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Published: February 22nd 2010
Aconcagua Tales - Feb 2010
The climbing season for Aconcagua is short. The only potential window to reach the top of this mountain is between the months of December and February. During this time the snows retreat, the winds subside a little, the temperatures at the summit become bearable, and visibility during night and day are clear. Though the sun may scorch down from a cloudless dark blue sky, the high UV in the thin air requiring full protective sunglasses, this is the brief space when mountain climbers from across the world make their way to Mendoza in Argentina to make their attempt on scaling the summit.
I was fortunate to be part of an entirely international expedition. As I read the correspondence sent to me in the Mendoza internet cafe, I realised that no two people came from or lived in the same country. They represented three continents. There were at least five different languages spoken.
Once I had the chance to meet the expedition members, I discovered too that they all had very different experiences of climbing, and different ambitions within the sport. Despite the cutural differences, everyone had at least one other person to converse with in their native language, any the majority of people could talk to at least half the others in the group.
I learnt more about the people on the expedition as we travelled on our way towards the summit: through conversation, but also through the situations and conflicts which arose during that time. This account sets out both the factual infomation obtained, but also the hints and glimpses into character revealed during the time we spent together.
The expedition leader was Juan. He had guided on Aconcagua for 16 years, making 10 summit ascents by the trekking routes and 2 by the more technical ice climbing routes up the Polish glacier. He had a wife and 4 children in Mendoza. While not working on the mountain, he was employed in a corporate travel agency office.
He stated that this was an open expedition, meaning that it was everyone´s responsibility to keep up with the pace set by the guides. This was no issue for the faster walkers, but many others in the group felt that little allowance was made for the fact that they too could make the summit with a little more time. Juan accepted some changes to expedition timings if all were in agreement, but was rigid about the demands for summit day.
Although not fully medically qualified he acted swiftly and decisively to ensure that Claudio could be quickly and efficiently flown off the mountain when he became incapacitated by a bad back. Despite queries from the group about the ongoing welfare of this person, however, no further informaton wa obtained.
When some of the party were affected by altitude sickness, Juan did not take direct action himself to remedy this. On one occasion the diagnosis and treatment was left to an expedition member who was a doctor; while on another occasion, he judged that extreme drowsiness and exhaustion did not warrant the immediate descent of the afflicted party, but could wait 24 hours until the remainder of the group had returned from the summit.
However, on the final day, Carlos badly twisted his ankle on the descent, and Juan made it his whole duty to walk the 38 km down the mountain with that one person on their own to ensure their personal safety.
Juan´s determined leadership earned him the respect of all in the group - though this was streteched to breaking point on summit day when 3 people were turned around only 500m from the top. Never one to avoid conflict or responsibility he came to the meal tent to defend his decision on safety grounds. The arguments from all sides were passionate and vigorous - but more than one person said that he had tears in his eyes as he regretted the way that the situation had developed.
After being turned back before the summit, Tatko refused to remain in Camp 2 as instructed, but returned to Base Camp instead, some 1600m lower down the mountain. By the terms of the expedition contract, Juan could have thrown him from the expedition after this, denying him tents and food - but chose not to exercise this right.
Juan was assisted on the mountain by two other guides: Vico and Nacho. These were much younger men than him, and less experienced on the mountains. They both alternated guiding work with study at university. Often they gave the impression that they just enjoyed being out walking in the mountains rather than providing any kind of added customer service.
Nacho was an excellent rock scrambler and invited Zac, one of the more experienced mountaineers in the group, to go climbing with him on rest days. Though looking like a casual and relaxed character in his burberry sunhat, it was irritating that he would never give a straight answer to a question - often returning it with a facetious remark that left a serious point unresolved. He turned viciously on Catalina on the last day of the expedition accusing her of lying and believing lies in a dispute over pay for one of the mule handlers.
Vico was a fast walker and would always stride out fast when given the opportunity to lead the group. Though neither of these men were as respected as Juan by the more discontented elements of the expedition. Catalina did not like him because he was always passing disparaging and unmotivating comments to her about proceeding too slowly up the mountain. He lost control of the group entirely on the long walk down from the mountain: one person continued to walk several hundred yards of him at all times, no longer wishing to speak to him - while two others remained way at the back taking photos and video footage.
Apart from the guides, there were 10 people on the expedition to make the climb to the summit. Of these only 4 made the final ascent.
One of these was a Russian called Alex. He had done a large amount of walking in Russia, and had already made an ascent of Elberus. He was now in his 50s, but had previously been a soldier in the Red Army. As part of his training there, he had told to use the minimum amount of water when walking or marching as it weakened the body. Consequently, while others drank up to 5 litres of water a day to keep hydrated and fend off the effects of altitude sickness, he would only occasionally swill a little water around his mouth to fend of the dryness caused by the arid, rocky climate and persistent mountain wind. He probably drank less than a litre a day - and seemed to suffer no ill effects as a result.
Alex staked his claim to hardiness early. On the first day at Puente del Inca, there was no hot water in the showers. Even though his English was limited, Alex managed to say "I do not need hot water to shower" before jumping in to the icy waters. He was also the only one of the river crossings to show no visible feelings of cold, when required to wade waist deep through fresh snow melt from the mountains.
Though no longer in the army, he still looked very fit. On the hot days walking up to base camp, he would frequently relax with his shirt off and sunbathe. This pose, taken together with his round face and short, greying hair, gave him a certain resemblance to Vladimir Putin. Though he denied and scoffed both at the resemblance and at any suggestion thathe would want to be associated in any way with the Russian leader.
Apparently, Alex could read English very well - but he spoke very little of the language. He was fortunate therefore to have Yuri on the expedition too - Russian by origin but now living in the United States. Yuri was also in his 50s and an experienced climber. He had spent 21 days on a trip to Denali in Alaska, during which time he had managed to make the more technical ascent to the summit. Yuri also made the summit of Aconcagua, though by the last 2 days of the descent was so exhausted that he was taking short naps during the rest breaks.
Yuri and Alex got on well. Pitched next to their tent in camp, it was possible to hear the pair of them talking and laughing away loudly into the late evening. Yuri was usually suspicious of people who had been in the Red Army but decided Alex was an exception. "Most of them have something wrong in the head, but Alex is alright."
Misko suggested that the two Russians should have taken a flag with them to fly at the top of the mountain. Yuri was sceptical of this idea, replying that "Mr Putin did not contribute to the expedition - therefore I will not fly his flag at the top." Misko also thought that a big celebration might be arranged for them in Red Square - "big parade, lots of tanks". He suggested too that the Russians had an unfair advantage in reaching the top since they were used to the harsh weather conditions. "It is cold here," he told them; "Like your gulags in Siberia."
Misko himself was from Macedonia. He spoke very little English and spent most of the expedition talking to Tatko in Serbo-Croat. What English he did know was gained from popular music. He therefore made an excellent attempt in expressing himself by quoting song titles. As we walked wearily up the mountain he sang "Give Me Hope Jovanna"; as we moved rocks to build a shelter for the tents he sang "All in All, You´re Just Another Brick in the Wall"; as we returned to Mendoza after the trip he sang "The Green Green Grass of Home"; while when we had to do some difficult river crossings, he would whistle the theme tune to "Bridge on the River Kwai".
Catalina and I decided that it was shame he could not speak more English for he seemed a thoroughly pleasant and humorous person. He still contrived to make jokes despite the limited language ability. As we returned on the last walk back to Mendoza, Misko saw the guide´s ice axe lying on the ground. He picked it up, turned to the two Russians and said "Trotsky; Beria; Mexico City!"
Misko also had a phenomenal memory. He went through all the great Brazilian footplayers with Carlos and gave the names of the post war leaders of France to Agnes. He enjoyed giving people nicknames. Yuri became Yuri Andropov, Claudio became Claudio Cannegia, and Catalina became Miss Aconcagua.
Misko was very serious about his trekking and climbing. He had been to several peaks in Nepal and his trip had been sponsored by his local Rotarian association. He wore several patches on his climbing jacket showing the names of various mountains. He wore an Everest patch, but had not yet climbed it though this was his ultimate goal. He was therefore hugely disappointed when he was unable to progress past Camp 2 on account of high blood pressure at altitude. He accepted his fate with resignation - but since he had a wife and child at home he did not wish to press on regardless risking his own health further.
It was Carlos who performed the health diagnosis on Misko at Camp 2. Carlos was a member of the expedition, but he was a surgeon back in Brazil and therefore offered medical advice whenever it was requested. Misko always referred to him as "my good doctor". This was just as well since the main Aconcagua doctor at base camp appeared incompetent. This doctor attributed a case of facial oedema to lack of suntan lotion, and advised Carlos (who was suffering from a heart condition) to turn off his heart rate monitor since it was inaccurate at altitude. Misko hated this doctor and always referred to him as Doctor Mengele.
Carlos had been an experienced rock climber and mountaineer when he was younger, having previously climbed many of the difficult peaks in Patagonia. Now 30, he wanted to continue to trek up high altitude peaks as far as his heart condition would allow. Although slightly slower than the rest of the group, due to his determination not to allow his heart rate to rise above 130, he always made the day´s trek on time and in a good state of health. Carlos would happily advise others on the best tourist stops in Brazil, and agreed that Zac could come and stay at his house if he needed to while travelling in the country.
He was therefore desperately disappointed to be one of those turned round on summit day. Like Tatko, he understood that this decision was made largely to enable the rest of the group to ascend with the required number of guides. Carlos was a quiet, reserved and soft spoken man and was therefore far less vocal in stating his objections to what had happened, he was nevertheless very upset at what had happened, and also believed that the guides had been lying to him.
Tatko lived with his wife in Toronto, but had originally been born in Serbia. He was tall, well built, with an almost completely shaved head. He was a designer by profession and had manufactured a couple of personal pieces of kit for the trip: a plastic shield to protect his nose from the sun, and a cold-proof box to carry his hand held cam-corder. He was making a video of the whole trip - shooting scenes of people as they walked past, giving small interviews, and even attaching the camera to his trekking poles to take action shots.
He had never climbed to more than 4200m previously, and this had been one of the high passes on the Inca Trail. He was making this video, though, as part of an attempt to gain sponsorship back in Canada for further mountain climbing endeavours. He very much wanted to make the summit of Aconcagua, as this would set him up on his goal of climbing the highest peaks on each of the seven continents (collectively known as the seven summits).
Tatko was a strong climber and adjusted well to the unfamiliar altitudes. He always seemed to be carrying much more weight on his back than the others. He walked steadily but purposefully, and his strength did not seem in doubt. He had been an endurance cyclist when younger, so there was little reason to doubt his determination or resolve either.
I had expected Tatko to reach the summit, so was very surprised to hear him arrive back at Camp 2 on summit day. He was likewise amazed by this occurrence, for the first words I heard him declare were "I should be there on the summit - and instead I am back down here." Tatko was outraged to be sent back, and when I asked him whether he would tell me what happened he replied that everyone was going to know what happened, the newspapers, the press, and everywhere on the internet.
Summit ascents, particularly those beginning in the darkness of early morning, always seem to be confused affairs. From Tatko´s explanation, the situation had been as follows. Midway between Camp 2 and the summit there was a refugio called Independencia at 6400m. Juan had told the group that they must reach this place by 10am, and that anyone who did not do so by that time would be turned back. The main group had arrived here just after 9am, with Tatko and Carlos just behind at 9:15. Catalina and the guide Nacho were still some way behind.
Despite the fact that the time deadline had been made, Juan judged that Tatko and Carlos were still very fatigued. He told the group that since Nacho would be descending with Catalina, that only left himself and Vico to take the rest of the group to the summit. He thought that Tatko and Carlos were too tired to reach the summit, and that if they continued upwards and then had to turn back, that would require Vico to turn around with them, leaving only one guide to take everyone else to the summit. If they were to turn around now, he argued, they could meet with Nacho and Catalina, allowing the remainder of the group to climb with 2 guides.
Tatko and Carlos had initially agreed to this plan - as neither wanted to be the cause of the whole group failing to reach the top. And so they went down, disappointed, expecting to meet with Catalina and Nacho going down.
Instead, they met with Nacho coming up, who told them that Catalina was already descending on her own and that they should follow her. He would not be descending with them, but would instead watch their descent from Independencia to ensure that they reached the safety of Camp 2 from there.
This is where disappointment turned to anger for Tatko and Carlos. They have only turned back thinking that there might be insufficient guides for the strongest in the group to reach the top. Now there were 3 guides up the mountain for four expedition members - easily enough for people to be turned round higher up if necessary, and still provide plenty of guides to continue with the fittest to the summit.
Tatko was thoroughly enraged by the time he reached Camp 2. He stated that he had no reason to be on the mountain any more and wanted to make his way off it as soon as possible. He had no respect for any of the guides any more, and felt that they had thrown him off the climb for no good reason at all. He immediately packed his bags for base camp where he planned to join Misko. He wanted to load everything on the mules and be off the next day. He no longer wished to look at or speak to the guides, stating that he would probably hit one of them if he met them again.
Tatko was unable to find mules in base camp, and therefore had to walk back to Puente del Inca with the rest of the group. He loitered at the back of the line with Misko, taking photographs and making videos as they wished. Apart from a loud and sustained argument with Juan in base camp he never spoke to the guides again. When not walking slowly at the back, he would be eager to go forward during the breaks, stating that he had no reason to wait around on the mountain any longer than necessary.
While Tatko was arguing at Juan in the base camp tent, Catalina walked out. She returned several minutes later and told him to stop shouting, on the basis that it was very unpleasant to sit eating while someone else was being so threatening. Tatko merely replied that her way was to deal with problems by sulking, and his manner was to deal with problems by shouting.
Catalina was originally from Colombia, but had been widely educated in the United States. She felt very strongly that foreigners in general had an unrealistically negative impression of the country due to its drug related past and the continued terrorist threats of FARC. She was actually from Medellin, the same city in Colombia where the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar continued his operations.
She hated those who thought that the country was unsafe for tourists. She emphasised the fact that it was only the rich Colombians who were targets of FARC, not those from other countries. She also despised those who thought that there was anything wrong with the president Alvaro Uribe seeking help from the Americans to combat drugs and terrorism in the country. She therefore ended up having a loud argument with Agnes, whom she described as ignorant and typical of the European liberal human rights fascists who criticised a country for things that they did not understand.
Catalina also ended the trip having a loud argument with the three guides about the mule handler who had brought her down the mountain from Puente de Lenas. We first heard the raised voices from the mini bus as we waited to go back to Mendoza, for Catalina had been following some way behind the rest of the group which had been walking down. We had rather expected the argument to be about an uncomfortable mule or a smelly mule. Zac gave me a look as if to ask "What´s wrong with the little princess this time?"
In fact there seemed to be quite an ethical basis for the argument. Catalina had paid $50 to be brought down from the last camp back to minibus, and had not unreasonably expected that some of this money should actually go to the mule handler who had accompanied her. While talking to him on the way down she had discovered that he would not receive any money at all, on the basis that he would be going down the mountain anyway. The money would apparently be split between the owner of the mules and the tour guide who had arranged the deal.
She was complaining bitterly to the mule men and the guides about this state of affairs. They replied that the mule man was lying so that she would give him so extra money. The argument ended with her stating that she was happy to pay provided the mule man recieved some money, and them throwing the money back at her saying that they did not want to receive her money.
Catalina continued to argue the point once she returned to the bus. Her arguments were persuasive, particularly since she had trained and worked as a lawyer in the US for several years. The guides dismissed her claims on the basis that she was a spoilt brat. She replied to others in the group "I´m an only child, I´m a girl, and I´m South America. Of course I´m a spoilt brat. But that doesn´t mean I´m not right!"
Catalina had had several arguments with the guides throughout the trip - predominantly on the basis that she was not walking fast enough. She was an experienced trekker and had been to many high peaks in the Himalayas. She therefore knew her own pace on the mountains and wanted to stick to it. She therefore resented the continual goading of the guides, particularly Vico, to make her walk faster and the ongoing disparagement of her abilities to make it to the summit. Although it was not overtly stated, there was very much an Argentinian machismo in all of this which implied that pretty South American girls should not be trying to climb high mountains.
The other woman in the group was Agnes. Originally from France, she now worked in London. When she asked me where I was from in London and replied that I came from Hammersmith, she immediately made an awkward impression of herself by stating "oh, you come from the posh part. I´m from Hackney". She also managed to annoy most of the other members of the group at some stage, none more so than Zac and Catalina, by just behaving in a particularly strange way. They both thought she was very bizarre and eccentric and could not understand how I was able to share a tent with her. I merely replied that lots of people in England were like that so I was used to it. I also found the way in which they were prepared to ostracise someone merely for being a little bit different and not fitting in to the clean cut American norms of behaviour rather distasteful.
Agnes was obsessed by precision, doing everything right, and doing everything immediately. She flew into a rage if anyone pronounced her name wrongly: "It´s ´Ann-yes´, not ´Ag-ness´´". She kept correcting Catalina for pronouncing the word "Schiesse" wrongly in German. She was always very apprehensive unless she knew exactly what was supposed to be happening each day and when. She asked very detailed questions of the guides, and then made a point of going round the camp announcing the news to everyone else to make sure they knew too. She had no watch, but was obsessed by time; so always wanted other people to tell her the time or wake her up early every morning.
She was a whirl of nervous energy, and could not sit still for a moment. On arrival in camp, tents had to be set up immediately. If she thought that something needed doing or sorting out, it had to be done at once. At the end of a walk, she always wanted to walk another 2 or 3 hours more, and frequently did so - either on her own, or enlisting someone else to accompany her.
She also made the journey to the summit - though was almost sent back with a badly swollen face, having suffered severe oedema earlier in the trip too. Though successful on the climb, Agnes did not agreed with the ethics of the seven summits programme, arguing that it encouraged excessive airline travel, as people flew all over the world just to climb a few specific mountains when they could quite easily climb peaks in their own countries.
The other member of the expedition to reach the summit was Zac. He was just out of college and was very much the All American sports hero, having been a football player for a championship winning college team. He had been travelling for several months, and had already climbed to the top of Kilimanjaro in Africa and Elberus in Europe. He wanted to continue with his climbing in Patagonia and also Peru once he had finished the expedition here. He was also a keen motorcyclist and would readily discuss the merits of the Harley Davidsons here owned.
Zac was a very strong member of the group, always walking ahead and never wanting to have any rest days in camp. Even he was flagging by the end of the walk down the mountain, however; lost in the world of his ipod, and walking in sandals due to the blisters on his feet and toes.
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Bob M.
non-member comment
"Bravery beyond the call of duty"
Having read this interesting and detailed blog of your trip I have come to the conclusion that you deserve a medal of heroism for putting up with the multitude of personality's and living with them in tight and confined quarters for the duration of your climb. I know I would not do as well as you listening to others "crap" such as you posted in this piece. Nice job and congrats on the summit !!!