Rock climbing guide course

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Jan 15 first day our course

I organized my bags early this morning.  I was told to leave some stuff behind so put it in my board bag. I then headed over to the other hostel where they were going to pick us up at 10:15 ish and were brought our bags over to the hotel the guides were staying at and put them in their storage. After that was all sorted we were on our way. We had a bout a 3 or so hour drive before we got to our location. We had to stop and transfer people and some bags in a separate car because the minivan we were in was to low and wouldn't make the last stretch on the bumpy dirt road. We also had to get checked in at boarder patrol because we are so close to the Chilean boarder, apparently some chileans try and climb over the mts to sneak into Argentina. 
We pretty much got dropped off where we were camping so we didn't have to hike in just walk down off the road and find a good spot to set up. The girls Emily and Carey had a tent, mike and John shared one and then it is Jordan, Emerson and myself.  While we were waiting at the boarder patrol Emerson kept talking about riding horses so I nick named him donkey and the name is sticking everyone is calling him that. Haha anyway we set up our tents, made some lunch prochutto and cheese, and then went for a walk up the road to get a good look at some of the mountains and climbing routes around us. The mountains are dizzyingly tall however beautiful. After that we headed back to camp where mike fired us up a traditional asada(BBQ) to kick off our trip. The heavily salted meat was delicious took ages to cook and we didn't eat till 10 but I that's when they eat down here, even later. I was really surprised with the blood sausage it was delicious I have had it before and wasn't a fan but this time it was really pretty good. We had some chorizo as well as a few other cuts of meat. It was a very solid way to kick off the trip. The wind really aas kicking once the sun went down i had my little puffy on a fleeze and a long sleeve shirt it was pretty cold, i was wishing i  brought my long john pants just hope its not cold during the day. Anyway after dinner we all nicked off to bed. 

Jan 16 Day 2 

So today we had a relatively late start John didn't come around to "wake" us until 9 or so. I didn't sleep well because my nose kept swelling shut. I think I have a problem when there's not enough humidity my nose really doesn't like it.  Anyway John came around and told us there was hot water on for hot drinks so we all got up and had some tea or hot chocolate. Then the girls made keanwa which is pretty similar to cuscos. The kids that were on the trip before kept saying how bad it was but with the tiny bit of dried fruit we had i didn't think it was too bad. After we packed up the left overs and scrapped clean the dishes. We packed up some day bags and headed up the slope to the faces of the rocks. I forgot to add there are streams on either side of us we we have fresh water to drink and we dont even have to filter it apparently but were not really supposed to wash in it because it is the towns water supply that is below us, well apparently it's ok to wash in the bigger one below. I was surprised when I asked John how to clean the dishes he said to scrap scraps into the garbage bag and use a tiny bit of soap and water and wash it in the garage bag. Because food scraps leads to bacteria during the decay and that could contaminate the water. Sorry to get back on track we had to hike up for half hour of so of very loose dusty granite rock crumbles apparently we hiked up about 1000ft. I should also note we are not the only people here there are alot of camp sites around us and where alot on the rocks. Apparently there's a local Argentin company that dose a continuos 10 day climbing course I guess most of summer. John and mike set up some top rope routes for us to climb. Top rope is when the rope is anchored in the rock at the top of a section or pitch. Lead climbing is what John had to do in order to get the rope up there, which is where you clip the rope in to anchor points along the way. So anyway they set up 2 routes and we all took turns climbing and belaying them. Then they set up 2 more then we ate lunch and moved around the corner of the wall and did 2 more. Most of the climbs were 4s and 5s on the french scale which equates to 5.8s and 9s I think. They all seemed quite easy for me and apparently I was the fastest going up except for Carey maybe. The only one i thought was hard and I fell off twice I think was the last one and that was a 5a or 5.10 plus I believe. The 4,5,6,7 ect method of rating is french the 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9 ect is the us rating method, which actually starts at 1 but one is pretty flat then 2 is up 3 is putting s hand down every now then 4 is both hands down every now and the. 5 is both hands down most of the time and is more vertical, that's not exact but you get the idea. Anyway after the last climb we headed back to camp where we cooked up some stir fry that consisted of onions cabbage a carrot 3 pieces of sausage split between all of us and the keanwaa stuff, apparently we were supposed to have rice but John didn't like the 15 mins rice the girls bought and he wanted to get quicker cooking stuff but I guess forgot. Ironically  the keanwaa stuff took at least 30 mins to cook, even though there wasn't much meat or much too it, it was pretty decent the stir fry sauce is the same stuff that I have used before, super high in sodium. After dinner a most peole headed to bed I stayed up to have a hot drink with John Carey and Mike. We just sat and chatted a tiny bit before we nicked off too. 
I should also note that I am dirtier and smellier than I have ever been in my life I think. Also note that we haven't had much lessons or learning yet. Although it was cool to just get on the rocks the first day I hope well learn some stuff. I like everyone in the group as well except Carey she has to one up everyones stories and try and explain everything I want to learn from the guides not her. 

Jan 17 day 3

Well I slept much better last night I took a bunch of musinex before I went to sleep. I was pretty fine all day but of course was getting stuffy by the time I was going to sleep but one of my nostrils opened enough for me to breath. It's really annoying and I really should see a dr and see what/ why it happens and if there's anything I can do about it. 
Anyway today we made burritos for breaky. They were pretty awesome the basil we have is so fresh and good. It took ages to grill up the potatoes though. After breaky it took a while till we got marching up this hill to the deck not sure why but it was almost 12. Once we got up and situated John went over the different types of safety placement gear. From the old petons, basically nails, to nuts, which are blocks of aluminum, to hexagons, to the newest cams which are spring loaded half circles things.  So he told us all about them how and where to use them. Then we all took a bunch and starts placing them in cracks around us on the deck/ ground level. There very hard to fit properly I managed to get the cams down because there pretty easy but the nuts are weird like a jigsaw puzzle.
 John and mike set up a crack climb that I really liked it was more pumpy( meaning more strength rather than technical maneuvers. Then we had some lunch left over ham with tuna and chimichuri, it was pretty decent. We practice more gear placement as mike set up another route for us. This one was a 6 which is a 5.10b pretty solid I'd say harder than I thought I could do. This one was more technical than brut strength more mental so it's a different type of climbing. I manged fairly well I think though. Donkey did it after me he managed pretty well just one small fall but when he got to the top out he realized he didn't tie in properly and freaked out about it. When he got to the deck we checked him out he had only put the rope through one of the 2 hard points something I should have caught as the belayer checking him before his climb. Not the worse thing in the world but it really scared him. 
Everyone else attempts the climb but only Carey could do it. After that climb we headed down to came to cook up dinner. We made some decent pizzas with garlic onions tomatoes fresh basil. It was really good a bitch to cook though basically frying the pizza on a tiny camp stove but we managed. After dinner donkey and I were quized on a climbing intro, we had to explains how someone would teach and intro to a climb. We did pretty well. After that John delegated myself and Carey to be leaders tomorrow so we are in charge  of getting this going breaky and packing lunch as well as sorting gear and getting everyone up. 


Jan 18 day 4
Today Carey and I were in charge so we got up around 7:15 and got things rolling. We had a quick cold cereal breaky and were on the move by 8:45 earliest start yet. Today we hiked up to one of tue classic routes Patricia a 6a or 5.10b. It was a jaming type of crack although I did it mostly layback. Jaming is when you stuff you hand in the crack and play with the shape of you hand to make you hand stick you also put your feet insideways then twist your leg up right and jam it in. I did more lay back style where you grab the crack with you hands and then put you feet close to your hands but your opposing so your feet are pushing and your hands are pulling. Anyway the first attempt was decent I think I fell twice it was a hard and technical climb. Then second time I managed it ok jordan was belaying me and was sort of heavy belaying meaning he was kind of pulling me up taking a few pounds off, so I was happy but could have been better. During the day we practiced placing gear and John taught us how to make and use anchors. After that we headed down to camp and went over knot tying. Then we made a pretty solid pesto pasta with tuna, during dinner Jordan and I were quoting dumb and dumber and chris Farley sketches. It was hilarious, he quoted half of Monty python too. After dinner we nicked off to bed. 

Jan 19 day 5
Today we had pancakes and bacon for breaky. It was pretty solid. Then we did our normal 30-45 min hike up and did a few climbs. I honestly can't remember them all I think we did 4 total today though 2 in one place and 2 on another wall. We got a food delivery last night so we had meet for an asado so we had to collect some wood for it. We hiked down early and started the fire to cook up the meats. Dinner was awesome tons of meets delicious but man it takes ages to slow cook on coals which is how they do it down here. I would have just thrown them on the flames and grilled them super quick but that's not how they do it here. It was a full moon tonight so I got few sick night photos. We were worried about rain but only got a sprinkling when we were already in our tents. 

Jan 20 day 6
Well guess what today we woke up ate climbed ate and climbed again then came down ate and went to bed. HAha jordan and I were joking about that cause I couldnt remember the days properly. But today Jordan and I were leaders so we organized the hot water for drinks and oatmeal, we also packed our lunch pbnj a solid favorite. So we did our hike did a couple of climbs none of them have been to difficult though well for me and Carey. We both have only fallen off that one I managed to "send it"(not fall) the second time but I think Carey got knocked off donkey has been pretty close with us falls off but usually makes the end except for that one Jordan and Emily have taken the most falls and not made a number of routes but Jordan doesn't even have climbing shoes. Jordan is hilarious we just crack jokes all the tine while climbing while making pbnjs. It's been good time with him. We did a few climbs before lunch the new mocked leaded a route after lunch. Leading is when you clip into anchors as you go we have been doing top rope where the rope is already anchored at the top so if you come off the rock you don't really fall at all. So we had a top rope on and practiced clipping in the lead rope as we went it was pretty fun and a heck of lot harder. After that we went over to a rock face to learn how to repel, which is basically like belaying but your lowering yourself and you use "both" ropes and just lean back and walk down. It was pretty sketchy apparently it is the most dangerous part of climbing, mike doesnt like doing it at all and he is a serious climber/guide. Anyway we practiced a bit then headed down to make dinner Jordan and I made some red pasta with mozzarella it was pretty solid John and mike didn't come down right away we actually pretty much finished eating by the time they got down they stopped off and climbed a route with some other american girls that we met climbing earlier. They really wanted to climb the route the girls were trying to do and I think they managed to do it. Anyway after dinner I think we just hung out a bit and nicked off to bed. 

Jan 21 day 7 
Today we woke up had some cold cereal and headed back up to the place we did our first day at. The guys set up one route for us to mock lead again and then John took up donkey and Carey up a multi pitch climb I think they did 5 pitches. He can only take 2 at a time so we practiced mock leading 2 routes and had lunch until they finally came back down it must have taken them a couple of hours. Unfortunately it started to thunder and look pretty nasty out so we didn't get to do the multi pitch today. Jordan and I did scramble up another route while the others were eating lunch but then they weather seemed go get even worse so we had to pack up and haul down. We got down in the neck of time and took shelter in our tents it rained and had some tiny hail for about 30 mins or so. Then we spent the rest of the avo just hanging out and shooting the shot until mikes friends showed up with the asado. I did learn how to tie a monkeys fist though. The asado was awesome we made a pretty solid salad and had tons of meats sausage and even a chicken. It was amazing Jordan and I houses so much meat and even devoured heaps of fat and grizzle. We finished it off around 12:30 it was a great end to a weird day. I tasted the wine the brought and I was actually pretty good it was really nice and smooth and I usually hate wine. 

Jan 22 day 8
So we had a bit of left over meat to cook up so we fired up the fire again since the stoves needed some cleaning. Emily cooked up the keanwa so we that with some dried fruits cold oatmeal and cereal mixed in it wasn't too bad. John decided we hang around and do some lessons and learn rescues and see how we feel for the avo might hike up might not. I hope not my toes are killing me I have blisters on my pinky toes right one is not to bad but left one is really sore. The knuckle is sore I dint know if that's because my shoes or maybe infected hopefully its just from my shoes. 
So anyway today we did end up just having s chill day. We each taught lessons I talked about safety talks Emily talked about risk management donkey talked about leave no trace Jordan talked about weather and Carey talked about how to teach. It was pretty neat fun. Then John taught us a few more knots in particular the parsec knot which you can use as a way to climb rope or a safety break.  Then we went over the mmo munter hitch mule tie off slabs overhand safety then we learned the pmmo persec mmo. Which put to use when lowering someone in an emergency situation. So far we have learned 2 ways to lower some one past a knot in your rope smoothly and with out unclipping apparently there is one more way that's the easier but the first 2 have been very interesting how to transfer the load back and forth smoothly with out and sudden drops or anything. Today we had some top ramen and tomato onion and cheese qusidillas for lunch then had burritos for dinner. All off the meals have been very good I'm impressed. Well only 3 more days of climbing left then back to mendoza to shower. Mike offered his place up to lemans maybe we could go climbing when we get back that would be pretty sick to hang and climb with him for a few days down in bardlioche and then hop over to chile. Be apparently has a good surf guide for chile I can look at too.  I'm pretty pumped mike is an awesome guy. 

Jan 23 day 9 
So today Jordan made pancakes for breaky then we headed up to the rock face. People seemed pretty edgy for some reason. When we got up to the face John and mike talked a while I guess debating on what to do. Then we had to make some draws to use as protection for the climb, finally John took Jordan and Emily up for their multi pitch. Jordan and I wanted to go together but John thought I should go alone since I'm a bit better. So mike took us around to another climb a 6a+ called sueno vaginius you can guess the meaning. It was a fought climb mike took amlong time to lead climb it then donkey went and he got spit off a number of times. Then I did it I managed to send it although it was super tough and pumpy, carey also made it it was interesting we all climbed it different ways. We had to wait a long time before John Jordan and emily came back, and unfortunately it started drizzling and raining a bit so we wacked on our rain gear and took little shelter under the rocks. Finally the others showed up and we had our lunch left over pancakes and basically ordourves of cheese bread s d salami. After lunch Jordan and Emily tried our tough route Jordan managed to scramble up it I had to hoist him a little along the way. He'd be much better of he had climbing shoes, Emily gave up at the hard start. John was going to take down the route but I asked if could mock lead it he was fine with that so Carey, donkey and I all mocked it. Carey and I I had to take a rope rest during he hard point but eventually finished it out. Donkey gave it a solid effort but couldn't manage to finish it. Then John took the ripe down and we headed back to camp where the others had started dinner. Jordan had put to much water in the pizza dough so we had to make pizza pancakes but they weren't too bad, just took ages. After dinner we cleaned up and had a couple of lessons about crag etiquette and crag access, which lead into some good talks. After that we all nicked off to bed. 

Jan 24 day 10
I was leader today and Carey was coleader. I got up and sorted out breaky and lunch and got the water started for hot drinks and oatmeal. Then it was off for our crappy hike up. The hike seems to get worse every day I would have thought we would have gotten use to it by now but not really. 
Today was my chance to do the military pitch climb not a cloud in the sky I was super pumped. We did 5 pitches for a total of around around 110 meters so around 360 feet and like clock work from the past few days it started to sock in and get sketchy. On the last pitch it started raining a bit and we heard some of the loudest thunder I have ever heard. Luckily it was just me and John climbing so we were moving pretty quick. I clambered up the last pitch of wet slippery rock. It was scary and intense I felt like bear grylls. Haha once we both were up to the anchor point we anchored off and set up the rappel. The first pitch was longer then our 30 meter rope so we had to tie off at a sport bolt, which was pretty sketch cause you never want to be on just one bolt especially 2 people, luckily we only had to rappel down another 10 feet or so the a big ledge. The next 4 pitches went well and smooth. We got to the deck/ground wrapped up our gear then headed over tongue others. We had some peanutbuttet and chocolate sandwiches. The guys didnt like the look of the weather so we headed down and did some lessons. I went over climbing history, Jordan went over climbing lingo and Emily did types of climbing. After our lessons we made dinner white/red sauce pasta it was pretty decent. After dinner we learned how to rappel with a victim using a super 8 knot. John also quickly taught me how to escape a belay and lock it off before we nicked off to bed. 

Jan 25 day 11
Donkey and Emily were leaders today they made some weird pasta for breaky it was pretty crappy. After breaky we walked for about and hour or so until a small boulde field so we could do a little bouldering. The walk was beautiful we past the old refugio and the surrounding mts are gorgeous. So we did some bouldering but there wasnt a whole lot to choose from a couple fun ones though. My shoulders are killing me though I think I agitated my rotator cuff the ofer day between that hard climb and then hand over hand climbing up the rope. Anyway we came back to camp to it being ransacked by the cows the trash was all over the place the pots and pans were tipped over and licked clean and full of dirt and to top of off one of them left a nice present onto of our dramadary,drinking water bladder. It was gross. We cleaned up everything and started lunch, bean burritos.  On the hike back to camp I began to ponder what to do for the rest of my life. Do I continue to travel and be some sort of guide, could I do that for the rest of my life or just a few years. Or do I take the low safety route of going back to school and being a phys Ed teacher or history teacher and maybe try and start an outdoor club or something, maybe try and work for a university in their study abroad department. Who knows.  I've said it before there are days where I want my own family or at least be near my family and live a "normal" life and there are days especially when I roll up to amplace that has an awesome vibe good surf and food and say wow this is why I do what I do. Well the struggle continues. Any ideas? 
Like click work the weather kicked up surfing lunch but unfortunately it did t back off much today like it did in days past. So after lunch we learned how to clean an anchor for repelling or setting up a top rope. Then mike gave me a little test on how to equalize 3 bolt anchors with minimal gear. It was interesting we all had different ways of doing it, all were relatively acceptably non really better than another. Well unfortunately the weather was still not cooperating so we didn't get to go back up and climb. We hung out and chatted a bit. I set up my solo tent because I was tired of donkey sleeping on my in the night and Jordan seems to be getting s cold and I don't want to catch it. We had chopped up left over potatoes for an app. then had mac tuna for dinner. After dinner we just hung around the camp site, I took some beautiful pics of the coulds and lighting and John made a fire we hung around. We have a early day tomorrow so we all nicked off pretty early plus it looked like it was going to dump on us. 

Jan 26 day 12 
So Jordan and I were in charge today. We got the water fired up by 7:15 we ate and packed up. Then walked down to the "immigration" office and checked out and made the 3 hour drive backto Mendoza. On the way we stopped at a vineyard and had a taste of wine mainly because he guys wanted to get some. When we got to town we picked up our gear form the guides hotel then got dropped at our respective hostels. I immediately took a very long shower and shave, it felt amazing. After that I went to subway to eat lunch then the grocery store to get some grub for the next few days. Then I spent the rest of the day catching up on emails and FB. The group is meeting up for our last dinner together tonight. 

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