Summit Day!
6/9/06
It was three days after the world was supposed to end. And at three in the morning on our summit day it felt as though the prophecy was running late. It was my first big mountain experience and after days of bad weather and frozen tent flies our window appeared. We arrived in Ishinca valley and were greeted by rain that turned to snow. As we fumbled in the dark trying to get some food in our stomachs butterflies were born. Ishinca was the gem of our possible summit opportunities and due to the weather we were unable to establish a high camp and our first summit attempt was to come from base camp. The first hour of our hike was silence only broken by the sound of water and whisk of soft shell pants. As we approached the glacier we spotted another team on Ishinca, they appears as a glowworm moving across the ridge. As we split into rope teams the sun was beginning to rise and the past hours on our approach hike melted away. There was a good solid boot pack from the previous team that we were able to utilize and make our going a bit easier. After the first hour I realized how deceiving the mountain looked, what seems so close was truly far away. Once the sun was shinning the mass of ice we were traveling on become more like an oven. As we looked over our shoulders one could see the rest of the Cordillera Blanca range and the approaching weather mass sliding up the sides of distant peaks. On our approach the old boot pack came and bit us in the ass when we took a wrong turn and saw that the footprints came to an end. After hours in the sun the snow bridge had weakened and for my first time on a big mountain I found myself punched through the snow and pinched over a crevasse. Our team jumped into action and our leader John handled the situation well and we were soon back on the right path heading towards the top. The last pitch was accompanied by weather that lowered visibility to forty feet. We set up an anchor at the top and hip belayed people. Once on top we ran into another team and had to spend an hour and half at 18,000ft. The backside of the mountain got pounded with snow and going down was a bit hairy with the threat of an avalanche. Since we decided to traverse the peak our down climb was new terrain. Once off the glacier the murrain proved to be a lot more technical that though and after eight hours of hiking my feet were not too sure. After many false hopes of our base camp valley we rolled back to base camp with the rain on our heels. Four days after the movie Omen premiered I found myself not concerned with the fate of the world for I had reached a place not of the earth and returned to tell about it. -Nate
It was three days after the world was supposed to end. And at three in the morning on our summit day it felt as though the prophecy was running late. It was my first big mountain experience and after days of bad weather and frozen tent flies our window appeared. We arrived in Ishinca valley and were greeted by rain that turned to snow. As we fumbled in the dark trying to get some food in our stomachs butterflies were born. Ishinca was the gem of our possible summit opportunities and due to the weather we were unable to establish a high camp and our first summit attempt was to come from base camp. The first hour of our hike was silence only broken by the sound of water and whisk of soft shell pants. As we approached the glacier we spotted another team on Ishinca, they appears as a glowworm moving across the ridge. As we split into rope teams the sun was beginning to rise and the past hours on our approach hike melted away. There was a good solid boot pack from the previous team that we were able to utilize and make our going a bit easier. After the first hour I realized how deceiving the mountain looked, what seems so close was truly far away. Once the sun was shinning the mass of ice we were traveling on become more like an oven. As we looked over our shoulders one could see the rest of the Cordillera Blanca range and the approaching weather mass sliding up the sides of distant peaks. On our approach the old boot pack came and bit us in the ass when we took a wrong turn and saw that the footprints came to an end. After hours in the sun the snow bridge had weakened and for my first time on a big mountain I found myself punched through the snow and pinched over a crevasse. Our team jumped into action and our leader John handled the situation well and we were soon back on the right path heading towards the top. The last pitch was accompanied by weather that lowered visibility to forty feet. We set up an anchor at the top and hip belayed people. Once on top we ran into another team and had to spend an hour and half at 18,000ft. The backside of the mountain got pounded with snow and going down was a bit hairy with the threat of an avalanche. Since we decided to traverse the peak our down climb was new terrain. Once off the glacier the murrain proved to be a lot more technical that though and after eight hours of hiking my feet were not too sure. After many false hopes of our base camp valley we rolled back to base camp with the rain on our heels. Four days after the movie Omen premiered I found myself not concerned with the fate of the world for I had reached a place not of the earth and returned to tell about it. -Nate
posted by Austin Paulson at 8:42 PM
1 Comments:
Wow! Pitched into a cravasse for real! Good thing you guys did all that training and preparation, huh? Sounds like you had a great time. Thanks for sharing your experience.
PAG
Post a Comment
<< Home