ThinkGreen

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Patagonia - Bolivia - Peru

Afater a slim working season in Patagonia I took of towards Bolivia, where I was intended to take my UIAGM certification as an aspirant (first step), but my old injured right knee, speak up again! so I had to quit, they (Directors of the Bolivian UIAGM certification) told me that it was better not to do it, and evacuation up in the mountains at high altitud in case of an accident, would it be really a pain in the neck! So the smart desision of let it go was wise and sad! I spend few more days in La Paz, took a bike trip for the day, and then decided to head towards Peru, to recover my knee and strenght next to my friends in Huaraz. A 26 hour bus ride, La Paz - Lima with some caothic borderline issues, let me exhausted, I met Zarela, my great friend of Huaraz, who holds the famous worlwide La Casa de Zarela, at another bus station, ready to go to Huaraz, another 8 hours!, first we had lunch somewhere.
Huaraz, the great city next to the mountains, the Cordillera Blanca, the big treasure of the Andes. I was ready to spend at least one month back there, finally I stayed 2 months!
My high altitude climbs didn´t wnet very well,within the last two years I´ve been rock climbing more than anything, but anyway I climbed:
Pisco, and a secondary summit of Cashan, next to Shaqsha. Both peaks of 5000 metres and a little more, no 6.000 this year. Alpamayo through the Fench direct, was infront of my sad eyes, two days of back pain, after an accident I had while rock climbing! so I had to quite that beautiful peak, after a big effort to approach it.
My accident:
While warming up on a easy route 6a, but long, maybe 28 metres, in Hatun Machay, part of the Cordillera Negra, at 4.200 metres above sea level, me and my friend Quito. he was lowering me down, and before I reached the 4th quickdraw I fell like a potato sack. Fell into my feet and then lean backwards and smash my sacrum bone,auch! I stayed there few seconds without moving my legs or neck or anything, Quito was pale! then I stood up and sat down on a rock, my lower back was in pain. What happened? the rope was shorter, no knot at the running end of my belayer´s rope. It is both fault, that was a borrowed rope that we never checked it out, the day before we where climbing on shorter routes so no problem. But the belayer needs to do it´s own job.
After this impass, I started climbing again after 1 week, went to Alpamayo, couldn´t make it because of lower back pain, but went to rock and roll again, felt much better, but after being sitted long time, it sore.
I climbed also with Hugo Robin,a french guide who lives in Huaraz, Mision Lunatica, nice climbing on granite, all protected with bolts, 6c is the crux, 3rd pitch. 5 pitches in total, nice route! Also with Hugo we climbed in Antacocha a 5 picth route graded 6a all bolted and the I had reapeted with Tadeo, my colegue from Patagonia,I led all the route, he was on an acclimatization process!
I went to hatun Machay 5 different times staying few days each time to do rock climbing as much as I could, was really nice, climbing hard routes in high altitude, makes you stronger!
Four days before I left,i was looking for a partner to climb the Sphinx, a 750 metre wall at 5300 metres of altitude, through the standard route 1985, 7a (A1). Diego, my other argentinian friend said YES! lets go,Quito left few days before.
The approach to the wall is long and steep, a porter is necessary if you want to go fast and light. We spend the night at a bivuoc rock. But the same day we arrived at the base, we climbed 2 pitches and fix 80 metres, so next day we would start fast.

THE FIRST 10 PITCHES

Technically where the hardest pitches and more aesthetic ones,with all the anchors mounted with one bolt and maybe in piton, was luxurius! Once we get to the big ledge, the route started to be a labyrinth, despite we had 3 different topo references of the route. To many dihedrals, and faces, blind cracks, runouts like hell, we slowed down the pace, on pitch 15 we decide to stop. Diego fix that pitch and came down, we found a nice ledge, not to comfy. but good enough to spend one night It was already 530pm getting dark, by 7pm it was already night! was good call, we where exhausted, almost no H2O, no food, few candy bars, I had enough of them.

THE LONGEST NIGHT!

12 hours of Insomnia and cold! Inside our bivy sacks and with our down and primaloft jkts, we tried to sleep, was really a bloody torture! any way I think I slpet maybe 2 hours, just before we woke up. We started at 7 am, Diego went first, jugging on the rope, thenmyself, then we alternate the leading, I led the last two pitches,Diego was really tired, I was feeling very good despite the night and almost no food and water, strange reactions of the body, I think it was mental do. My motivation was so high!

SUMMIT

After 3 or 4 more hours of trying to solve the puzzle of cracks, and faces, etc... I reached the summit, the joy of being there was amazing, We made it Diego come on!
We give a hug and then organize the ropes and gear, sat down and enjoy the views, get somewater, the last drops and eat couple of bits of Kiwicha (local sweet bar) my stomachdidn´t want to eat that stuff anymore!
After taking few pics. we satrted to head towards te rappel section which is down to the right of the big wall, which is part of the same structure but lower, it is only 3 rappels! very nice.
The rest is history!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Saturday, June 21, 2008

A sad decision

After doing a trekking, the hampta Pass trekking in 4 days, we decide that we wanted to go to Tailand as soon as we can, we want climbing!
The Hampta Pass is 4 127 metres, we hiked on two beautiful valleys, always acompained by sheperds, amazing how these people move from one valley to another, many times on steep snow patches, crossing rivers on top of humungus snow bridges, with goats and sheeps. Definetly nice experience. What need to be improved is the way to do the things here, the company we hired was ok, but they definetly need to improved service, food, logistics and transportation.
Finally I decided to sell my bicycle, the decision of ending our cycling trip was taken, so I found a buyer, yesterday I sold my beautiful bicycle to an Indian guy, who, I assume will apreciate that bicycle. So my bicycle will stay in India, in this beautiful location call Manali.
Thanks to my two wheel lady for the nice moments on the road and be with me all the time. Definetly a sad decision.

Leh - Manali road

After the bad night we had at Korzak, camping area, at Tso Moriri, we decided to take off from that area next morning as early as we can, trying to get a lift from somebody. A group of indian tourist, very nicley, offer us to take us back to Leh.
On our arrival to Leh we decide to go to a nice Guest House call, Oriental Guest House, excellent place to chill out, but we decided to "fly away" from Leh ASAP,to manali, 480kms away, went to the agency of friends, Discovery ladakh, the good energy was with us, we'd got a jeep with three canadians, super cheap. The trip? 18 hours my friends, crossing 5 passes, one with more than 5000 metres, was nice and spectacular at the beggining, but when as we reached the Rhotang la (Pass) near Manali, big traffic of trucks, fog, bad road codition and very danegrous, with part of the road almost falling apart, so I can imagine how bicycling this road would be, We calculate, 10 to 12 days to climb all 5 passes, but no guaranty that we can complete all of the road because of the conditions of the road. More than one time the road was under a river.
So basically that was the end of our bicycle trip. As we reached Manali we decide to take it easy, do some trekking, climbing etc... we are doing that right now!