Mt Acongagua Summit Attempt
Elle and I reached 6000m and 6700m respectively and are back down safe and sound though Elle has left a long trail of markings. It has been an amazing, unforgettable life experience.
1:00pm 16th January 2010 (Summit Attempt):
I had been walking now since 6:00am the temperature had warmed from the -20C of when we woke. Our group of 13 people who had set out that morning was now down to only 7, with many succumbing to tiredness and the effects of altitude. The ground was covered in snow so I was wearing crampons for the first time, putting on the crampons was fantastic and had added to my strength over the last 5 hours, things felt good.
Approaching the end of the final traverse something started to go wrong, I was probably the only person in the group who had managed to make it this high with none of the traditional affects of altitude, at 6700m I still did not have a headache, nausea and I definitely had not lost my appetite. Though now things started to become hazy, the continue beat of my feet and watching one go in front of the other in constant repetition started to become a blur. There began to be a disconnection of my head from my limbs and when a crampon fell of I was losing a level of co-ordination, not terrible but strange, conscious of everything going on but unable to fully control it.
Scrambling up the final stages of the traverse I tried to explain the feeling. Strangely at this altitude there is a lack of comradery as each person is using everything they have to keep walking. Our guide Mariano, was also difficult to talk to, he controlled the group like a Nazi fighter pilot, picking of any stragglers in the group, riding their backs till they decide to retreat of the mountain. I was given 5 minutes to make a decision on whether to continue or wait at the end of the traverse for three hours in the cold. 300 vertical metres from the summit with our 2 hour walk to go, it was a hard decision with little information. To think that I had also been walking for 12 days to reach this point.
Deciding to go, it was onto my feet, the second I did this, I felt the dizziness come back, to continue was to risk to much. So I made one of the hardest decisions of my life and decided not to risk the last 300m. If only Elle or someone I really trusted had been there maybe the decision would have been different.
1:10pm 16th January 2010 (Summit Attempt):
Sitting in the freezing conditions waiting on a rock shelf is hard work, though the view spectacular. At round this time one of our group Mike, an Irish guy working in Chicago for a bank staggered back to where I was sitting. He had attempted to summit but turned back after 100 metres, exhausted. Coming back he spoke of how he could not go any further and how hard the way down was.
Shortly after returning he was asleep/passed out, exhausted. Shortly following Mike another climber from Brazil, Avarky, came down. It was getting colder and by now I was freezing and shivering uncontrollably. Avarkey had an emergency blanket which we huddled under till the rest of the group came back.
Sitting shivering, it was fascinating watching the carnage of the mountain as climbers would arrive semi or unconscious and were being "roped" down or carried down by teams. This was fine as most that I had seen were smaller people, that could be carried. The number was quite amazing. But somehow it seemed disconnected from our team.3:30pm 16th January 2010:
The past few hours had left us in different conditions, I had managed to find shelter behind a rock with the emergency blanket and wait. Mike had decided he was not cold anymore and Avarkey seemed fine. Mariano the head guide arrived back down but with none of the climbers and it was finally time to descend.
What happened next was reality came back and sucker punched us across the face. When we were getting up ready to finally leave, Mike was given some tea, the tea spilt down his front. He no longer had any control of his body. He could speak to us, but could not move. When we tried to stand him up he simply collapsed.
6700m reality was scary. There was no helicopter, truck or car that could take Mike down. There were only two options either he walk out or a rescue team would have to come and try. At this altitude it takes eight people to rescue one person and is considered extremely dangerous. Also the waiting time for the team is dangerous as they have to climb to where we are. The weather is so variable as well, the clouds were continually rolling across the mountain and as if on queue they came to white out our path.
On the radio, Mariano was told to feed Mike with as much liquid as possible, so over the next 30 minutes all our liquid was fed to Mike, who could only move his head.Elle would later tell me that the brain was swelling, this is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain and is similar to what happens with a stroke. On the mountain it is called Apaxia and caused by having severe Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) or High Altitude Pulmonary Edema HAPE. Both of which can be fatal. Something which we were seeing now.
4:00pm 16th January 2010 (Descend):
Mike tried to stand up for the fifth time and this time was able to stay upright. Mariano brought out what I can see is the only rescue instrument he had, a rope. This was tied round Mikes waist and Mariano´s waist and Mike tried to walk. At first he again collapsed. My days of watching "I shouldn´t be alive¨ and reading "Into the Void" paid dividends. With no balance, I spoke to Mike about focusing on an object in the distance, walking towards the goal and the finding of another. At the start the progress was painful, only able to make a distance of 10 metres before again collapsing. The frustration must have been enormous, as he knew the stakes and his head knew what he had to do.
Progress improved as the altitude lowered, up to 20 metres then 30 metres before collapse. It then became to much and an alternative was needed. That alternative would be to slide him down on his back. The one advantage we had was that we were going downhill. For the next couple of hours a combination of walking and sliding happened. Only one major incident where when being slid, Mike fell of the side of the path. Covered in snow it took three people to drag him back up.5 hours later we arrived back into Camp Collaria. Mike was able to walk again. The last of our group would not arrive for two more hours again on the end of rope. Despite this I still had energy and asked the guides if I could walk a further 4 hours to go and be with Elle. Unfortunately I could not.
As hard as the summit day was to be, it did not feel as hard as the previous day. Elle had been sick over the last couple of days but had been still climbing strong. The group mainly tall guys were faster, but Elle as always managed to keep going reaching camp after camp with a slow but steady pace. The hike from Camp Nido to Camp Collaria would be the last before the summit. It would take us from 5400m where we had just slept to 6000m. This is where we would sleep before the summit attempt and is higher than Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
Again it had been another hard day, as all days are in this altitude. Elle had really been feeling the height and had a bad headache and nausea. 20 minutes before we would reach Collaria, Elle was sick, vomited and then vomited again. Despite being so close, a guide, Essay, would radio ahead and tell Elle to go down. One minute of assessment, following 12 days of work and she would be sent down.
This would be a major dilemma and Elle and I would emotionally discuss this knowing what each alternative meant. However the real decision was Elle's, only she knew how she felt and only she knew whether she could continue or needed to go down. In the end she decided to go down.
Doing this did not mark the end of the day, if she had of continued it would have meant 20 minutes of walking, going down meant 5 to 6 hours on top of already being exhausted. As understanding of the challenge in front of her she was also gracious enough to allow me to continue, a decision that would weigh on me later that night.
The instant she left and arrived to camp the gravity of the decision hit home. Even with 13 other people round, when I was put into a tent with 2 other people I felt the most alone I could remember. At 6000m without the person who I worked with to reach here it seemed so empty. Worried about Elle, I asked if I could go down, I told them I did not want to continue, but unless I was sick I could not go down due to the resources the group would lose if i did this.
That night was tough, as my allocated sleeping spot was obscured by a rock, a rock that would puncture my sleeping map that night. The temperature so cold that in the tent all the moisture froze to give the effect of snow in the tent as we slept, small flakes would be blown off the inside roof tent and land on your face.
Elle faired worse, altitude sickness all the way down the long journey to base camp and she fought to secure herself a tent and food once at base camp as she was now no longer the member of any group. Still the decision turned out to be the correct one.
17th January 2010 (Return to Base Camp):
Following a night of rest at Camp Collara, deflated mattress and all, on the 17th the battle weary group returned to base camp. This was incredibly exciting for many as they were able to rondavieu with those that they had been separated from. For me it was particularly special to see Elle. Arriving down to find her asleep in the tent, it was a happy jolt to all my senses. The next few days would be a reflection on the incredible journey we had just undergone. Our final day took a 35km trek back to Porta De Inca, this distance now considered "an easy day" as there was less altitude to contend with. Descending back down we took a picture of a patch of grass which was the first life we had seen in 10 days, then jumped for joy at the sight of a car park. Colours were brighter, food was unbelievable, it was an incredible experience to be back to "normal" life. A climb that both Elle and i will never forget, we learnt so much and as hard as it sounds, we had so much fun and now feel so good!!
We are off to Buenos Aries for food and wine! Both of which we will enjoy so much more!!
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