Xmas Greetings Howdie Dudes, them is some big pieces of ice, did you see any penguins or yeti's? I hope you get the memory stick sorted out, we all want to see the new year celebration pictures. Ng - Mr NiceGuy
Happy Christmas Guys A Christmas Day message for you from the snowiest part of Lancashire (probably). I think you guys were planning on being in Uruguay by now, so I hope you've managed to get over your tummy trouble and enjoy a Christmas Banquet. I hear that all the cool kids tuck into pan dulce and head to the beach for barbecue and picnic. Hope you're havin fun
Happy Christmas guys Guys, a Christmas Day message for you! Hope your tummies are fully recovered for a proper Christmas banquet. I think you were planning on being in Uruguay by now, so look out for the pan dulces, they sound nice. And everyone should be on the beach. Hope the weather's nice!
Pictures Where are all the pictures dudes? Sarah I have got to see a picture of you in the jungle. Glad you both are having such a fantastic time. Eileen
Huayna is not a breeze Guys,
I recently found this excellent travel blog. I am temporarily stuck in a training program to become an Anesthesiologist so I cannot currently travel at will but I aim to again....I wish this had existed when I was traveling around!
Back in the summer of 1995 when I was traveling alone in Bolivia (I am one of the few weirdo's from the states who did) I met up with 3 Israeli's and a Brit who were itching to climb something big. Me too. We paid the group fee to get equipment and 2 Spanish speaking only guides to get some gear and direction (my advice is bring your own gear, especially if you're a tall dude like me; my sleeping bag sucked and was too small).
All went well at first...We climbed a vertical ice wall for practice after reaching our 1st base camp (terribly freaking hard work!). One of the Israeli's in our company who was named Ayal got his hand lightly wounded that day by stepping on it with his own crampons.
The next day we climbed to the 2nd base camp at 5500m and pitched some tents. After foolishly frolicking around in the snow with the others a bit, me and the British dude pitched our tent and took some much needed rest...Around 16:30 Ayal came by our tent asking for a lighter to extinguish his toilet paper (he was very environmentally conscious). An hour and a half later, it was time to boil some tea and dinner. We called for Ayal for about an hour and finally concluded he had fallen into a glacial crevasse, which was somewhat hidden but not 30m from our camp.
We spent the night trying to bring him up (it was >40m deep and he was stuck on ice overhangs).
That night was one of the most unforgettable in my life as I prayed we could possibly get him up still alive (there was not even a chance, he was no doubt dead upon impact).
The next morning, with additional help we got him up, frozen, blue and dead.
We did not reach the summit that day. We spent the cold morning in silence and bringing him down the mountain. The 2 other Israeli's got in touch with his family. That evening me and my new British friend angrily bargained in La Paz for a hostel room (I'm not sure if they truly understood our tragedy despite my best Spanish).
I ended up getting into medical school, having some other later adventures (I joined the military and unexpectedly found myself in Iraq during the start of our ill conceived war)...but the point of this story is that we felt the shit got kicked out of us.
Huayna Potosi is not a benign peak. I later heard of 5 Chilean climbers who went down at once a couple of years before. We were all pretty inexperienced climbers, but Ayal had more experience than any of us and he still made a mistake.
To everyone else who climbs these Bolivian Andes, be a little bit careful.
Best regards and continued adventures,
Rob
robdolan@yahoo.com
you lucky b's!!!! ciao pete, ciao sarah,
this is johnny, hailin' forom italy as usual... you're around the world while it's friday night and I'm tapin' on dis k-bor, is that fair?!?
saq gave me the url to your blogger so I just had to peep, now I'll get some serious reading and then I'll write you a proper mail.
you left without sending me your mail, you beeeep.
lots of love,
johnny
More words please Whilst the pictures are amazing, and a picture may well say more than a thousand words. I would like more words in your diary please. I'm not a child and picture books lost their appeal some time ago.
Keep it comin.. Come on boys and girls, keep the blogs coming. We're gettin bored at work, esp on a Friday. Need something to occupy the brain.
PS You can buy me a pint (of coke) when you get back
Saq.
Animal Planet - the Pete and Sarah special Being the only waster you know with time on my hands at work I recon I am the first person to get all the way through the message. Sounds like your having a blast. Its great to here your enjoying yourselves, and all of us will be experts on obscure animals by the time of your return. Keep the updates coming.
Boobies I also love boobies and think Peter should definitely get a t-shirt proclaiming his love.
Here is some information I have garnered for you about boobies:
There are three kinds of booby. Despite obvious colour differences, boobies are very similar in shape.The origin of the name booby is less clear, probably derived from Spanish "bobo", or clown, in reference to their habit of landing on ships at sea and being easily approached - and killed - by sailors.
Well I wonder if anyone ever notices these comments. But we're changing it again, because we both now have jobs. Both of us. And we're starting in ten days' time, and moving into our beautiful flat in beautiful Saltaire, near Leeds.
More will be posted in due course, to round up our post-life changing experience, and round off the Travelblog.... full info
anonymous
non-member comment
Xmas Greetings
Howdie Dudes, them is some big pieces of ice, did you see any penguins or yeti's? I hope you get the memory stick sorted out, we all want to see the new year celebration pictures. Ng - Mr NiceGuy