the patagonia trip: Home Sweet Home

Today was beautiful, which was torture, since we weren't in position to climb.  On the other had, it felt great to be on the move again.  We had packed up and headed back to campamento Japonese.  We took the hike at a steady pace and hardly breaked along the way.  How great it was to be back at basecamp!  Finally we were back in position to be productive in the mountains.  Tomorrow will be an alpine start if the weather looks okay at 2am.

the patagonia trip: Founding Fathers

We took another rest day today.  My appetite has returned closer to normal and I have become a little anxious to get going. Dave is still limping and my heel is still tight, but I am confident it will get better soon.  I'm less confident and a little worried about Dave's knee.

It was very nice to speak with Laura his evening, even if it did cost an arm and a leg.

We also had the fortune to see a presentation by Derek Walker, who was part of the first ascent team on the Central Tower.  It was strange that on our first time here we got to meet one of the founders, so to speak, or the park.

 It was Derek's expedition with the great Don Whillans and Chris Bonnington that named many of the peaks here, including El escudo, Fortulessa and El Tridente--the trident, sword and shield of ol' brittanica--which have been keeping us company in Valle Silencio.

What was strange to me that Derek hadn't been back to the park since their team's momentous success.  We were getting to be a part of his homecoming.

the patagonia trip: The Sweetest Recovery

There was no doubt about today being a rest day.  Stripped of my alpine action suit, I was startled to see my skin hanging from my muscle and bone much more loosely than I could remember.  We savored warm meals and tore through pats of butter with bread.  I also shot out a hasty email to everyone at home. I wonder what I wrote, since I didn't read it over in the end and I don't think I'm yet thinking clearly.  (message posted below)

the patagonia trip: Bailure

We woke to find the same wretched conditions that plagued us throughout the night. Our largest problem, we discussed, would be the high winds, which we could hear as a constant jet roar high on the ridge of our route.

In everyday life, wind is but a nuisance. Here, were a characteristically Patagonian gust to hit us as we traversed the ridge over the 2000' drop, it could spell disaster.

"What would you guys do if I wasn't here?" Christian asked.

"We'd wait as long as possible while still leaving enough time to comfortably finish our route today. If the weather was still bad, we would retreat," I suggested.

And with Christian's approval, we went back to bed with the time of our final decision postponed for two hours, until 11am.

I fell back to a wonderful sleep in my soggy carapice and woke to christian calling for action. It was 1030am and we needed to be on the move at 11am.

the patagonia trip: Attempt on Roller Coaster Circuit

Yesterday’s 2am flight for the North Tower had elevated my hopes to irretrievable levels. When the weather disintegrated and made its intent to stay apparent, my mood crashed to meet the gloom of the skies. We practiced with our axes and crampons, built snow anchors and discussed various scenarios, but all I wanted was to crawl back in my sleeping bag and prepare myself for another assault on a mountain objective.

Since the good weather was supposed to occur yesterday and today’s weather was expected to be marginal, we shifted our goal from the committing North Tower to a repeat of Steve Sneider’s “Roller Coaster Circuit” around the South Tower. Last night, in the bleary stupor aftermath of our alpine start and day’s activities, we reviewed the route, way-point to way-point, and estimated bearings, elevation changes and travel times for each segment. 

 The route would begin as our attempt on the North Tower had, by scrambling deep into the Silencio Valley. Then we’d ascend a couloir to the col between the central and South Towers, descend a couloir on the other side into the valley of Las Torres and cross a glacier at the foot of the South Tower.

the patagonia trip: Deterioration

I woke to Christian’s thump on our tent, astonished that I had managed to fall asleep at all and curious what happened to the alarm we set for 2am.

 My hands trembled with excitement and it took a laughable ten or so tries to get one contact in. Then Dave and I wolfed down a quick breakfast of cereal and hot powdered milk and a few spoonfuls of peanut butter. The peanut butter was to fix any left-over hunger following our skimpy rations.  With that, we reported to the Steve Sneider tent, where Christian readied himself.

 Off we went. But why are we going so slowly? Didn't Christian know we could handle more? Not much later my breathing became labored and my thighs burned from our unyielding upward march into the Silencio Valley, and I came to appreciate our pace. 

 The stars still shown with stark intensity, but the wind had picked up, carrying fat snow-flakes. It was strange to see such bright stars through such snow. Christian stopped periodically to observe the heavens and express his doubts. I was sure the weather would be perfect. This was simply the chaos that precedes sunrise, I reasoned with myself. 

 The skies continued to deteriorate and pretty soon they were solid grey and the wind was forcing snow into every chink in our alpine armor…

the patagonia trip: Alpine Eve

We woke after 9am to a chilly but beautiful day. After breakfast of hot cereal we were soon having endless mate with Ivo. Then Ivo and I watched as spectators of a very slow sport: Dave searching for the slow leak in his Thermarest. First there was a visual inspection, then a soapy sponge trial, followed by stripping down and dunking the whole thing in a slow section of the stream.

 As the day progressed, the three of us, alone in our camp, fell into a rhythm of social interaction. First we'd hang out as three, then break and do individual chores, which would give way to being social in pairs, then the third would join, and so on. 

 We cooked a nice lunch with a sauce made with Ivo’s fresh veggies and our pasta and tomato paste. We played on a slack line, with Ivo showing us how it’s done and Dave and I trying to make our first steps. 

Abruptly, Ivo took off for a walk. A short time later he returned to tell us that he’s found a boulder with a crack that we should go play on.

 A short walk on and off a trail brought us to a short granite boulder with a left leaning crack, a small corner that made for a difficult pinch and a sloppy under cling. We took turns exploring the holds and the movement possible between them. I felt weak and self conscious at first, but soon found a groove and enjoyed the movement on the rock.

When we returned, Christian had arrived. He told us that the weather might be good the next day and that we’d attempt the Monzino route on the North Tower. Dave and I, in almost panicked excitement, set about organizing our gear and getting ready. We bedded at almost 1am to clear, star studded skies. Our wake-up time was 2:30am.