high
Monday and Tuesday I tried to climb a 6025 meter volcano (19,767 feet) with three Australian women, an American man, a German woman and our two Peruvian guides. On Monday we hiked to our camp at 5000 meters after examining a geyser and boiling eggs in a hot springs. The geyser and the volcano are thought to be locations where the devil dwells, and I was told that once a priest threw a bottle of blessed water into the geyser which was then violently shot back out, directly at him. My boiled eggs weren't very boiled but I ate them anyway, and by the time I reached camp I was feeling quite sick to my stomach and had a bad headache.
I attributed the symptoms to altitude, though the bad stomach stayed with me even when we returned to lower altitudes so I am blaming the eggs.
Tuesday morning we got up at 2 am, I took some Tylenol to combat my lingering headache and we headed up the volcano. It was a slow process because a few members of the group were struggling mightily with the altitude and had no flashlights. I was a little frustrated because, to my surprise, I felt strong and all of our stopping did nothing but make me very very cold.
Finally at 6 am we made it to the snow and the sun came up. Despite multiple applications of sunscreen I am now very burned. When we were within about 250 vertical meters of the summit, Tim, the other American in the group decided that he just felt too bad from the altitude to continue. His girlfriend and a few others decided to stop as well, for the next section looked steep and difficult (next time I want to take a different ridge). It didn't make sense for Tim and the others to sit at 5700 meters waiting for the remaining four of us (Hilka, two guides, and me) to keep climbing and I thought it better if a guide returned with them. But, it looked like the guides had no intention of stopping unless all of us were going back, so I called to Hilka and we all returned.
Happily, we made our way down by sliding down a large snowfield. It was great, though a few people tore their pants and got cut.
On the hike down I found an arrowhead that was almost a perfect equilateral triangle, though I left it on the mountain. I figure it is a good omen and was later told that it was probably pre-Hispanic. My eyes have been well trained by all the times spent walking the runway in search of arrowheads.
While I am disappointed not to have made the summit, it was a great trip, and I am happy that as a group we made the right decisions - no repeat of Namibia. Hualca Hualca will still be there (especially since they claim that the geysers diffuse the pressure inside it, thus averting an explosion as has happened in other nearby volcanoes).
Photos to come later.
I attributed the symptoms to altitude, though the bad stomach stayed with me even when we returned to lower altitudes so I am blaming the eggs.
Tuesday morning we got up at 2 am, I took some Tylenol to combat my lingering headache and we headed up the volcano. It was a slow process because a few members of the group were struggling mightily with the altitude and had no flashlights. I was a little frustrated because, to my surprise, I felt strong and all of our stopping did nothing but make me very very cold.
Finally at 6 am we made it to the snow and the sun came up. Despite multiple applications of sunscreen I am now very burned. When we were within about 250 vertical meters of the summit, Tim, the other American in the group decided that he just felt too bad from the altitude to continue. His girlfriend and a few others decided to stop as well, for the next section looked steep and difficult (next time I want to take a different ridge). It didn't make sense for Tim and the others to sit at 5700 meters waiting for the remaining four of us (Hilka, two guides, and me) to keep climbing and I thought it better if a guide returned with them. But, it looked like the guides had no intention of stopping unless all of us were going back, so I called to Hilka and we all returned.
Happily, we made our way down by sliding down a large snowfield. It was great, though a few people tore their pants and got cut.
On the hike down I found an arrowhead that was almost a perfect equilateral triangle, though I left it on the mountain. I figure it is a good omen and was later told that it was probably pre-Hispanic. My eyes have been well trained by all the times spent walking the runway in search of arrowheads.
While I am disappointed not to have made the summit, it was a great trip, and I am happy that as a group we made the right decisions - no repeat of Namibia. Hualca Hualca will still be there (especially since they claim that the geysers diffuse the pressure inside it, thus averting an explosion as has happened in other nearby volcanoes).
Photos to come later.
posted by Scott Warren at 11:48 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home