupbread & coffee, lovely day blue skies (why is it ´skies¨ when there is only one sky?) set off at 8.55 just behind Tomas who told me there was water after 4hrs, I take extra all the same. Long walk with medium wieght pack, no water after 4hrs no vegitation either not even lichen on the rocks! After 6hrs find Tomas melting snow as he had no water, Last 2hrs very much uphill, arrive at 5.30 exhausted & set up camp. So tired I do not have a proper tea,
Plaza des Mulas is 4350m Have a bad night, the dry air dries out my nose & I feel stuffed up, toss & turn all night. Not cold though, so far so good with the sleeping bag.
BASE CAMP & BEYOND
11th DEC
Rest day - and I need it . Good weather again, cloudless sky & little wind.
Eat my porridge, its still a struggle, I cannot help thinking of it as congeled wallpaper paste.
Take a walk towards Camp Canada, only go up a few hundred mtres just to see what the walk is like. Take another wander over to the Refugio & have a coffee.
Come back for my tea & discuss with Tomas what he is doing, he is considering walking back down to puntas des Incas to get some more food as he does not have enough with him. What a walk !!! I try to persuade him that I have enough for two - he doesnt believe me. He receives further offers of food from 2 french who are going down & he is given another few items from an Argentinian girl, He has nearly enough! An American gives him more & at last he feels he
has ample. Windy night but the tent stays up.
12th DEC.
Decide today to do a porterage to Nido de Condores, then return to mulas to sleep.
This involves a 1000m climb from 4350m to 5350m but I feel I can manage that & leave at 11.30am, After 1/3 of the way I am doing quite well, the next 1/3 i do not do so well & arrive in Camp Canada at 4900m at 2.15pm & it is another 3hrs to Nido, then another 2 hrs down, stop and talk to two hollanders & their guide ( I keep meeting these 3 guys at all sorts of stops) They have decided to make camp at Canada the following night, I briefly think about what to do & conclude that a Camp in Canada the next night would be a good thing. The extra effort to go to Nido is not worth while, not much point in exhausting myself just to get there.
Stash the food & look out for Tomas on his way down, eventually see him, I missed him by 20min at Canada, & it took him to 4.10 to reach Nido. Tomas is fast up a hill, the fastest I have ever come across!! & that includes Vernie in a bad mood!!
Meet 2 Germans & one Spanish on their way down, 1 german is ok but the other two are in real bad shape, staggering about and hardly making any progress, I go over & offer to take a pack 2 other frogs come over & after a bit of a confab the 2 frogs take the packs of the sufferers, & I end up carrying my own empty pack down, Oh well after me offering first too!!
Have a lovely tea at 6.30pm prompt. Thomas receives more food from Superman Andy from Alaska, who claims to have walked in with 37Kg of stuff mmmmm. a superhuman feat, he then of course climbed the mountain. He was smaller than me ( ten years younger right enough) & did not have big thick legs either, I noticed this when he sat down, & he was going to carry everything out as well, just to save $40.
A chat after tea then to bed at 9pm, manage to find BBC world service & listen to that for a while, Better sleep though still getting stuffed up, which means I end up breathing through my mouth & then due to the very dry air my throat dries up Leaving me with a continuous sore throat.
13 DEC
Another rest day, altho I go for a walk in the opposite direction to Aconcagua, 2hrs up in the hope of getting a good veiw / photo of the hill, Back down to the Refugio good walk & not too tiring. Phone home from the radio satallite phone, much cheaper than the INKA one at $5 a min. Eat spagetti tea at Just after 6.30pm, & talk to the new man who has moved in next door, Gerhard or something from Sweden, He arrived at 11pm last night & is not in good shape.
Go to bed at 9pm & listen to radio again.
14 DEC.
Have some porridge for breakfast, I will never get a taste for this stuff, leave for Canada at 12.15. Carry remaining items required & pack quite heavy but not unbearably so, Plod up & arrive at 3.15 set up tent & Tomas makes some tea, rice & corned beef, surprisingly the corned beef here in Argentina is not as good as the stuff we get in UK (its more like spam). At 7pm the wind sarts up, then snow so eat tea in tent. The wind & the snow continue to increase untill it reaches storm proportions, the tent is pulled this way & that, I am very fearfull the the stiching will rip, or the guy ties be pulled off, the tent poles are bending all over the place, Snow is getting into the tent, & the worry & the flapping does not allow me to sleep. Lie awake all night, at times holding up the tent when particularly ferocious gusts threaten to collapse the tent, There is quite an accumulation of snow in the tent during the night, I really really hope that daylight will bring a reduction in the force of the wind, but it doesnt! I am now extreemly concerned that if it stays this way I will have to spend another night here, it is 5000m up & very cold. I do not think the tent could stand much more of this. It has been on the verge of collapse all night & I am sure it would have gone without me holding the thing up half the night. The door flaps do not close properly & this is where the snow is getting in, everything in the tent has a layer of snow on it, quite thick at the door end. A collapsed tent would spell disaster.
About 11.30 the wind dies down, I have decided to go down to Mulas (if I am spared) as soon as its calm enough. I take down the tent & start to pack up. It takes me a long long time to do this as my hands / fingers become very cold very quickly, is this going to be by Achilles heel?
More than half of the 8 tents at Canada are going down, with no intention of trying again. Tomas, whose zips have burst on his outer skin (of his tent that is) is going to stay tonight, even though a fair amount of snow made it into his tent, ( not as much as mine right enough but still). Eventually pack up & wearily make my way down to base at Mulas. Arrive at about 4pm & put my tent up in the same place as before, Gunter still there & not feeling any better,
Go over to the Refugio to phone home, decide to have my tea there, its $15 but what the hell, I get taking to Amanda & Peter, she stays in the Sooth side & he in Oxford, altho he works in Strathclyde Uni in Non-Destructive Testing, I ask him if he Knows Fraser Hardy & he sayes that he knows of him (well nearly) They did a porter to Nido the other day putting up a tent so they are ready to go tomorrow.
Enjoy not a bad meal but it is a chilly place, just coffee to drink again. Off to bed at 9.30
This is a mountainous desert, nothing grows here, not even lichen on the rocks, it is just rocks gravel & bare exposed bedrock. The glacial melt waters & rivers have nothing growing by them untill well down the valley. As Captain Scott said ´´this is a hellish place´´, He then of course left Dundee and sailed to Antartica where he spent the rest of his life!
The weather at Plaza des Mulas on good days is quite pleasant whilst the sun is shining from 9.15 untill 7.30pm - then it becomes cold then, very cold, the water in my bottle freezes every night, & the meltwater from the glacier freezes up. The water when I take it out of the stream in the morning is grey & opaque, but it is all there is and it has not done me any harm yet.
I am now 9 days without a wash, & wearing the same clothes day & night, my nose is peeling quite badly & things may well get worse!!
15 DEC
Another very windy & stormy night altho no snow, so another poor sleep, I wonder how Tomas is getting on?
Go round the outfitters & find one which will rent me a tent, this is a good tent, a Mountain Equipment copy, cost $15 a night with a $200 deposit, its a bit heavy though at 5Kg but a much better piece of kit to have your life depend on than the Tiso purchase. I am sure I will be in much better shape should I be caught in a storm again, I am sure I could ride it out in such a tent - which is good for the confidence. I only have 1 gas canister left, as Tomas took the other 3 up to Nido, where I hope they still are, I cannot find any here so I may be forced to risk it, this could be problematic as above Mulas there is no running water, you have to melt snow for all your water. Wear new boots all day & they seem reasonably comfortable altho a bit neat. Well we¨ll see.
Goody! find gas canister to fit stove, & only $2 which I think is too cheap ... but the man says $2 so Ok.
Go to Ayamara outfitters & eat there $18 a bit steep & stuck in a tent on my own, but not bad grub,
Return to tent and am surprised to see Amanda & Peter back from Nido. Amazingly thier tent was not where they left it, the only explaination being that it blew away in the storms, in the tent were their down jackets as well. The Italians I met on the first night lost a tent as well... just blew away, this seems to be fairly common. Amanda & Peter will decide what to do in the morning.
16 DEC
Very stormy night again, wee tent all over the place, no snow though.
Go and pay the deposit of $200 in travellers Cheques for the tent, & prepare for a very very hard day, over 1000m of ascent to Nido des Condores, with full pack , all cold weather gear 5Kg tent, thermarest, stove, gas, sleeping bag & liner, 5 days food &water for the day.
Set off at 11.30am hoping that I can make it, if it gets too much perhaps I can stop at Canada.
It is a hard, hard day, imagine spending an hour of extreem effort at the gym ... well try that all day for 7 hours,
Arrived Nido absolutly tired out, find Tomas is still there & he helps me put up the tent, the wind is picking up again, we erect the tent not perfect but good enough, flapping a wee bit.
Tomas offers to cook me some tea ( my own stuff incidently ) mixed rice again, I can only eat a little & I cannot drink much either, which is stupid, I kow I have not had enough to drink today, I drink some but it is frozen in the bottle, then I fall asleep. I awaked at 11pm knowing I am dehydrated, not thirsty but shaking & not cold. I have a supply of snow in the tent bag ( this is where you store the snow for when its required) I am awake now knowing I must have water, use the rice pan without cleaning it out , just start melting snow & as soon as it is liquid drink it, I must have been at it well over an hour untill all the snow is gone. The wind is still very severe so I do not fancy going outside. I hope this will do me till morning but I dont think so. Try to sleep, wake up at 2am to use pee bottle, its a bit squashed so does not hold as much as I anticipate & whoops!!! a little overspill, They say you should not xxxx on your own doorstep but when your 5400m up & its blowing harder than anything youve experienced........
well I just empty it out the front of the tent!! then fill it up & empty it again...and again.
Try to get some sleep but what with the storm blowing a real hoolly all night, the flapping & of course the damp patches its not a good night, exept I feel the tent can cope...and it does.
17 DEC
The rest of the night is not too bad considering, I may have been abit damp but at least I was not cold. Get up at About 11am when the wind settles down. Good God is it like this every night up here?
Tomas is of to Berlin Camp, he has been on a porter the day before, Berlin is at 5860m so he expects to arrive there in 2-2.5 hrs. Bump into the Hollanders again, they came down from Canada but obviously came up again the next day, they are off to Berlin too.
Spend the day making water - melting water so I have a full water supply, I am not getting caught out like that again ( we will see about that!). Everything has dried off, & I have a lazy day which I need, it also helps me acclimatise.
I will leave tomorrow for Berlin at about 12 - 1pm which is the high camp from where the summit is attempted. Feel Ok now exept my blister has burst & is bleeding a little.
I feel quite confident about reaching Berlin, which would be a small success of its own, a record high sleep or attempted sleep, & surely I could manage to get to over 6000m.
A go at the summit requires a good day & I am not going unless the weather seems favourable.
It is said to be a 12hour climb to the summit from Berlin, no pack right enough but 1100+ meters of ascent & at this altitude that is quite an effort.
18 DEC
Tomas comes in past to tell me he is going down, the weather was bad & he does not think his equipment is up to it. He made it as far as Indepencia before he was forced back. I said goodbye & I would see him back at Mulas ( and do you know - I never did)
Leave Nido for Berlin & then start worrying about having enough water, so stop to make some, whilst doing this bump into one of the hollanders again, he has had enough & was coming down,
Make it to Berlin & set up camp, make plenty of water & drink alot too.
I have a stock cube type drink before going to sleep.
I wake up all through the night needing to pee, I drink all my water, every time I have a drink of water which is of course ice cold it cools my body down & I shiver for quite a while afterwards. I am up peeing all night. I begin to wonder whats wrong with me. I have 2 cups of coffee at 5am then get a little sleep as the incessant peeing stops. It must have been that stupid stock cube.
19 DEC
Nice day, but I have no water so no attempt on the summit, spend a long time making water then at 12.30 decide to climb up as far as Indepensia, just before Indepensia I met the other Hollander & guide They had made it after leaving Berlin at 6am.
Stopped at Indepencia & took some Photos, just under 3 hrs to indepencia, & just under an hour down, New record high as Indepencia is at 6400m. Altho it is not desperatly cold today my gear seems Ok.
The hollander made it Berlin - Summit - Berlin in 10 hours, so if I left at 8am, then I could be back in Berlin by tea time. Lets hope for a decent nights sleep.
There is a Vande tent beside mine & there has been no one near it since I arrived, an American at Mulas told me that when he arrived at Mulas a German was being helped out because due to an inadequate tent in the Canada night storm, snow entered his tent & in his attempts to clear it out he ended up with frostbite & it looked like he was going to loose all his fingers, perhaps this was his tent!
20 DEC The Summit Attempt
Wake up at 6.40 & start making water up as the stuff in my water bottles is frozen, have a weak coffee & try to eat something, I really do not feel hungry, but eat a little. Leave Berlin at 8.10 & start to plod up, good day clear sky with light winds. Lets see how far we can get!!
Arrive at Independencia at 11.20 & find my fingers & feet cold, so stop, sit in the wee hut out of the wind & try & warm up, eat a small amount of nuts & raisins & know that this is not enough & I weaken later. Set off again at 12.00 so to manage above 6400m well be another record for me.
There is a long stretch round to the notorious canaleta, (this must mean something in spanish i wonder what!) anyway this is 500m verticle of loose dry 1F type hardcore, not compacted & with large boulders in it. It is now 3.20 & I am weakening through lack of nourishment, 2 climbers just beneathme chuck it so there is no-one else about, eat what I can in nuts & raisins.
The top does not seem very far away but it is such a struggle to climb up this rubble, the time is getting on & the weather is not so good, much more cloud about, I try to keep going, tired & weak I plod on & on eventually reach the bealach between the north & south peaks.
6.00pm & I make it to the north peak. I only have time for a short photo session as its too cold to set up the camera for many shots, the cloud is gathering & looking a bit ominous, it is of course very late to be up here so best start down again. Take some photos with my flag & me, I brought the flag with me especially,
I do not have any great sense of achievement, just a feeling thatI had a go & gave it my best shot without wimping out for some frivolous reason, also I am not finished yet, I still have to climb back down.
Sart down the canaleta which is quite hard to climb down taking much longer than I thought, found a crampon on the way down, i picked it up on the principle that if someone was careless enough to loose one perhaps they would be careless enough to loose the other thus providing me with a set of crampons. Sadly I only found one. Dropped my water bottle half way down the canaleta, & nearly lost it, this gave me a touch of the collywobbles, but a stern talking to soon had me back on track.
Arrived back at the tent at 9.20pm & dark just made it. Another hard, hard, hard day. A 13 hour day at this altitude is excruciatingly difficult, some soup & weak coffee & to sleep.
21 DEC
Eventually get up & pack away my gear, as usuall it is like slow motion & takes for ever, talked to an Aussie & a German who were going to stay the night at Berlin, they thought it very odd that I had stayed 3 nights at Berlin, so did many others right enough,but I slept as well here as
anywhere else.
Looked in the abandoned tent but no bodies or fingers or anything.
Left Berlin at 2.30, stopped at Nido & ate my tin of tuna, which made me feel ill, but I had to eat something & it was all I had other than a tin of corned beef ( which the key had fallen off of )finally reached Mulas at 7pm. Wee tent still up where I left it, Tired out again this time with very sore feet. Took the tent back though, so as not to incure another $15 nights charge.
Went to an outfitters tent for something to eat & had a dreadfull meat sandwich, made I think from the remains of an old and particularly tough mule.
No sign of Tomas or Gunther the Swede
22DEC
A bit late getting up, and go to the tent lady & ask if she would like my boots as I cannot be bothered carting them about, they were not a great fit anyway, she accepts them,
Arranged for a bag to be taken down by mule $2 a Kg, incorrectly measured & only $24 in total.
I gave the guy who did the measurements nearly a full bottle of vodka ( which seemed well appreciated)
Left Mulas at 12.30 on a clear windy day, fortunatly the wind was behind me blowing down the
valley. Overtaken by two germans who were racing down the hill at an very quick pace.
Plodded on & on down the valley, arrived at the Horcones river brigde at &pm decided on a short cut down the river valley, which went well enough untill the last bend where there wa no way past soI had to climb out, not easy straight up a very dodgy scree slope with the river raging below. Regained the path at 7pm, not such a good shortcut after all! Reached the park gates at 8.30. Another hour to the Puntas des Incas hotel arrived dark again! very very tired yet again. I must have looked a mess, unshaven for 17 days, my nose sunburnt & scabby, covered in dust & having worn the same clothes day & night for 17 days, the proprietor welcomed me anyway.
Delighted to discover that the mule men delivered my bag to the hotel so I had some freshish clothes to wear,.
Steak & wine for tea & the fast Germans were there so I talked to them, one made it one did not.
The next day the hotel waiter flagged down a bus for me (that 20pesos tip was moneywell spent) & I returned to Santiago, for a few days rest before the next little adventure.
Log on to find out what happens next.
Spoke to some Italians i the hotel, these guys were proper climbers, Mountain guides in Val Gardena ! they only managed to Independencia due to bad weather. They told me of a German & his girl friend who were climbing the Poilish Glacier when the girl slipped & slide 2000m down, the rescue helicopter went for a look but no sign, & the do not bother attempting to recover bodies round here, so she will stay there for ever & ever!
7th DEC
Spent the day in Puntas as a sort of acclimatisation day Looked at the natural bridge over the Horcones river & walked to the park gates & back. Paid $120 to have mules take my bags to Plaza des mulas.
I met an Irish guy & one Russian/american & an american in the hotel bar & had dinner with them, they had just been up to Plaza des Mulas The Russian got the collywobbles & the american lached on to the ruski & it was 2-1 & down they came ! The Irish guy was not happy!!
So Greg next time choose guys with a bit of backbone!!!
8th DEC
Left Puntas at about 1pm Did the stuff at the park gates & heavily laden with water walked up to confluencia 3300m arrived at 5pm & set up camp. Chated to an Argentinian called Tomas in the next tent, 25 & had been working in Livinio so his english was good. Went to bed at 9pm as it was dark.
9th Dec
Up & had my coffee and porridge & thought about walking up to Plaza des Mulas the alternative was to walk up to plaza francia and have a look at the notorious south face, it was 10.40 & i dithered decided on the acclimatisation walk, good choice! Due to the extra day in Confluencia I did not have enough food so paid $15 to an outfitter for a meal, soup & bread which I put in my pocket for the next day ( the bread not the soup) steak then fruit, Feeling a bit negative, slight touch of the collywobbles, decided to PULL MY SOCKS UP! felt better immediatly.
10th DEC
Up early eat the soupbread & coffee, lovely day blue skies (why is it ´skies¨ when there is only one sky?) set off at 8.55 just behind Tomas who told me there was water after 4hrs, I take extra all the same. Long walk with medium wieght pack, no water after 4hrs no vegitation either not even lichen on the rocks! After 6hrs find Tomas melting snow as he had no water, Last 2hrs very much uphill, arrive at 5.30 exhausted & set up camp. So tired I do not have a proper tea,
Plaza des Mulas is 4350m Have a bad night, the dry air dries out my nose & I feel stuffed up, toss & turn all night. Not cold though, so far so good with the sleeping bag.
BASE CAMP & BEYOND
11th DEC
Rest day - and I need it . Good weather again, cloudless sky & little wind.
Eat my porridge, its still a struggle, I cannot help thinking of it as congeled wallpaper paste.
Take a walk towards Camp Canada, only go up a few hundred mtres just to see what the walk is like. Take another wander over to the Refugio & have a coffee.
Come back for my tea & discuss with Tomas what he is doing, he is considering walking back down to puntas des Incas to get some more food as he does not have enough with him. What a walk !!! I try to persuade him that I have enough for two - he doesnt believe me. He receives further offers of food from 2 french who are going down & he is given another few items from an Argentinian girl, He has nearly enough! An American gives him more & at last he feels he
has ample. Windy night but the tent stays up.
12th DEC.
Decide today to do a porterage to Nido de Condores, then return to mulas to sleep.
This involves a 1000m climb from 4350m to 5350m but I feel I can manage that & leave at 11.30am, After 1/3 of the way I am doing quite well, the next 1/3 i do not do so well & arrive in Camp Canada at 4900m at 2.15pm & it is another 3hrs to Nido, then another 2 hrs down, stop and talk to two hollanders & their guide ( I keep meeting these 3 guys at all sorts of stops) They have decided to make camp at Canada the following night, I briefly think about what to do & conclude that a Camp in Canada the next night would be a good thing. The extra effort to go to Nido is not worth while, not much point in exhausting myself just to get there.
Stash the food & look out for Tomas on his way down, eventually see him, I missed him by 20min at Canada, & it took him to 4.10 to reach Nido. Tomas is fast up a hill, the fastest I have ever come across!! & that includes Vernie in a bad mood!!
Meet 2 Germans & one Spanish on their way down, 1 german is ok but the other two are in real bad shape, staggering about and hardly making any progress, I go over & offer to take a pack 2 other frogs come over & after a bit of a confab the 2 frogs take the packs of the sufferers, & I end up carrying my own empty pack down, Oh well after me offering first too!!
Have a lovely tea at 6.30pm prompt. Thomas receives more food from Superman Andy from Alaska, who claims to have walked in with 37Kg of stuff mmmmm. a superhuman feat, he then of course climbed the mountain. He was smaller than me ( ten years younger right enough) & did not have big thick legs either, I noticed this when he sat down, & he was going to carry everything out as well, just to save $40.
A chat after tea then to bed at 9pm, manage to find BBC world service & listen to that for a while, Better sleep though still getting stuffed up, which means I end up breathing through my mouth & then due to the very dry air my throat dries up Leaving me with a continuous sore throat.
13 DEC
Another rest day, altho I go for a walk in the opposite direction to Aconcagua, 2hrs up in the hope of getting a good veiw / photo of the hill, Back down to the Refugio good walk & not too tiring. Phone home from the radio satallite phone, much cheaper than the INKA one at $5 a min. Eat spagetti tea at Just after 6.30pm, & talk to the new man who has moved in next door, Gerhard or something from Sweden, He arrived at 11pm last night & is not in good shape.
Go to bed at 9pm & listen to radio again.
14 DEC.
Have some porridge for breakfast, I will never get a taste for this stuff, leave for Canada at 12.15. Carry remaining items required & pack quite heavy but not unbearably so, Plod up & arrive at 3.15 set up tent & Tomas makes some tea, rice & corned beef, surprisingly the corned beef here in Argentina is not as good as the stuff we get in UK (its more like spam). At 7pm the wind sarts up, then snow so eat tea in tent. The wind & the snow continue to increase untill it reaches storm proportions, the tent is pulled this way & that, I am very fearfull the the stiching will rip, or the guy ties be pulled off, the tent poles are bending all over the place, Snow is getting into the tent, & the worry & the flapping does not allow me to sleep. Lie awake all night, at times holding up the tent when particularly ferocious gusts threaten to collapse the tent, There is quite an accumulation of snow in the tent during the night, I really really hope that daylight will bring a reduction in the force of the wind, but it doesnt! I am now extreemly concerned that if it stays this way I will have to spend another night here, it is 5000m up & very cold. I do not think the tent could stand much more of this. It has been on the verge of collapse all night & I am sure it would have gone without me holding the thing up half the night. The door flaps do not close properly & this is where the snow is getting in, everything in the tent has a layer of snow on it, quite thick at the door end. A collapsed tent would spell disaster.
About 11.30 the wind dies down, I have decided to go down to Mulas (if I am spared) as soon as its calm enough. I take down the tent & start to pack up. It takes me a long long time to do this as my hands / fingers become very cold very quickly, is this going to be by Achilles heel?
More than half of the 8 tents at Canada are going down, with no intention of trying again. Tomas, whose zips have burst on his outer skin (of his tent that is) is going to stay tonight, even though a fair amount of snow made it into his tent, ( not as much as mine right enough but still). Eventually pack up & wearily make my way down to base at Mulas. Arrive at about 4pm & put my tent up in the same place as before, Gunter still there & not feeling any better,
Go over to the Refugio to phone home, decide to have my tea there, its $15 but what the hell, I get taking to Amanda & Peter, she stays in the Sooth side & he in Oxford, altho he works in Strathclyde Uni in Non-Destructive Testing, I ask him if he Knows Fraser Hardy & he sayes that he knows of him (well nearly) They did a porter to Nido the other day putting up a tent so they are ready to go tomorrow.
Enjoy not a bad meal but it is a chilly place, just coffee to drink again. Off to bed at 9.30
This is a mountainous desert, nothing grows here, not even lichen on the rocks, it is just rocks gravel & bare exposed bedrock. The glacial melt waters & rivers have nothing growing by them untill well down the valley. As Captain Scott said ´´this is a hellish place´´, He then of course left Dundee and sailed to Antartica where he spent the rest of his life!
The weather at Plaza des Mulas on good days is quite pleasant whilst the sun is shining from 9.15 untill 7.30pm - then it becomes cold then, very cold, the water in my bottle freezes every night, & the meltwater from the glacier freezes up. The water when I take it out of the stream in the morning is grey & opaque, but it is all there is and it has not done me any harm yet.
I am now 9 days without a wash, & wearing the same clothes day & night, my nose is peeling quite badly & things may well get worse!!
15 DEC
Another very windy & stormy night altho no snow, so another poor sleep, I wonder how Tomas is getting on?
Go round the outfitters & find one which will rent me a tent, this is a good tent, a Mountain Equipment copy, cost $15 a night with a $200 deposit, its a bit heavy though at 5Kg but a much better piece of kit to have your life depend on than the Tiso purchase. I am sure I will be in much better shape should I be caught in a storm again, I am sure I could ride it out in such a tent - which is good for the confidence. I only have 1 gas canister left, as Tomas took the other 3 up to Nido, where I hope they still are, I cannot find any here so I may be forced to risk it, this could be problematic as above Mulas there is no running water, you have to melt snow for all your water. Wear new boots all day & they seem reasonably comfortable altho a bit neat. Well we¨ll see.
Goody! find gas canister to fit stove, & only $2 which I think is too cheap ... but the man says $2 so Ok.
Go to Ayamara outfitters & eat there $18 a bit steep & stuck in a tent on my own, but not bad grub,
Return to tent and am surprised to see Amanda & Peter back from Nido. Amazingly thier tent was not where they left it, the only explaination being that it blew away in the storms, in the tent were their down jackets as well. The Italians I met on the first night lost a tent as well... just blew away, this seems to be fairly common. Amanda & Peter will decide what to do in the morning.
16 DEC
Very stormy night again, wee tent all over the place, no snow though.
Go and pay the deposit of $200 in travellers Cheques for the tent, & prepare for a very very hard day, over 1000m of ascent to Nido des Condores, with full pack , all cold weather gear 5Kg tent, thermarest, stove, gas, sleeping bag & liner, 5 days food &water for the day.
Set off at 11.30am hoping that I can make it, if it gets too much perhaps I can stop at Canada.
It is a hard, hard day, imagine spending an hour of extreem effort at the gym ... well try that all day for 7 hours,
Arrived Nido absolutly tired out, find Tomas is still there & he helps me put up the tent, the wind is picking up again, we erect the tent not perfect but good enough, flapping a wee bit.
Tomas offers to cook me some tea ( my own stuff incidently ) mixed rice again, I can only eat a little & I cannot drink much either, which is stupid, I kow I have not had enough to drink today, I drink some but it is frozen in the bottle, then I fall asleep. I awaked at 11pm knowing I am dehydrated, not thirsty but shaking & not cold. I have a supply of snow in the tent bag ( this is where you store the snow for when its required) I am awake now knowing I must have water, use the rice pan without cleaning it out , just start melting snow & as soon as it is liquid drink it, I must have been at it well over an hour untill all the snow is gone. The wind is still very severe so I do not fancy going outside. I hope this will do me till morning but I dont think so. Try to sleep, wake up at 2am to use pee bottle, its a bit squashed so does not hold as much as I anticipate & whoops!!! a little overspill, They say you should not xxxx on your own doorstep but when your 5400m up & its blowing harder than anything youve experienced........
well I just empty it out the front of the tent!! then fill it up & empty it again...and again.
Try to get some sleep but what with the storm blowing a real hoolly all night, the flapping & of course the damp patches its not a good night, exept I feel the tent can cope...and it does.
17 DEC
The rest of the night is not too bad considering, I may have been abit damp but at least I was not cold. Get up at About 11am when the wind settles down. Good God is it like this every night up here?
Tomas is of to Berlin Camp, he has been on a porter the day before, Berlin is at 5860m so he expects to arrive there in 2-2.5 hrs. Bump into the Hollanders again, they came down from Canada but obviously came up again the next day, they are off to Berlin too.
Spend the day making water - melting water so I have a full water supply, I am not getting caught out like that again ( we will see about that!). Everything has dried off, & I have a lazy day which I need, it also helps me acclimatise.
I will leave tomorrow for Berlin at about 12 - 1pm which is the high camp from where the summit is attempted. Feel Ok now exept my blister has burst & is bleeding a little.
I feel quite confident about reaching Berlin, which would be a small success of its own, a record high sleep or attempted sleep, & surely I could manage to get to over 6000m.
A go at the summit requires a good day & I am not going unless the weather seems favourable.
It is said to be a 12hour climb to the summit from Berlin, no pack right enough but 1100+ meters of ascent & at this altitude that is quite an effort.
18 DEC
Tomas comes in past to tell me he is going down, the weather was bad & he does not think his equipment is up to it. He made it as far as Indepencia before he was forced back. I said goodbye & I would see him back at Mulas ( and do you know - I never did)
Leave Nido for Berlin & then start worrying about having enough water, so stop to make some, whilst doing this bump into one of the hollanders again, he has had enough & was coming down,
Make it to Berlin & set up camp, make plenty of water & drink alot too.
I have a stock cube type drink before going to sleep.
I wake up all through the night needing to pee, I drink all my water, every time I have a drink of water which is of course ice cold it cools my body down & I shiver for quite a while afterwards. I am up peeing all night. I begin to wonder whats wrong with me. I have 2 cups of coffee at 5am then get a little sleep as the incessant peeing stops. It must have been that stupid stock cube.
19 DEC
Nice day, but I have no water so no attempt on the summit, spend a long time making water then at 12.30 decide to climb up as far as Indepensia, just before Indepensia I met the other Hollander & guide They had made it after leaving Berlin at 6am.
Stopped at Indepencia & took some Photos, just under 3 hrs to indepencia, & just under an hour down, New record high as Indepencia is at 6400m. Altho it is not desperatly cold today my gear seems Ok.
The hollander made it Berlin - Summit - Berlin in 10 hours, so if I left at 8am, then I could be back in Berlin by tea time. Lets hope for a decent nights sleep.
There is a Vande tent beside mine & there has been no one near it since I arrived, an American at Mulas told me that when he arrived at Mulas a German was being helped out because due to an inadequate tent in the Canada night storm, snow entered his tent & in his attempts to clear it out he ended up with frostbite & it looked like he was going to loose all his fingers, perhaps this was his tent!
20 DEC The Summit Attempt
Wake up at 6.40 & start making water up as the stuff in my water bottles is frozen, have a weak coffee & try to eat something, I really do not feel hungry, but eat a little. Leave Berlin at 8.10 & start to plod up, good day clear sky with light winds. Lets see how far we can get!!
Arrive at Independencia at 11.20 & find my fingers & feet cold, so stop, sit in the wee hut out of the wind & try & warm up, eat a small amount of nuts & raisins & know that this is not enough & I weaken later. Set off again at 12.00 so to manage above 6400m well be another record for me.
There is a long stretch round to the notorious canaleta, (this must mean something in spanish i wonder what!) anyway this is 500m verticle of loose dry 1F type hardcore, not compacted & with large boulders in it. It is now 3.20 & I am weakening through lack of nourishment, 2 climbers just beneathme chuck it so there is no-one else about, eat what I can in nuts & raisins.
The top does not seem very far away but it is such a struggle to climb up this rubble, the time is getting on & the weather is not so good, much more cloud about, I try to keep going, tired & weak I plod on & on eventually reach the bealach between the north & south peaks.
6.00pm & I make it to the north peak. I only have time for a short photo session as its too cold to set up the camera for many shots, the cloud is gathering & looking a bit ominous, it is of course very late to be up here so best start down again. Take some photos with my flag & me, I brought the flag with me especially,
I do not have any great sense of achievement, just a feeling thatI had a go & gave it my best shot without wimping out for some frivolous reason, also I am not finished yet, I still have to climb back down.
Sart down the canaleta which is quite hard to climb down taking much longer than I thought, found a crampon on the way down, i picked it up on the principle that if someone was careless enough to loose one perhaps they would be careless enough to loose the other thus providing me with a set of crampons. Sadly I only found one. Dropped my water bottle half way down the canaleta, & nearly lost it, this gave me a touch of the collywobbles, but a stern talking to soon had me back on track.
Arrived back at the tent at 9.20pm & dark just made it. Another hard, hard, hard day. A 13 hour day at this altitude is excruciatingly difficult, some soup & weak coffee & to sleep.
21 DEC
Eventually get up & pack away my gear, as usuall it is like slow motion & takes for ever, talked to an Aussie & a German who were going to stay the night at Berlin, they thought it very odd that I had stayed 3 nights at Berlin, so did many others right enough,but I slept as well here as
anywhere else.
Looked in the abandoned tent but no bodies or fingers or anything.
Left Berlin at 2.30, stopped at Nido & ate my tin of tuna, which made me feel ill, but I had to eat something & it was all I had other than a tin of corned beef ( which the key had fallen off of )finally reached Mulas at 7pm. Wee tent still up where I left it, Tired out again this time with very sore feet. Took the tent back though, so as not to incure another $15 nights charge.
Went to an outfitters tent for something to eat & had a dreadfull meat sandwich, made I think from the remains of an old and particularly tough mule.
No sign of Tomas or Gunther the Swede
22DEC
A bit late getting up, and go to the tent lady & ask if she would like my boots as I cannot be bothered carting them about, they were not a great fit anyway, she accepts them,
Arranged for a bag to be taken down by mule $2 a Kg, incorrectly measured & only $24 in total.
I gave the guy who did the measurements nearly a full bottle of vodka ( which seemed well appreciated)
Left Mulas at 12.30 on a clear windy day, fortunatly the wind was behind me blowing down the
valley. Overtaken by two germans who were racing down the hill at an very quick pace.
Plodded on & on down the valley, arrived at the Horcones river brigde at &pm decided on a short cut down the river valley, which went well enough untill the last bend where there wa no way past soI had to climb out, not easy straight up a very dodgy scree slope with the river raging below. Regained the path at 7pm, not such a good shortcut after all! Reached the park gates at 8.30. Another hour to the Puntas des Incas hotel arrived dark again! very very tired yet again. I must have looked a mess, unshaven for 17 days, my nose sunburnt & scabby, covered in dust & having worn the same clothes day & night for 17 days, the proprietor welcomed me anyway.
Delighted to discover that the mule men delivered my bag to the hotel so I had some freshish clothes to wear,.
Steak & wine for tea & the fast Germans were there so I talked to them, one made it one did not.
The next day the hotel waiter flagged down a bus for me (that 20pesos tip was moneywell spent) & I returned to Santiago, for a few days rest before the next little adventure.
Log on to find out what happens next.
Friday, December 24, 2004
Christmas Eve.
Have made it back to Santiago, after 17 nights under canvas (polypropolene actually) so still alive with all facalties still intact & working. 17 days & nights wearing the same clothes all day & all night results in me not looking or smelling my best, I have not smelt so terrible since Yvonne´s mother gave me some Hi Karate´ for Christmas over 20 yrs ago.
I am too tired to give a day by day account of my time attempting to climb Aconcagua, but tomorrow will give me a chance should any internet cafe be open. It will be a fascinating account of one man´s will to succeed against cold, altitude,hunger,thirst,wind,snow,in-adaquate* equipement, skinny legs, sore feet, porridge & a poor attitude to early rising.
Did I make it ? Do you care? Find out tomorrow,
A Merry Christmas to all my readers.
I am too tired to give a day by day account of my time attempting to climb Aconcagua, but tomorrow will give me a chance should any internet cafe be open. It will be a fascinating account of one man´s will to succeed against cold, altitude,hunger,thirst,wind,snow,in-adaquate* equipement, skinny legs, sore feet, porridge & a poor attitude to early rising.
Did I make it ? Do you care? Find out tomorrow,
A Merry Christmas to all my readers.
Sunday, December 05, 2004
Mendoza Sun 5th Dec in the year of our lord 2004
Last night enjoyeyed a meat tea, meat starter, meat main course & meat for afters, all for the remarkable price of $10.99 Argie in an all you can eat deal ! that translates into 2.40 GBP. Also a 1litre bottle of beer is only 80p in a bar, so drink & save will be my motto here.
It is rather hot here, equivalent to a Spanish city in summer I expect, so last night i left the window open & was subsequently well bitten by mossies!
Went up to the office which deals with passes for the park this morning, & whilst there, started talking to a couple of Aussies who were ther to buy a treking pass, they only had photo copies of thier passports & this would not do at all, they were told - because it is easy to forge a photocopy --who in thier right mind would forge a photocopy just to get into a bleeding park for goodness sake?? so they left permitless I however received mine for a scandalous price of $200US. its just a wheese to fleece touristos!
Lots of old cars here, peugouts* 404s all taxis 504s Avengers, Renault 4,6 & 12s which reminds me of the one I partly bought,
all those 2d & 3ds I gave Grant Lisk must have added up to at least a couple of doors!!
Found a Carrefours & stocked up on provisions, tins of corned beef & tuna, bars of chocolate etc. I expect I will be able to live for 2 weeks off this type of food, well I´ve managed it for the last 20 years.
I´ll try to catch the 10am bus to Puntas des Incas tomorrow, & should arrive there about 1pm, I hope there will be an internet connection there,if not then no news will be just that ..no news.
Hope all are well & do post a comment provided it is derogatory in some way, Mair mince the morrow!
It is rather hot here, equivalent to a Spanish city in summer I expect, so last night i left the window open & was subsequently well bitten by mossies!
Went up to the office which deals with passes for the park this morning, & whilst there, started talking to a couple of Aussies who were ther to buy a treking pass, they only had photo copies of thier passports & this would not do at all, they were told - because it is easy to forge a photocopy --who in thier right mind would forge a photocopy just to get into a bleeding park for goodness sake?? so they left permitless I however received mine for a scandalous price of $200US. its just a wheese to fleece touristos!
Lots of old cars here, peugouts* 404s all taxis 504s Avengers, Renault 4,6 & 12s which reminds me of the one I partly bought,
all those 2d & 3ds I gave Grant Lisk must have added up to at least a couple of doors!!
Found a Carrefours & stocked up on provisions, tins of corned beef & tuna, bars of chocolate etc. I expect I will be able to live for 2 weeks off this type of food, well I´ve managed it for the last 20 years.
I´ll try to catch the 10am bus to Puntas des Incas tomorrow, & should arrive there about 1pm, I hope there will be an internet connection there,if not then no news will be just that ..no news.
Hope all are well & do post a comment provided it is derogatory in some way, Mair mince the morrow!
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Mendoza
Quiet night last night, just a couple of beers, Up early this morning to catch the bus to Mendoza. It eventually left at 8.30 & I left with it, sporting my new hat I might add.
The bus left Santiago and within an hour we were starting to climb. For residents of Santiago these must be considered the Handy Andes.
The road reached its highest point at 3200m snow at the side of the road, although not much.
Great scenery I spent most of the bus journey looking out of the window. Passed over the border,which of course took ages, then down into Argentina. We passed through Punte des Incas which is where the trail head starts & I managed a short glance at the south face of Aconcagua. The really really annoying* thing is I have to travel 180K to Mendoza to buy a climbing pass for the Aconcagua park then travel 180K back again to start the trek. How bloody annoying* is that. Almost as annoying as forgetting how to spell annoying!!!!!(no spell chech here)
As its my first night in Argentina I am going to celebrate by having a special meal. My mouth is watering already, at the prospect of having a Fray Bentos Steak & Kidney pie, fresh from the tin. I'll expect to pay abit mind you as these delicacies* will only be served in the best restaurants.
It is very warm here 85+
I will by my pass tomorrow then do a shopping, porridge & stuff, then head on back to puntas des Incas on Monday.
Very well done Jamie on passing your test, do try not to crash into anything!
more tripe tomorrow.
The bus left Santiago and within an hour we were starting to climb. For residents of Santiago these must be considered the Handy Andes.
The road reached its highest point at 3200m snow at the side of the road, although not much.
Great scenery I spent most of the bus journey looking out of the window. Passed over the border,which of course took ages, then down into Argentina. We passed through Punte des Incas which is where the trail head starts & I managed a short glance at the south face of Aconcagua. The really really annoying* thing is I have to travel 180K to Mendoza to buy a climbing pass for the Aconcagua park then travel 180K back again to start the trek. How bloody annoying* is that. Almost as annoying as forgetting how to spell annoying!!!!!(no spell chech here)
As its my first night in Argentina I am going to celebrate by having a special meal. My mouth is watering already, at the prospect of having a Fray Bentos Steak & Kidney pie, fresh from the tin. I'll expect to pay abit mind you as these delicacies* will only be served in the best restaurants.
It is very warm here 85+
I will by my pass tomorrow then do a shopping, porridge & stuff, then head on back to puntas des Incas on Monday.
Very well done Jamie on passing your test, do try not to crash into anything!
more tripe tomorrow.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Friday 3rd Dec.
| Had a chinese meal last night & just as I was about to leave 3 studenty types came in,2 guys & a girl, sat at my table and began to use me to practice their english, they told me how poor they were & it was the girls birthday, and somehow I ended up paying for their meal. Which cost me with the beer over 15 quid, I must be daft,
Today I made my way down the main drag in Santiago, which is called Ave.Liberator Bernard O´Higgins. A sort of 19th century Che Gevarre* but more successfull,(in future a * means an incorrect spelling of which I am aware, but do not know the correct spelling).. anyway..I was walking down the main drag, like Argyll St for instance, when I saw a shop the like of which I have never seen before! I stopped in amazement to look in the window, which contained nothing but ..............door knobs, of every shape & made of every known door knob material, I was mesmerised!! I eventually moved on, making no purchase incidently, unlike Bid who would likely have bought a couple of pairs. I went to the bus station & bought a ticket to Mendoza 8GBP & it leaves Sat at 8am. Wandered round Santiago taking in the sights before buying a new hat, very Indigo Jones & it suits me perfectly. Hope all are well & another update tomorrow Best of luck on your holiday tomorrow Cameron. |
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Santiago 2nd Dec
Arrived Santiago at 3pm Scottish time. Santiago is a mere 3 hours behind Glasgow so the time difference is not too much. I have booked into the hotel Londres in the centre of Santiago, and in costs only 7000pesos a night for a single room or 7 libres escocia, a bargain!! The journey was uneventfull and went very smoothly ( other than a beer costing $6.50 in charles de gaul airport)
sic.
So nothing to report. Tomorrow I will stay another day in Santiago and see the sights what ever they are!
The weather here is a slightly humid 78f so no need for anything more than a tee shirt.
Coming into Santiago the plane flew quite close to Aconcagua & as it was very clear I had a very good view of it, unfortunatly I stupidly left my camera in my rucksack which was in the hold so I could not take a photo. It looked quite snowy & quite.. er.. interesting! if I was looking at the right mountain.
Enought of this dreary stuff, I´m off for a beer !!
sic.
So nothing to report. Tomorrow I will stay another day in Santiago and see the sights what ever they are!
The weather here is a slightly humid 78f so no need for anything more than a tee shirt.
Coming into Santiago the plane flew quite close to Aconcagua & as it was very clear I had a very good view of it, unfortunatly I stupidly left my camera in my rucksack which was in the hold so I could not take a photo. It looked quite snowy & quite.. er.. interesting! if I was looking at the right mountain.
Enought of this dreary stuff, I´m off for a beer !!
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Here we have a mouth-watering selection of typical Argentinian food which I can't wait to try...mmm. truly scrumptious!!
Saturday, November 13, 2004
This is a ex British army artic sleeping bag, filled with duck down apparently, seagull feathers from unfortunate beasts shot at the dump more like!! Anyway it only cost £35 so I may freeze to death even with a fleece liner & wearing my best silk pyjamas.
Monday, November 01, 2004
A fine pair of boots, ex german army double plastic boots bought from ebay for a bargain price of £20. Will they do the buisiness!!!
Saturday, October 30, 2004
As I am now, apart from a tragic loss of hair I am pleased to report no debilitating ailments
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Aconcagua a climbing history : for those who can be bothered.
The first recorded ascent was by Mathias Zurbriggen in January 1897. It seems that Araucanian and Aymara Indians lived on the mountains slopes centuries ago. They were then invaded by the Incas from Peru, who called the great peak Acken Cahuac ( Stone Sentinal in Quecha ) In 1985 an Inca mummy complete with poncho was found at 5300m; from this find ( in the Mendosa Museum ) and others, archaeologists believe that the Incas made their children sacrifices to the Gods... wonder if it worked?
In 1832, Chick Darwin noted the dominant presence of Aconcagua while crossing the Andes during a journey ashore on the voyage on the Beagle.
The first serious European attempt on the mountain was made by Paul Gussfelt in 1883, one of the most accomplished alpinists of the late 19th century
Gussfelt felt felt was the best cover for his garden shed, thus content with his domestic arrangements, he approached Aconcagua from Santiago & recruited mulateers with the old "there's buried treasure at the the top" story,( mmm worth a try again I wonder?)
He crossed the Andean crest to the to the northwest of Aconcagua & reached 6560m, the height of the independencia hut today. An unsuccessful expedition but the first reconnoiter of the Normal Route.
Zurbriggen was part of an expedition lead by Edward FitzGerald of Britain, ( another first for this plucky island nation!). With FitzGerald was another British climber, Stuart Vines, and some Swiss & Italian porters ( whose names we don't care about ) under the direction of the renowned Swiss Guide, Zurbriggen. FitzGeralds first problem was determining the best approach to the mountain. He was aware of Gussfelt's exploration but believed the better approach would be from the South, where a rudimentary road had been constructed from Santiago to Mendoza (211 miles)
A total of 5 attempts over 6 weeks were required before Zurbriggen arrived on the summit, alone on jan 14 1897. Over the following month Fitzgerald & Vines continued the seige, Vines reached the summit on Feb 13. Unfortunatly Fitzgerald did not manage to climb to the top due to recurrent bouts of altitude sickness, he was the originator & leader of the expedition & his judgement,courage & sense of humour were its anchor, as they will be mine!
How high is Aconcagua ?
There was for many years a dispute as to whither Ojos del Salado or Aconcagua was the highest, but in the 1980's GPS solved the problem, Aconcagua 6962m or 22,841ft. & Ojos del Salado 6900m or 22,637ft.
Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas & Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano in the world, This information may come in handy one day in a quiz so do try to remember!
In 1832, Chick Darwin noted the dominant presence of Aconcagua while crossing the Andes during a journey ashore on the voyage on the Beagle.
The first serious European attempt on the mountain was made by Paul Gussfelt in 1883, one of the most accomplished alpinists of the late 19th century
Gussfelt felt felt was the best cover for his garden shed, thus content with his domestic arrangements, he approached Aconcagua from Santiago & recruited mulateers with the old "there's buried treasure at the the top" story,( mmm worth a try again I wonder?)
He crossed the Andean crest to the to the northwest of Aconcagua & reached 6560m, the height of the independencia hut today. An unsuccessful expedition but the first reconnoiter of the Normal Route.
Zurbriggen was part of an expedition lead by Edward FitzGerald of Britain, ( another first for this plucky island nation!). With FitzGerald was another British climber, Stuart Vines, and some Swiss & Italian porters ( whose names we don't care about ) under the direction of the renowned Swiss Guide, Zurbriggen. FitzGeralds first problem was determining the best approach to the mountain. He was aware of Gussfelt's exploration but believed the better approach would be from the South, where a rudimentary road had been constructed from Santiago to Mendoza (211 miles)
A total of 5 attempts over 6 weeks were required before Zurbriggen arrived on the summit, alone on jan 14 1897. Over the following month Fitzgerald & Vines continued the seige, Vines reached the summit on Feb 13. Unfortunatly Fitzgerald did not manage to climb to the top due to recurrent bouts of altitude sickness, he was the originator & leader of the expedition & his judgement,courage & sense of humour were its anchor, as they will be mine!
How high is Aconcagua ?
There was for many years a dispute as to whither Ojos del Salado or Aconcagua was the highest, but in the 1980's GPS solved the problem, Aconcagua 6962m or 22,841ft. & Ojos del Salado 6900m or 22,637ft.
Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas & Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano in the world, This information may come in handy one day in a quiz so do try to remember!
