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Published: July 13th 2006
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Chimborazo
The Refúgio at 5000m Cast of climbers Tim (migo)
Olo (Sueco)
Jonny y Nick (Ingléses)
Los guias Pato, Iván y Marco (Nacionales)
Not to beat around the bush, prevaricate or in any
other way find a way to avoid getting to the point of
the message, such that it is, as to do so would serve
no particular purpose other than perhaps infuriate the
reader, we enjoyed success on Chimborazo in a
Hinkesian manner (c.f. Alan Hinkes, British
mountaineer extraordinaire). That is to say that we
gave it our best shot and we got back safely. The mere
matter that we only gained 5400m and not the fabled
6310m is, of course, a bit of a disappointment.
Unfortunately a combination of factors rallied against
us, most importantly the fact that the superficially
perfect conditions (no wind, clear sky) belied
(belay?) the underlying danger of the temperature.
Despite being at over 5000m, the mercury stuck at
around 4 deg (or about 40deg in old money). This meant
that the glaciers were melting even as we were
climbing - not the best conditions.
The first part of the cilmb was actually very easy (compared with ´Paxi),
being on rock and gravel. However, it
Chimborazo up close
We made it to the ridge (about 5400m) on the left before having to turn back soon became apparent that
something was amiss when we got to the first ice field
and the guides went off by themselves and started
talking in raised voices in a tone that did not
inspire confidence, that and the too frequent mention
of "peligro" (danger) or one of its derivatives.
So Pato, Marco and Iván set a rope line up on the ice that
we clipped into. It felt a lot safer than moving in
pairs - I would not have liked to have front-pointed
it. (I should note at this point that Olo stayed in
bed throughout this as his sore throat had been
aggravated and he felt too heavy to climb).
We made it up to the ridge (3 and a half hours after leaving the hut - far too long) and that was our high point. Another guide with an American guy had already turned around at this point muttering "I don´t like this mountain, it´s too bloody dangerous." The poor American guy later dislocated his shoulder and was moaning pitifully all the way down. We could also see, from the light of headtorches across the mountain, that the group of Spaniards who attempted the
Dinner at the refúgio
Me, Manuel, Nick and Jonny Whymper route also turned around.
I felt absolutely muy bien on the ridge - none of the problems I had on Cotopaxi were apparent so it was a shame we had to turn back; if conditions had been otherwise we really could have made it - the route above looked OK.
On descent, Iván was very persistent that we
should move "mas fuerte", por favor. I.e. get a bloody
move on before the whole mountain falls down around
us.
(To regress to last night...) So, back in Quito and the promise of a "celebration dinner" awaits. Jonny et al are determined to get
their USD15 worth out of Morgan (the owner-manager of Moggely climbing). He suggested (as I thought he might) the USD5 all you can eat at Mongols, the tight so-and-so. (A bit of background - the Hostal Valhalla in Cotopaxi that was our base was nice but anything above and beyond basic meals were charged at extortionate rates e.g. 30c for each extra slice of toast for breakfast, for which you could buy a whole loaf of bread, and a dollar´s worth of fruit salad was $3.50; a cup of tea 50c and an extra
Tim in fine form
Looking and feeling good on the hill 25c should you dare want milk. Don´t like the desert and want a banana instead? That´ll be extra. The rules were enforced with an iron fist by Maria, an otherwise nice and friendly Ecuadorian mujer. Still, I owe Maria some thanks for finding my missing glove, meaning that I didn´t have to face the wrath of Morgan and who knows how much for a replacement.
The DVD player in the hostal didn´t have a remote and this caused several problems as the clever guys who made the player didn´t think to put any controls other than play and stop on the machine. This, coupled with the eccentricities of "DVD"´s purchased in Ecuador made for some interesting viewing. Out of five "DVD"´s purchased, all failed in some way or another. On our last night, Ola's choice of DVDs did not improve - never ever rent Silent Hill (which was improved by being 20 minutes shorter than it should have been (20 minutes inexplicably missing near the start) or "When will I be loved" (improved by just pressing stop after 20 mins). The Britney Spears video compilation
DVD fell foul of the lack of fwd - back controls and
we were
Ice
Some (not so) nice ice limited to three musical treats.
Back to today, last night was good fun, though the clubs close at 3am just as we were getting into the swing of things. I´ve got to go and pack now for the coast, find my credit card to buy the plane ticket to the Galápagos (leaving in a week!) and sort other stuff out. Overnight bus tonight. Should probably ring and reserve a seat.
Right - off to Almuerzo now.
Con Hambré,
Tim xx
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