Aconcagua Day Five – Christmas Eve 2014

Posted on January 16, 2015 by aquavista

Day four was the real first day if you like. The day when we would finally start moving up the mountain.

We woke up in the Hotel Ayelena in Los Penitentes and assembled for an 8am breakfast. This would be our last day with a roof over our heads until we returned to Mendoza, so it was nice to have a final shower and the like before waving goodbye to creature comforts for a while. It was also Christmas Eve, although it certainly didn’t feel like it, as it was already hot by 9am, and most people donned shorts for the day ahead.

The gang ready and assembled – time to march!

We’d finalise our readiness for the day by leaving anything that we didn’t need for the mountain at a locker in the hotel, and then got our rucksacks ready for the off. All of our high mountain gear was going by mule for the first three days of the trip, and so we didn’t have to carry too much on our backs.

By the time we set out (about 10.50) it was sweltering, and I was grateful for having bought a hat with a neck flap to keep the sun off the backs of my head and neck. The trail head started at about 2,400m, and after a quick group photograph, we were off, this was it! The going was fairly flat for the main part, as this was the trek in to the mountain itself, a journey of about 30 miles over three days.

At the trailhead on the Guanacos route to Aconcagua.

We walked almost entirely along the edge of a river, which consisted of glacial meltwater from Aconcagua itself. The valley was sheltered from the wind, which made it hotter still, and after a while I felt the backs of my hands burning. Clearly factor 30 sun tan lotion doesn’t cut it round these parts, and so I nabbed a bit from Kuntal who had bought some factor 80, although he said he didn’t need it, has never used it, and therefore had to ask me how to put it on 🙂

The first break, much needed, in the Guanacos Valley.

We stopped for a drinks break after about an hour, and the valley was starting to open up by now.

Further up the valley we begin to climb a bit as it opens up, the temperature still very hot.

We then trekked on looking for our mule train, which eventually overtook us about half an hour from camp.

We spot the mule train coming up the valley behind us, always best to let them pass 🙂

The dry and dusty first day continues – Pete, Mo and Fred lead the way.

We reached camp at about 4, after about 10 miles, and then had fun putting tents up. There is no way on the rock hard ground that you can bang tent pegs in, and so you need to find the largest rocks that you can to secure the tent against strong winds.

We finally reach camp just after the mules do.

Tents can take some careful rigging when the ground is so dry….

....and even if you think conditions are good, as much shelter from the wind is crucial.

….and even if you think conditions are good, as much shelter from the wind as you can get is crucial.

After discussions about AMS from Johnny and Peter it was straight into dinner. A bunch of the muleteers had cooked up an absolute feast over an open fire, and so we dined in fine style on steak and salad. Two bottles of Malbec mysteriously appeared, and it would have been rude (and way beyond my willpower) to say no, so I didn’t.

The sun goes down over the Guanacos Valley, Christmas Eve – even the mules are still.

First dinner on the mountain – the temperature has dropped dramatically by now.

The temperature had dropped from probably 30 degrees to 0 degrees by the evening was done. Retiring into our two man tents it was strange to think that it would soon be Christmas Day. I thought of home and the presents I’d bought (of which more tomorrow), and thought how strange tomorrow would be.

As the night drew on and I fell into sleep, I was woken up at some point by the muleteers, who were clearly celebrating Christmas itself. The cries appeared to be “yeehaas” and the like, probably fuelled by whatever muleteers carry in their saddlebags during the day – they were clearly very happy. I was happy too – happy to be in the Andes, on my way finally to the mountain which I had not yet even seen, but which I knew lay close at hand and presented the challenge of a lifetime for me. Roll on Christmas Day, when I may finally see it at long last!

Aconcagua Day Four – 23rd December 2014.

Posted on January 15, 2015 by aquavista

So day four began with a little earlier wake up than I would have planned. Our schedule was to sign permits at 9am and head out at 10 for our journey by minibus to Penitentes, our final stop under a roof before we return to Mendoza in about 18 days time. There we’d do final gear checks and distribute all of the tents and food between us and the mule train. We’d then head out onto the mountain itself tomorrow.

I’d therefore figured on breakfast at about 8 or so, having packed everything into four bags yesterday (base camp duffle, trekking duffle, expedition rucksack, and ‘non-mountain’ bag. Unfortunately Kuntal, my roommate woke at about 6 or so, and was pacing the floor for about an hour in eager anticipation. I couldn’t blame him – this was his first proper expedition and was like an excitable puppy. I tried to doze but it didn’t really work.

After a final bit of faffing with the bags, and some breakfast, it was time to sign our lives away (hopefully not literally – see form below):

Disclaimer form signed – I still haven’t read it!!

We then got all the bags ready, and sat around for a seemingly interminable time until eventually (about 11.30, this is how time works in Argentina) we headed out in the bus:

Bags nearly ready for the off in the foyer of the hotel.

The journey up and to the Andes was spectacular. A fairly short journey of about five hours (punctuated by a lunch stop at a place in the middle of nowhere at about 2,000m) we saw stunning snow-capped 6,000m peaks from early on.

The Andes come into view from the van

Our van driver definitely didn’t hang about on the road. The road we were on was the main one through to Chile and was a well maintained highway, and the driver seemed intent on seeing if he could get two wheels off the ground on sharp corners, and also see if he could scare the bejeezus out of moped drivers by sitting about three feet behind them. What a guy!

We arrived into the ski resort of Penitentes at about 4pm. It sits at about 2,700m, and is a bit (well a lot actually) on the tired side. There was a chair lift right opposite the hotel but as the temperature was about 25C and there wasn’t a bit of snow in sight, this was not exactly skiing season.

Welcome to the Hotel Ayelena!

Rooms in the hotel…

Plenty of room at the Hotel Ayelena.

The ski lifts (no longer used) in front of the hotel. The top of these slopes must have been close on 4,000m, shame about the lack of snow.

The hotel Ayelena would be our base for the night, and whilst it was every bit as tired as the rest of the resort, it was definitely functional.

Just after arriving, we loaded all of the expedition gear into a weighing room under the hotel, where it was separated into different sections for the mules. We’d likely not see our high altitude stuff until Base Camp three days away. Our trekking bags complete with sleeping bags and surplus clothes etc would go onto the mules each day too along with the food, cooking equipment, tents, tables etc. We would then carry everything else in our rucksacks, and separate the rest into a bag to stay here until we got back off the mountain. This included all street clothes and other travelling stuff. Looking at all of the kit, it began to hot mw just how much we’d need to carry on this expedition. I definitely wasn’t on Kilimanjaro anymore!

Assembling the kit in the weighing room underneath the hotel.

The rest of the evening was downtime until dinner at 9pm. We had a quick walk across the main road to see if there were any signs of life. Aside from a porters lodge (devoid of porters) and a minimart (locked, and devoid of pretty much everything) that was it. It seems the ski resort had been closed for four years now, due to lack of snow.

The anticipation now though was so palpable. We’d been waiting for three days, and the time it took us to travel, and hang around, to get going, was finally over. Everyone was like coiled springs. Tomorrow, finally, after what seemed like forever and a day, we’d stretch our legs and begin the trek to Base Camp. It couldn’t come soon enough – it was Aconcagua time at last, after three years (long story for those who know it!) of anticipation.

Aconcagua Day Two/Three – 22nd December 2014.

Posted on January 14, 2015 by aquavista

So last night (the first in Argentina) we ended up going for a steak meal with our guides. It would have been rude not to, even if the word ‘Malbec’ hadn’t appeared, which I am very glad to say it did. The steak was everything I’d hoped it to be and more, and the Malbec was stunningly good. I discovered that you can indeed cut Argentinian steak without a knife too – I have the feeling after just one taste that I’ll never eat a steak in my home country ever again.

We are all assembled now, and there are eight clients altogether. There were to be nine, but one dropped out with sickness just before the trip. Everyone had long trips in, although some folks have been here for two days already due to flight schedules etc. There is Peter and Fred (father and son), Kuntal (also my roommate), and John and Gary, all from the U.S, Mohammed from Australia, and Eduardo and me from the UK. Eduardo originally hails from Mozambique.

At last night’s meal we all got to chat, and meet guides Peter (lead guide) and Jonathan from IMG, and Martin (or ‘Tincho as he is known) from Grajales the local guide company who IMG use. Everyone is great and very relaxed. I took my lead from Peter, and ordered ‘bife de chorizo’, which is ‘top loin’ or sirloin strip. It was extremely pink, incredibly tender, and probably as memorable a meal as I have ever had in my life. Sat outside, with local Malbec, the meat the only thing on the plate (no accompaniments could have done it justice, and weren’t missed at all). Fabulous.

Day two then began with a kit inspection for me and Kuntal, and I passed mine thankfully without need to buy anything further. Kuntal wasn’t so lucky, and had to go to the local gear shop in town and part with a wedge of cash to get boots, duffle bags, gaiters and sunglasses for a variety of reasons. It was a great shop though, so he was able to get all he needed in one go. I got a good mooch around too – always good to look around equipment shops as far as I am concerned.

Kit inspection in the hotel – I passed!

A map on the wall of the climbing shop showed the route to Aconcagua – it didn’t mean much as yet…

On the wall of the climbing shop was a map of the mountain. We’d be taking the Guanacos Valley/False Polish Glacier Route up, and the Normal Route down. This way is referred to locally as the ‘360’, as you effectively circumnavigate the whole mountain. The Guanacos Valley is on the right hand (easterly) side of the mountain, and the Normal route is on the west. The ‘false’ Polish Glacier route refers to the fact that you go to the approach of the Polish Glacier (the North Eastern face of the mountain) but then do not actually take the glacier, veering off instead to skirt alongside it, from the highest camp on the mountain, Colera, at 6,000m.

We also had to go through a convoluted process of getting our permits for the mountain. The pass costs 8,088 pesos, which is anywhere between 700 and 1,000 US dollars depending upon where you got your currency from. Thankfully we were tipped off about the currency just in time to get the better rate. There are in fact two rates of exchange in Argentina (for US dollars only I believe). One is the rate the banks give you, which is 8 to the USD. The other is 12 to the USD, which you can get from hotels, shops and the like, or anyone basically in the black market.

Lining up at a kiosk in downtown Mendoza for our Aconcagua passes – bizarre!

And it is just that. Don’t expect to get a receipt, or the money counted out or anything – you just hand over say $1,000 in cash (only) like I did, and someone hands you a bundle of notes with a rubber band round it, and walks off. It takes a bit of a leap of faith, but for a whopping 50% difference in exchange rate, it has to be worth the gamble, and worked perfectly for all of us. This meant that my permit, which has to be paid in cash like seemingly everything in Argentina, worked out at $700. If I’d done things ‘properly’, it would have been over $1,000. Wow.

With permits bought and back at the hotel early afternoon, we could all just rest and begin to sort out kit for the following day. We were required to sort everything into four bags:

1. A duffle for the trek to Base Camp, with sleeping bag, clothes we’d need, snacks and medical/personal stuff etc.
2. A duffle for Base Camp, with everything we didn’t need until the higher mountain, like climbing boots, harness, crampons, ice axe, down jacket, etc.
3. Rucksack, with waterproofs, water bottles, hats, gloves and the like.
4. Anything else we didn’t need on the mountain – Normal clothes etc and other surplus stuff.

Bags 1 and 2 would go by mule, but we wouldn’t see bag 2 until Base Camp itself. We’d carry 3 all the time, and bag 4 will stay in tomorrow night’s destination, a hotel in Penitentes. All this sorting out took some considerable time, and meantime the guides were sorting out food, tents and other provisions that we would also go by mule, but that we would also be required to carry up the mountain ourselves in caches post Base Camp.

Part of the food and kit we’d need to take up to the mountain with us.

Looking at all of the stuff here made you realise just how much planning and preparation goes into these trips.

The extra day was very much worthwhile. It was frustrating in a way not to be on the mountain and on the move, but the rest was needed after the 30 hours of travelling the day before. Time will tell how I’ll feel when underway, but right now I’m very grateful for it.

In the evening we assembled again as a group, minus guides this time, and went out for more steak and Malbec. It would have been rude not to really. Jonathan, one of the guides, told me that he stays down in Mendoza to climb for a month or so post expedition, and eats nothing but steak the whole time. When he goes back to the U.S. he doesn’t eat meat at all, and doesn’t feel the need to. He just waits until he comes back down here again. I’m sure I’ll feel the same way about beef when I get home, but for now I’m just going to enjoy it while I can. The mountain food that we are going to have for the next three weeks will I am sure make us yearn so badly for anything at all that is even normal, let alone exceptional.

Tomorrow, at 9am, the waiting will be over. We’ll be out of here and on our way to Aconcagua. Showtime!

Aconcagua Day One – 20th December 2014

Posted on January 13, 2015 by aquavista

And So it Began……

Saturday afternoon of 20th December came around way too quickly. A complete whirlwind in fact. The last month or so at work has been so hectic that I have hardly had time to draw breath, and so there was barely time to think properly about the trip, let alone get excited. Excited however I should be :- this is the longest trip I’ve been on; to a totally new country for me (Argentina); to the highest mountain in the Southern Hemisphere; to hopefully the highest I have ever been (and may practically ever go), just shy of 7,000m; and to one of the World’s Seven Summits; and my third of these. Oh and I’ll be up the mountain at both Christmas and New Year too. How much more excitement can you get?

Having packed everything into two 100l duffles (yes two), I was ready and away to Heathrow. Both duffles contained everything I would need for the 23 days ahead of me, including my new 90l rucksack. Upon getting to Mendoza, one duffle would stay at the hotel there (we’d stay for one night each end of the trip there to sort stuff out) with anything that wasn’t needed on he mountain. The second duffle would be packed with all of the high mountain gear, and go by mule to Base Camp. Everything else would be on my back in the rucksack for the duration of the trek.

With a fair wind, or should I say not too much wind at all, and a lot of luck, the itinerary will get us to a possible summit bid on the 4th January, exactly two weeks from today.

Meantime it was travel, travel, travel. Just as well I like travelling, as this was the most brutal journey I’ve ever undertaken. From leaving the house at 3pm local time, to getting to Mendoza at a scheduled 6pm local time the next day, this was a 30 hour journey. I’m sure you can probably get to the moon as quickly these days, but so be it. It’s all part of the adventure, and allowed me to (albeit briefly) to touch down in both Brazil and Chile en route. In fact I write this particular piece on a flight from Sao Paolo in Brazil to Santiago in Chile. If I tell you that his was the shortest journey I could get, then you’ll get the picture of how far Mendoza is from Milton Keynes!

One thing I’d say to anyone reading this who might be making this journey in the future (and there are a few of you :)) then I’d say make sure you get yourself a window seat on the plane if you fly into Mendoza via Santiago. The views out of each side appeared breathtaking as the plane flew over the spine of the Andes. I was sadly stuck in the middle of the plane and was frustrated as people had their noses pinned looking out over cloudless skies to the massif below. Lessons learned and all that……

Santiago airport was about a three hour layover following the flight from Brazil, and then it was a hop and a skip (albeit a very bumpy skip, we had a lot of turbulence, and I was told by the German lady sat beside me that it is always like that) back over the Andes to Mendoza. The flight took probably 35 minutes, and again if you are doing this trip get a seat on the left hand side of the plane as you’d see Aconcagua from that side. I didn’t know, and so saw not much of it at all.

When finally at Mendoza airport, I was mightily relieved to see my duffle bags had made it, and I jumped in a cab to the Nutibara Hotel in downtown Mendoza, just about 5 miles away. The door to door journey was 30 hours, and with very little sleep on the plane I was fit to drop when I got in at about 6pm on Sunday evening. I met quickly my roommate, Kuntal, who hadn’t been so lucky with his luggage, and then took a quick walk into town to keep myself awake.

The Hotel Nutibara, Avenue de Mitres, Mendoza

The Hotel Nutibara, Avenue des Mitres, Mendoza

In the evening we met our guides, Peter and Johnathan from IMG, and talked about what to expect over the next few days. I tried to pay attention to the guides but I have to say it was hard as I was so beat.

Tomorrow would be kit sorting day, permit day, and getting ready to trek out. I’d need to sleep very well, and I was ready for just that………

It’s beginning to look a lot like…….Aconcagua Time!

Posted on December 16, 2014 by aquavista

It’s well overdue that I posted here, so am doing so to update on preparations for Aconcagua, which are happening at a pace that I almost cannot even keep up with.

Aconcagua in all her glory.

My trip is a matter of days away now, and I can honestly tell you that I just don’t know if I am ready or not. There are several reasons for this.

One is a bit of a state of anxiety over potential altitude sickness. Having been to around (or close to) 6,000m on three occasions now (Kilimanjaro, Island Peak/Everest Base Camp, and Elbrus), I have had let’s say mixed results with AMS. On Kili I had mild symptoms at around 4,000m. In Nepal I was feeling a bit groggy from 4,000m onwards. In Russia I was fine until the descent, when I began to show symptoms of HACE. The latter was the scariest experience of my life.

Secondly, Aconcagua is a different kettle of fish from the mountains I have done so far. At close to 7,000m and 23,000 feet, it is a quantum leap above the others in many ways. The altitude itself will be hard enough, but add to this the fact that I have to carry more weight than ever before (upwards of 20kg) then this will be an incredible effort. I find 20kg in a suitcase is hard to pick up, let alone carry on my back at altitude. Having read also so many guide companies’ websites and various blogs on the subject, I haven’t heard anyone say anything other than “if you think because you’ve been up Kili you can climb Aconcagua, then think again”, or words to that effect. Final camp in fact is above 20,000 feet, so I have the words “good luck trying to sleep there before summit night” ringing in my ears too.

Finally my training hasn’t probably been all it could be. There is some good, and some not so good here. On the one (good) hand, I’ve been out walking every single weekend since Russia, so that’s nearly four months of doing between 10 and 20 miles each time of usually pretty undulating terrain. And I was as fit as I’ve ever been then, so I don’t think I’ve lost anything. I’ve even been and done the Brecon Beacons twice in that time too. On the other (not so good) hand I’ve really done precious little else. There has been the odd 30/40 mile bike ride, but that’s it. No gym, no squats, no planking, no nothing. I generally believe that there is no experience for anything like doing that particular activity, so we will see.

The only thing I think I am definitely prepared for is with my kit. With one week to go, it is bought, and laid out ready to pack. My kit list, for anyone who is interested, is per the below (so Katherine Thomson if you are reading this, this one is for you, albeit three months late!).

The list is copied from the IMG website, and is exactly as is, because being a conformist, I have already ticked off everything on the list 🙂

[ ]	LARGE size internal frame pack: 80 cu liters plus
[ ]	ice ax (60-70 cm length is the most useful, light is right)
[ ]	collapsible ski poles for the approach
[ ]	crampons (aluminum is OK for this trip)
[ ]	climbing harness (light weight)
[ ]	climbing hard hat is also required
[ ]	1 locking and 2 regular carabiners
[ ]	sleeping bag (down, it’s lighter and more compressible) Should be rated to approx. 0 to minus 10°F.
[ ]	full length foam and/or Thermarest pad or Neo Air
[ ]	double climbing boots
[ ]	regular gaiters, add insulated Supergaiters for extra warmth and/or the Intuition foam liners, which fit most double boots, if you’re looking for a more warmth.
[ ]	light hiking shoes for the approach
[ ]	socks for the hike, normally 3 pair
[ ]	sandals for river wading
[ ]	three sets of wool socks for the climb
[ ]	light hiking shirt. Nylon dries fast
[ ]	hiking shorts and/or pants. Again, nylon is a great choice. Convertible hiking pants work well.
[ ]	climbing pants, like a Schoeller fabric pant or a soft shell pant
[ ]	Gore-tex wind/rain pants with full-length leg zippers
[ ]	Insulated pant with full zippers, like the OR Neoplume or MH Compressor
[ ]	Gore-tex wind and snow shell-type parka
[ ]	medium weight insulated parka with hood (down is light and compressible)
[ ]	polypropylene underwear — 2 zip-neck turtleneck tops and 1 bottom
[ ]	soft shell, fleece, etc.
[ ]	wool or fleece stocking hat with ear flaps
[ ]	neck gaiter or balaclava. Buff’s are great.
[ ]	warm ski gloves
[ ]	lighter weight fleece glove
[ ]	warm, expedition mittens
[ ]	bandana
[ ]	baseball cap
[ ]	sunglasses AND ski goggles
[ ]	suntan lotion (at least #30 protection factor) and lip salve on a neck string
[ ]	2 wide mouth plastic water bottles with insulated covers
[ ]	bowl, cup and spoon
[ ]	good headlamp with 2 sets of batteries (flashlight is not sufficient)
[ ]	camera, batteries, consider a small flash drive to help share photos
[ ]	personal first aid kit to include at least the following: Ciprofloxacin (required) Imodium (required) aspirin antacids moleskin band-aids light weight toilet articles and personal medications iodine crystals or tablets for water purification (these are available at mountaineering stores as a product called ‘Polar Pure’ or ‘Potable Agua’.)
[ ]	small towel
[ ]	a bottle of Purell hand disinfectant. Make sure you bring this.
[ ]	toilet paper – 2 rolls
[ ]	ear plugs
[ ]	5 very large plastic garbage bags such as the Hefty Steel Sacks.
[ ]	pocket knife
[ ]	alarm wrist watch (Splurge and get an altimeter watch from Suunto.)

I did get a bit confused with some of the Americanisms on here though (it is a US company that I am going with). ‘Moleskin’ got me very confused, as did ‘ciprofloxacin’, and ‘climbing hard hat’ just made me smile. I’m there in the end however, and Google was my friend as always.

I have a few items of new kit for this one. New double boots (North Face Verto Extreme), new insulated trousers (Montane Skimo, I believe), some insulated bottle holders that won’t freeze this time :), a collapsible pee bottle (I don’t want to get out of my tent in the middle of the night at 20,000 feet unless I absolutely have to), and some new approach shoes. My old approach shoes (North Face Hedgehogs) have lasted me nearly five years and they have been fantastic – I bet I’ve walked 2,000 miles in them at least. I therefore bought another pair of the same. Oh and the new rucksack – a Lowe Alpine Alpameyo 90L – it is massive! Here is most of it laid out ready to pack:

Most of my stuff laid out ready to pack..

I have had a dry run of getting everything into the rucksack, and it fits, just, at a pinch. How I am going to squeeze extra kit in here as well though is beyond me, so I’m basically in the same clothes for 23 days as far as I can see it. Yes 23 days, and I will be taking deodorant and wet wipes too before you ask, but that’ll be about it.

Oh there is one other thing that I am taking. Diamox. Upon the advice of Adele Pennington (no less) further to my Elbrus experience, she suggested that I take it prophylactically this time, so I am equipped, via an online pharmacy, with a month’s supply. As I said earlier, I’m a conformist 🙂
So the only thing that will tell whether I am ready or not from hereon in is time. By Christmas Day I hope to be approaching Base Camp, and by New Year’s Day close to High Camp. If all goes to plan, I am very lucky with the weather, I don’t get AMS, and I am fit enough, then on the 4th January or thereabouts I may have a chance of summiting the highest mountain in the southern hemisphere. Between now and the trek out, I fly via Brazil and Chile to Mendoza in Argentina, for my biggest and boldest expedition of my life by a long way.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all, and see you (I hope, gulp!) on the other side…….

More mountains are a coming :)

Posted on March 22, 2014 by aquavista

In my last post I mentioned that I was looking to try to get a few more trips booked into my calendar, and as I’ve done just that, I thought I should say so right here, so here I am :).

In May I have the Welsh Three Peaks already arranged. This consists of Pen Y Fan, Cadair Idris, and Snowdon – the former two being done on the Saturday, and Snowdon on the Sunday morning, bright and early, or 5.30am for those of you like me will not be very bright by that time of the morning. I haven’t actually been up Pen Y Fan or Cadair Idris before, so it will be nice to tick off two of Wales’ most iconic climbs, even if neither of them are exactly giant peaks. The whole challenge does however involve some 19,000 feet of ascent and descent, and about 20 miles of distance covered, so it should be a really good challenge.

But the news now, is that I have booked THREE more very exciting adventures, all firsts in their own right…..

First in June, I will be doing the Three Peaks (not to be confused with the Welsh Three Peaks). The Three Peaks involves the highest mountains in each of Scotland, England and Wales, done traditionally in that order, being Ben Nevis, Scafell Plike, and Snowdon. There is this time over 20,000 feet of ascent and descent, and 27 miles of distance to cover, and all within 24 hours. Add to this somewhat exhausting schedule the fact that there is about 600 miles of distance to drive between the mountains (about 13 hours on the road, these are not motorways in the main), and you have a brutal schedule ahead of you. Oh and just to add to all that, you need to do Scafell Pike in the dark :O. Should be a fantastic adventure, of which I will tell more as the time draws near….

Then comes even more excitement in July, with, wait for it, Mont Blanc! Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in western Europe, at 15,781 feet, and is a brute.

Here is just one of the ridges that I get to face:

The Bosses ridge on Mont Blanc.

I’ve never been up Mont Blanc, and never had the chance to even try it, so this is massive for me. It is not to be taken lightly at all, and has a high fatality rate. In fact around 100 people a year sadly lose their lives trying each year. Alan Arnette has a great FAQ on Mont Blanc which I will post below:

http://www.alanarnette.com/7summits/montblancfaq.php

There is so much more to say here, but again I will leave that for another time, as it deserves a good few posts of its own. I’m more excited about this than I am Elbrus actually, as it is just one of the most talked about mountains in the world. One of the amazing things about Mont Blanc is that is has a massive prominence from the surrounding valleys – something like 4,000m in fact. To put that into perspective, Mount Everest has a prominence of 3,500m from Base Camp! I have also seen it many times, from many angles, but the main angle I wish to see it from is potentially there in July………:)

So whilst I had a busy week in booking up these two lovely trips, I thought to myself – why stop there? I therefore contacted International Mountain Guides and booked up for Aconcagua! Now as you may know I have had Aconcagua booked for each of the last two years, but had to cancel it on both occasions. So without tempting fate, I am hoping for third time lucky :). I was originally going to wait to see if I made it up Elbrus (booked for August) before attempting Aconcagua, but then I decided that if I can’t make it up Elbrus then I shouldn’t be doing this whole thing, plus I really need something to aim for at the end of the year.

This is my year of the mountains – the one to really test myself and see if I am up for maybe 6 of the Seven Summits…….if I do what I have just booked for then that’ll be three out of the way by the end of the year, or almost – Aconcagua will start in December and end in January. More, much more, on that to follow too. Nearly 7,000m more, in fact……..better get training, and hard.

Aconcagua – so far away still……but getting nearer.

A March Update…

Posted on March 9, 2014 by aquavista

I thought it (well beyond) time that I updated my blog, so here goes:

The year so far for me didn’t get off to a good start. In fact it was awful. In January, four days before my 50th birthday, my Dad passed away. He had been ill, as I think I’d said in a previous post, for some 6 months or so, with cancer. He (only at the end, at least) was in pain, and so I should to some extent be grateful that he is now in a better place, or something like that. But that doesn’t help at all really. Fact is that I’ve watched both of my parents die of cancer now, and it took them both from (far far better) places of apparently otherwise fitness and good health, to being dead in a matter of months both times. I therefore hate cancer, and in this case, hate is by no means a strong enough word. I shall dwell no more on this, and put it away now :(.

I haven’t had the appetite for cycling much so far this year, and let’s face it, the weather has been woeful. I think we’ve had three weekends where winds topped 50mph, and also the wettest start to the year since records began. For this admittedly fair weather rider, and coupled with all else that has been going on, that was too much of an excuse for the bike to stay locked in the garage. Oh and I did also suffer a broken toe, but I shan’t dwell on that one either – it’s healing now!

I have been out in fact, only on four occasions altogether. Once on a brief ride in January, twice (although only about 35 miles each) on a short trip to Northern California, where the riding was fabulous, and then last weekend, when I did my first sportive of the year. The sportive was the aptly named “No Excuses” around Huntingdon, so called because as long as you turn up, they refund your £35 entry fee, and if you don’t, they give the money to a worthy charity, in this case prostate cancer. They apparently raised £22,000 for the charity, which means a whopping 630 people didn’t show up having entered. The stats are copied below in case anyone wants to take a look, but suffice to say I was absolutely knackered by about two thirds of the way through. Over 80 miles had me cramping and not really having fun, but I was very glad to be out there, cold as it was.

http://www.strava.com/activities/116934691

I have cycled only 200 miles this year though, and it is scarily almost a quarter of the way through. I must get out more now….

The weekend that is now just ending (9th March as I write) has seen me decide to get my walking legs back, having done basically none of that either. I did join a gym a few weeks ago, but the attractiveness of a stair climbing machine has and probably always will be lost on me I’m afraid. So blessed with some rather fine sunshine at last, I went and put some good old miles in, with a smallish (10lb or so) pack on my back for good measure. Yesterday (Saturday) I got in about 12 pretty flat miles around Milton Keynes, and today I headed out to Woburn, just about 6 or 7 miles away.

Blessed with totally beautiful weather (and frankly if we get days like today in the summer I won’t be complaining) I put in just over 14 miles, making 26.2 for the weekend. Although that is not exactly a huge number, I cannot actually remember the last time I walked 26 miles in two days, so that has to be a good thing. I also saw so many deer it made my head spin – witness this shot below for example:

The deer at Woburn Abbey

Here are some a little closer with part of Woburn Abbey in the background:

Deer in front of the Abbey

So with me planning to be back to full fitness as soon as I can, I am now starting to look forward with relish to the rest of the year. I have planned the Welsh Three Peaks in May http://www.thethreepeakschallenge.co.uk/welsh-three-peaks-challenge/, am trying to get a full Three Peaks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Three_Peaks_Challenge trip in June , and am also looking to try to get a Mont Blanch trip in in July, prior to Elbrus in August. I have also contacted International Mountain Guides to see if they can’t get me that Aconcagua trip back on for the end of the year. Third time lucky, all being well……….

More soon, I promise.

New Year’s Resolutions……

Posted on January 5, 2014 by aquavista

A little late I admit, but here is what I have decided I would like to accomplish during 2014. So not exactly New Year’s Resolutions as such, but more targets really.

I first should reflect on what happened during 2013. I said two things back in my post when I came back from Thailand just over a year ago, and they were to try to do 3,000 miles on my bike, and to do complete 6 mountain summits:

https://aquavista.me/2013/01/02/day-9-khao-lak-to-surin-beach-phuket/

Well I can tell you that in terms of my bike, I overachieved on my goal. I managed 3,277 miles last year in fact, and it was a very memorable year, culminating in the Prudential Ride 100 in August finishing on the Mall in front of Buckingham Place.

Too many jelly babies on the way round perhaps?

I finished, for the record, in a time of 5hrs 18mins for the 100 miles, and I’d love to be able to take part in the event again, although I suspect it will be horribly oversubscribed. Last year 20,000 people took part, and the rumours are that over 100,000 people have applied for the same number of places this summer, so we will see. Here is me getting my medal at the end too:

And displaying quite proudly my finisher’s medal 🙂

I also completed around 8 other Sportives ranging from about 60-85 miles, and so all in all a great year on the road. My new Canyon bike (bought at the end of 2012, but ridden for the first time this year) flatters me for sure. It has now been put away for the winter, but I have bought myself another, slightly less ‘shiny’ Canyon bike for the winter months. Any excuse I know 🙂

Now as far as the hills were concerned, I can only call 2013 a total disaster. Of my proposed 6 mountain summits I completed none. I probably walked a total of 10 miles in the whole year, and as far as I can recall, I actually went out twice for any type of walk. My trip to Aconcagua, upon which all my hopes rested, was of course cancelled for the reasons outlined in my last post, but that didn’t excuse my abject lack of trying. I did really really want to do Mont Blanc (and still do), but you have to put time and effort into these things, and I just didn’t. So this year, things have to change……..

2014

So my goals then for 2014 are as follows:

Bike: I need to complete as many miles as I did in 2013 (3,277). To aim for much more is not going to be achievable, and in any case, this is a year to right the wrongs of the last one in terms of mountains, as I will set out below.

I have already in fact signed up for 10 Sportives, ranging from about 70 miles to 118 miles. The best of these will undoubtedly be the “Tour De Yorkshire” in July. At this, I get to ride a bona fide stage of the Tour de France, which of course this year starts in Yorkshire. I get to do the first stage (the so called ‘Grand Depart”) a week after it has taken place, and I can’t wait. I have never ridden 118 miles in a day before, so just completing it will be a big bonus for me, outside of the euphoria that surrounds the whole thing.

My bike riding will also be a big factor in terms of endurance training for the mountains.

Bike goal: 3,278 miles. Subsidiary goal – to do the Prudential Ride London in less than 5 hours (this might be beyond my physical means as it would mean an average of >20mph over 100 miles, but a boy (or an old man!) has to dream).

Mountains:

The aim is to do two of the Seven Summits. I have singed up for Elbrus in August, and barring disasters will sign up for Aconcagua at the end of the year too. I don’t think I can realistically say I will do much more than that (!), as it will take all of my time to train and be ready for them, on top of a few bike rides here and there. I do have a bit of a busy day job too 🙂 I will have to be very fit for both mountain trips, as both involve a huge amount of load carrying, the likes of which I have never done before, and the latter involves trying to get to the somewhat alien and dizzy height of 23,000 feet.

Subsidiary goal: To do the 3 Peaks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Three_Peaks_Challenge

I’ve always wanted to do this, but have just never had the outlet, or a group of people who wanted to do it with me. But then I’ve never really tried asking either, so back to the above “you have to put time and effort into these things….”.

If anyone out there therefore has a 3 Peaks adventure planned, then you may just be helping me out, that’s all I’m saying 🙂

Happy New Year everyone, and I hope it is a great one for you, whatever (big or small) adventures you have planned.

Life is oh so short

Posted on December 13, 2013 by aquavista

It has been so ridiculously long since I have put up a blog post, that it has taken me some time to find out how to log back into this site. Sad!

I thought I now needed to do two things here though, if even only for posterity. One is to update anyone who doesn’t know already (that is if anyone actually still reads this site outside of anyone who knows me :O) of what has happened re my intended trip to Aconcagua. And then secondly to tell a bit about my future mountainous plans.

Aconcagua

Firstly an update then on Aconcagua. In short, it isn’t going to happen, well not this year anyway. I won’t dwell here into too many of the reasons why, but in short, my father got diagnosed with terminal cancer this summer, with a prognosis which talked about a matter of months, as opposed to years, in terms of life expectancy. I cancelled my trip practically the day that I found out, simple as that.

I mentioned in my previous post that I’d say something about my decision about who to go with, and I thought I’d still take time here to tell a bit about what happened there too:

So basically when I chose my (also aborted, that time due to two broken heels :)) trip last year, I had booked with Jagged Globe, whom I went with on my Alpine Introductions Course, and who I have found absolutely excellent throughout. They would, and perhaps should, have been my natural choice for this time around, but something told me to search around and do a bit of due diligence here and there, and so I did.

There are actually not a lot of firms who do Aconcagua trips, and they basically are divided into three categories. There are local firms in Argentina; there are a few UK firms (e.g Jagged Globe or Exodus for example); and there are the bigger international outfits (mainly US-based) who focus on Aconcagua as it is one of the Seven Summits.

I had ruled out the Argentinian outfits straight away. Maybe they offer the best value, or even the best expeditions. I just don’t know. My thinking was that there is so much to know, and so much to go wrong, even before you get there, that I’d rather be in the hands of someone closer to home, and who speaks my native language, just in case. Then I started reading this year’s Everest coverage (and what an incredible, and also very controversial, season it was) and began seeing some names appearing to me from the operators over there. One name kept appearing and also jumping out to me, and it was International Mountain Guides (IMG).

IMG have been going since 1986, and they cover the four corners of planet earth in terms of the mountains. They lead expeditions to all of the Seven Summits, and therefore put people on Everest every year. I first heard about them from reading Alan Arnette’s wonderful blog (http://www.alanarnette.com). He has climbed with them himself (including on his own Seven Summits bid), and so if that is not an endorsement in itself then I don’t know what is.

Literally from the moment I enquired about availability, I got nothing but first class, prompt (bordering on immediate) replies from them. It was also very personal too, as in they wanted to know about me, to make sure there was a fit for both sides. I was contacted (surprisingly) by one of the founders, Phil Ershler, who was brilliant in every regard. Most importantly for me, there was no big hard sell. In fact almost the reverse was true – I had to pass and prove my worth, and they invited me to ask all sorts of questions of them to make sure that this would work. I’m glad to say that it most certainly did, or would have done anyway.

One of the other key factors about IMG for me, apart from reputation, safety record, success rates etc., was about the way they actually climb the mountain. Instead of an ‘armchair ride’ (as if this is ever likely at 23,000 feet!), IMG like their clients to do the mountains expedition style. In other words, you carry your own stuff, you do carries up and down to each camp, and you put up your own tent etc. Everyone mucks in basically, it is a team, and you need to graft, hard, along with everyone else. Good.

Anyway, basically almost as soon as I hap put down my deposit, I had to call them and tell them I wouldn’t/couldn’t go after all. The very satisfying thing was that instead of saying “sorry but you’ve lost your deposit” etc (which under their terms and conditions they would have been entitled to do). they said they’d hold it over for me for a future trip. That to me just vindicated my decision to choose them in the first place.

What next?

Having cancelled my trip, I have spent most every weekend up in the North East visiting my Dad in hospital, and now in his Nursing Home. He’s still hanging in there, and my time with him is precious, and so it should be. I haven’t been able to plan anything else meantime though, and so that, being selfish for a moment, has made me a bit stir crazy.

So a few days ago, I got, for a host of reasons, to deciding that I needed something, anything, to look forward to. And to cut a long story short, here it is:

Mount Elbrus….

The above is the tallest mountain in Europe. Now many people think that particular honour goes to Mont Blanc, but Mount Elbrus is about 1km higher, at 5,642m (18,510ft). It is a dormant volcano, in the Caucasus Mountains, which are in southern Russia, close to Georgia. I have booked my trip for next August, and all I can say is that I dearly hope it comes off. There is lots to learn and know about Elbrus, and my education has begun with great excitement and vigour.

Mount Elbrus is of course also one of the Seven Summits, and if I can reach the summit (I have some work to do in many respects between now and then), then I would look to try to do Aconcagua next winter too. I won’t get too carried away yet though.

To go back to the title of the post, life is very definitely too short. This one will be for my Dad.

I’ll post more soon, promise.

I’m back :)

Posted on May 20, 2013 by aquavista

Having spent a long time not blogging (simply, I’m afraid, because there was nothing exciting to blog about), I’m now back to tell you that I have something to say.

It’s this: Aconcagua!

Having spent the last few months out of gainful employment due to redundancy, and also having had the disappointment of last December’s planned Aconcagua climb cancelled due to my two broken heels, it hasn’t been a jolly time on the planned expedition front. Having now however found myself a new job (which I actually started properly just today) then I just couldn’t ignore the mountains.

Why so hasty, you might ask? Well, I’d defend my hastiness in several ways. Firstly, I decided some time ago that I worked (and hard, mostly) because it afforded me the opportunity to do things that I wanted to do. And secondly I’ve been thinking all year about mountains, almost any mountain in fact. I wanted for example to be able to try and go and do Mont Blanc in the summer, but various things (like not knowing when I was going to be working again) have stopped me from being able to commit to it. Thirdly, my Dad is not in the best of health right now. He has a bad (chronic in fact) back condition that has left him incapacitated in bed, and has carers looking after him three times a day. Life is too short for us not to be able to at least try to realise our dreams and ambitions, and this is one my main goals right now, simple as that.

I’ve also been through a lot of soul searching, and also a lot of due diligence as to which company I want to go with to take me there. But I’ve now chosen them (it was ultimately a really easy decision), and my forms and acceptance papers have just (like five minutes ago) been sent off. More on that in a subsequent post. I go this coming December.

Aconcagua is a ridiculously tough undertaking. This is 7,000m. 23,000 feet. The tallest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas. It has a 30% success rate of summiting. I’m a million miles away from being ready for it, and have a very very tough six months ahead of me. That journey starts here today. No illusions, but lots of drive and ambition. “Excited” doesn’t even come close to how I feel right now.

Aconcagua

	aquavista on It’s nearly Nepal t…
	John Bratten on It’s nearly Nepal t…
	aquavista on The Berlin Marathon 2022…
	The Omil on The Berlin Marathon 2022…
	The Omil on 19 days to go…..

To Kilimanjaro (and beyond?)

"To travel, to experience and learn, that is to live……" {Sherpa Tensing Norgay}

Tag Archives: Aconcagua