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Published: August 6th 2007
Hello from one day afterwards the most intense two days of our lives...
Huaraz is a town about 7 hours northeast of Lima. The town serves as the main base/hub for the Cordillera Blanca - the highest point in the Peruvian Andes. From our hostel we looked out onto some of the tallest mountains we´ve ever seen. Huge foothills backed by gigantic snow covered rigid peaks were everywhere to be seen and anyone we talked to had just come from either walking in the valleys of these mountains or from the mountains themselves.
We figured, why not. When in Rome, right?
Our first day in the city consisted of walking around and finding out what our options were. Seeing that there were so many mountains, the possibilities were pretty much endless, our one limitation, however, was our lack of experience.
The more popular thing to do in Huaraz is a Santa Cruz trek which takes you through the valleys of two mountains with a high pass of 4900 meters. We looked at that one but thought, while it would be beautiful, the experience would be too similar to what we had already done on the Inca Trail.
There were several other trekking options we were interested in, but unless you have 6 people, the companies wouldn´t take you out and we were too intimidated to go out on our own.
So, we settled on Vallunaraju. Since we couldn´t and didn´t really feel like trekking, we asked "What mountains are there for beginners?" The answer Vallunaraju. A 2 day trek up and down a peak of 5,686 meters. The first day was described as basically walking 4 hours from 4000 - 4800. The next Day we would wake up early (1:00 am) and try and make the summit for 8am and then descend back to camp for breakfast.
So that´s what we signed up for. What worried both of us was the altitude. Since we could see our mountain from our hostel, it was pretty nerve-racking to think that in a couple days we´d be at the very top of one of those giants. The company we signed up with recommended that we acclimatize by doing a one day trip to the Glacier of Pastorury at 5000 meters to go...Ice Climbing! The rational being that if you´re at 5000 meters and can do a physical activity
like ice climbing without keeling over, then you should be relatively okay for the summit of Vallunaraju.
So we went ice climbing.It was very cool. It was something we never thought we´d do but it was pretty neat to scale a glacier using only axes and crampons (and very secure ropes of course). I had a little more trouble breathing than Adina did. I´d climb over a small technical part and then take 5 minutes to catch my breath whereas Adina went up the face of the glacier with relative ease...Though, I did take some clever trick photography shots at the beginning in case she wasn´t able to make it off the ground...but once she did, she was all pro.
So we were both successful at that. After a most uncomfortable car ride home from 5000 meters we had a day and a half to rest before making our attempt at Vallunaraju.
So once we got to the company the morning of the climb we quickly realized that¨"beginner climb" was only a nickname. Our first shock came when we were told we´d be hauling all our stuff and equipment up to the 4800 meter camp. The load
included snow-axes, crampons, gators, snowpants, two jackets, mountain climbing boots (similar to snowboard boots), Harness, tent, mattress, sleeping bags, food and water for the two days, as well as whatever clothes we were planning on bringing but not wearing at the time. So by the time they were packed, our bags were significantly heavier than what we´ve been carrying for our whole summer. The good news was that all we had to take to the summit was the climbing gear, everything else could be left behind at camp.
After one scary car ride to the base of the mountain we set off with our guide Richard for base camp. The first 3 minutes weren´t so bad. After that is was pretty much all crawling straight uphill for 4.5 hours. There were a couple times where I wondered if it was physically possible for my shoulders to just rip off, and a couple times where the weight of Adina´s bag almost brought her down the mountain - the fast way.
We made it to camp just in time for sunset. We set up our tent which seemed to be the smallest of the three tents at the site (there
was another group of two brazillians and their guide attempting the summit too). We changed into all our warmest clothes, but our down jackets on. We ate Dinner and then went to bed. It was all pretty overwhelming. We went to bed at 8 and planned on waking up 5 hours later at 1:00.
Day two:
We woke up at the planned time, and got going for the glacier at around 1:45. Unfortunately the Glacier was still an hour away from base camp. That hour consisted of just about rock climbing the entire time. Equipped with our knapsacks, our mountain climbing boots (which are almost as stiff as ski boots) and our head flashlights we made our way to the Glacier. Some things one might have overheard as we were climbing for that hour were:
"I don´t know if I can do this"
"Richard, how much longer of this do we have?"
"Don´t slip on that ice covered rock"¨
"Watch out for that ice filled lake"
"I don´t think I´ll ever see that snow"
But we did! At around 3:00 we made it to the glacier and in the dark put our harness´on, got our crampons and gators on, and were tied together. Richard in front, Adina in the Middle and me at the end. Richard always had to be uphill "just in case" (wherein he´d motion having to slam his axe in the ice with the rope tied around it).
So pretty much, as soon as you started on the glacier it was all uphill. There were NEVER any flat parts or any relief from the incline. What made things more frustruating was that you thought you could see the peak of a hill and assumed from that peak there might be a flat part for at least a couple of meters. No, when you got to the top of a hill you realized that you just coupldn´t see the rest of the hill from where you were standing. It wasn´t all bad, some hills were gradual but most weren´t. It was cold, it was dark, and we were high.
So we went and we went, breaking every once in a while (5 steps) to confirm whether we had enough inside ourselves to keep going. What was also tough was that our water was quickly freezing, making it harder to open as time went on. I was quick to point out though that this was the first time we got to drink Ice water in our whole time in Peru.
At around 6:30 the sun came up and we could get a better idea of what lied ahead. Adina was struggling, but at this point I was basically walking like an old man using my ice axe as a cane with a hunched back. For 4 hours before that Adina barely knew I was behind her because the rope with which we were attached always had a lot of slack. At 6:30, however, she started to feel it pull and tug on her harness, meaning that I was either stopped or walking much slower. I decided that I had enough but Richard talked us in to half hour longer so we could see the summit approach and then decide what we wanted to do.
We walked half hour more and then say the final 2 hour, 200 meter push to the summit. We decided at that point it would be a good time to take pictures and turn around. Sorry, we didn´t make it. We rationally thought that by the time we made the 2 hour (but 4 hours for us) summit push, got back down from the glacier to camp and then descended from camp to the base of the mountain we would be in really bad shape. It was also dangerous to be out on the glacier in the sun and the heat. So responsibly, 1t 5400 meters, at 7:00 am after walking for 5 hours straight uphill in the snow, we turned around.
We have no regrets though. We had no idea we would even be climbing a mountain this trip, so even to have experienced it made us both really proud. Now we´ll just choose a little more carefully the next time we decide to climb a mountain. I hear Mt. St. Louis has some breathtaking views.
Now, the beach!
*we only made it to 5400 meters
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Gert Kerbel
non-member comment
Whow"Out of breath
Jonathan youhave written up the last experience, breath taking. I almost feel like I climb the mountain . Congradulations. What an experience. I can't wait for you to come home and tell us more. Best wishes. Love Safta