Camp Berlin Aconcagua

It is 2 p.m. now as I sit in a tent that is 119 degrees and rising. I deserve such warmth. Today was quite a day. I slept ok last night but early this morning I had trouble breathing and a headache. I really began doubting this mountain. I just lay in pain wondering why I was climbing it. I would have turned back if I was the only person I cared about but the sad thing is there is pressure of others. I just could not answer the thousands of questions and comments. I just knew that if a night was rough at 17,700, what would a night be like at 19,500. That is the football field on McKinley. Finally it was time to get up and eat. I ate one of my few warm breakfasts and cocoa. It seems to help. Bob was feeling better than me. Boyd and Nile next door had such bad headaches and stomach problems that they stayed put today. While cooking, RJ Secor walked by. I guess it was him after all last night. A friend and he were headed up to Berlin for the night. They then plan to summit tomorrow. Bob took off first, than I slowly followed. Not far up we met Carl. He was the leader of the American team that only 2 of 5 got up. He was in a good mood. He says he will treat us to dinner in Seattle this summer to exchange war stories. Not far past them I dropped my pack and paid nature a visit. After that, I slowly caught up to Bob. We both slowly trudged up the switchbacks. I really pulled ahead of Bob when nature called him. Soon I was in Berlin Camp. It has got a great view and not that exposed. There are a few shelters but very popular. The summit is only around 3,000 feet above the camp. I put everything in the bag and headed down. I am surprised how good I felt at 19,500 feet. I talked to Bob on the way down but it only took 20 minutes I think to get back. I left after 11 and got back at 2. Now I rest until tomorrow when we move camp up there. Some clouds are moving in but it may be of no concern. Yesterday clouds came in, than a storm hit hard last night. The tent was really shaking. By early morning the clouds and winds were gone. I have got the tent down to 97 degrees, time for a nap. Now it is near 7 p.m. All chores done. Woke up when Bob returned. We had both stoves going and cooked dinner and melted snow for water bottles (3 each). I feel pretty good but will have to keep on top of the headache. That is all for today, I will probably spend next hour reading something in large print. Tomorrow we take camp to Berlin, hopefully summit the next day. Then this climb will be over and I will be so happy. To go home without the summit would hurt badly. I would not get it off my mind.

Not a day I wish to remember although I always will. The night was hard. I slept well but awoke often wondering if we were going for the summit. The weather looked very iffy so we decided to call it a rest day. I have been in the tent all day. It is 4:30 p.m. It has been snowing off and on all day. I am so weak. It takes everything you have to do anything. If I get up too fast I am woozy. If I lay perfectly still then I am ok. Bob and I talked the past several hours. Now it is time for dinner. Luckily it is his turn. Bob also walked around camp. Looks like almost everyone has gone. We are hoping tomorrow is good or we will probably go also. Humans are not supposed to be living up here. Out of 100, only 25 percent of me wants to get up this mountain. I just do not care; I am tired of being tired. For a person like me who always has energy to do anything anytime, it is rough to be feeling this way. It is like when you are sick in bed and all you want to do is stay there. Imagine feeling that way but forcing yourself to eat and drink things you do not like or you will die. Then imagining that tomorrow will be one of the most physically and mentally challenging days of your life. Imagine that every few sentences you are writing cause you to be out of breath. I can not write anymore but maybe later. Tomorrow morning is probably our last chance. If we make it up, great. If not, so be it. Now it is 7:30 p.m. Things are better. I feel pretty good. We had dinner. I have been in the tent all day except a few nature calls. We have pee bottles but they often fill up. R.J. Secors friend came over and said a few things to us. The weather is supposed to be bad for at least another day. Several people have tried to summit today and yesterday but only one Japanese climber made it. One guy was turned back by wind 100 meters from the summit. Another guy has not come back yet so they are a bit worried. We are really hoping the weather tomorrow is better. We are both ready to summit.

It is too bad I am writing this the night of the 21st. It is difficult to let all the events and feelings of yesterday out because of the comfort and way I feel now. Our summit day started yesterday by getting up around 7. We had the alarm set but the weather looked not so good. Bob took off at 8 a.m. I left at 9. We kind of planned on me taking off later because I would be a bit quicker and we would meet at the summit. When I left at 9 a.m., the weather looked good. The clouds did not look too bad and it looked to be an ok day. Slowly I climbed out of Berlin Camp. My toes and fingers were cold but I knew they would warm up. The trail was nice but it was slow going. The only people going for the summit were one guy, Bob and I. This guy was a bit in front of Bob. After a long time I reached the Independencia Hut. Things were still going well although the summit was clouded in and looked windy. Soon I hit the traverse. It was extremely windy but I pushed through. I was becoming extremely tired. Crossing a snowfield on the traverse was also difficult and tiring. There was no air. I was not too far behind Bob. We both were fighting to get up. Finally we came to the Canaleta. This was the last obstacle before the ridge traverse over to the summit. I got about halfway up then I hit a wall. The Canaleta was placed there by Satan himself. This section of the mountain is hated by all persons who ever step foot inside. First, imagine you are at 22,000 feet. Every step requires 3 breaths of air. Now, place yourself on a mountain that was a bunch of loose rocks. No footing was secure. You put your foot on a rock, place your weight on it and it slides back down. You try to catch yourself and not fall on your face. In doing so, you use a lot of energy and it requires 10 to 15 breaths of air to calm down from that one step up. Now imagine that step after step. It is a nightmare. I hate that stuff at sea level, now at 22,000 feet! A storm had moved in and it was snowing hard. The summit looked very windy. I did not know even if I made it to the top of the Canaleta that the traverse up to the summit was possible in high winds. Most of all, I did not think the mountain was worth the pain I was experiencing. The pain in my body was so intense. My mind had already given up. I had given up but I did not care. Twice while I sat and waited for Bob to come down I thought I still could do it. I would get up, take two or 3 steps, fall back almost too where I was and give up again. It was the most evil part of the mountain and it was at the very end. I had already suffered on the trip enough and when I was in the Canaleta I realized it would end here. I have always climbed because I enjoy climbing. There has always been some pain but the fun and experience always outweighed the pain. This trip, the pain outdid the joy. Waiting for Bob got boring and cold so I decided to go down. I knew I was hurting because even going down took all my strength. I had to rest every few minutes. I had to cross the snowfield in a white out. I wished I had brought up my crampons but everyone said you would not need them. I was so tired I wondered if I could stop myself if I slipped and fell. I walked like a zombie coming down. I was in no rush but I did want down. I knew I was dehydrated and hungry but hungry is not the word when food does not appeal at all to you. That is one of the good things I noticed was I had no real altitude problems. I had turned back because of weather, exhaustion and disgust for the last 800 feet. Below the Independencia Hut I ran into 4 climbers coming over a bluff who were asking where Berlin was. I told them it was another 700 feet down. They had come up the polish glacier and went to high when coming over to our route. They had carried full packs above 20,000 feet and they looked it. It was near there that I saw 2 people coming down behind me. I could not believe it was Bob and the other guy but it had to be. I continued down and finally made it to the tent. There were now a bunch of tents nearby, all North Face, all guided expeditions. As I lay next to my tent, Boyd dropped by to leave a note. I told him of our adventures and Boyd told us his plans. Soon I was just sitting in the tent in a stupor of complete exhaustion few ever feel. It was not too long, although I was not watching time in my stupor, and Bob arrived. He said he did not make it. I was very surprised. He had made it to the top of the Canaleta and turned back. I saw him near the top but that is when I turned back. He was able to look down the south face. He also walked by the dead Polish climber. I guess he laid there on his side with one arm up but no hand. Bob did not exactly study the body but it did give him a good scare. The conditions were horrible and the guy who was in front of Rob was on his way down from the top. Bob was not sure the best way to the top. The guy even said in passing that it was getting late you do not have time today, it is a very tough mountain, must be very strong, try again tomorrow, or something like that. He was a mule from Austria. Bob decided it was best to go down. He definitely said he felt his life was in danger. Back in Berlin Camp we just laid there as if dead. We finally mustered enough strength to cook dinner. We both could eat very little, we were wiped out. After dinner it was dark and we went to sleep.

We definitely sleped in today, getting up around 11 o clock. The weather was not too bad so we had high hopes for Boyd and Nile. We slowly packed up. Our bodies had been through too much. I was very excited to get to a lower elevation and not feel like the energizer bunny on dead batteries. We descended from Berlin to Nido camp (19,500 to 17,800). I already noticed a difference and smelled the food at Base Camp. I had a lot of food and gear stashed at Nido so I added about 20 pounds to my pack. It was probably near 70 lbs. I had a duffle tied to the back of my pack for there was no room in my pack. Slowly I dropped down the trail of snow, rock and gravel toward base. I was very careful not to injure myself. Near 16,000 feet I felt I had all the air in the world. When I reached 14,000 feet I rarely needed to breathe at all. I stopped several times coming down. My legs were very tired from the heavy pack and tricky terrain. It was so nice to reach Base Camp. I knew all the pain was over. It also made it nice to have Rob and Colleen there to greet me. Base is dead, everyone is gone. Most of the guide services are leaving. I chatted with Rob until Bob got down. I set up the tent and threw in the gear as it really began snowing. The weather had deteriorated slowly as it had yesterday on our summit attempt. We wondered if Boyd and Nile had made it up. If they started early enough maybe! After the tent was up, we went down to the keewees nice base tent provided by their mule guide service. Mostly just talked, drank hot cocoa, and waited for the dinner at the hotel at 8 p.m. We got to know a guy named George. He is from Colorado and is on a 7 summits quest. This was his 2nd try of Aconcagua. He did not even go above Nido this time. We also got to know Patty. She is deaf and totally sponsored by The North Face. If she summits she will be the first deaf person to summit. She is going try but it does not look good for her. Now around 6 p.m. Boyd comes into Base Camp. Bob and I just jerking him for questions. Turns out they did not get off until about 8 a.m. They were very slow because of the lack of O2. Boyds feet were very cold. They got up to the base of the Canaleta but the weather was extremely bad. Both wasted, Boyd turned around knowing what was ahead. Nile followed and they both made good time back to Berlin, then Nido. They packed up and headed for base. Boyd got down around 6, while Nile being totally wiped made it down around 7. It was around 7 p.m when the action began. Rob had told us of the buying frenzy that had been going on but we got it started again. All the mulers and friends like to buy stuff from climbers because they cannot get it. They just start pointing and saying how much. I think they were just all paid so they are ready to buy. I guess yesterday another big American expedition left without any gear. Someone had bought my VE-25 tent for $700. I was willing to sell almost anything except my sleeping bag, jacket and bibs. I sold my stove, stove holder, ice Axe, fleece shirt, water bottle parka all for around $250. I made a little money from it but mainly when I replace my stove it will be new, same for the ice axe. Nile had returned during the buying frenzy. He just watched in a stupor. After the sale, which may continue tomorrow with my therma- rest, gloves and cheap camera, we went to dinner. Now when I say go to dinner, I mean go to dinner. I have not eaten anything good in so long. We hiked over to the hotel where they serve dinner at 8 p.m. for $15. The eight of us (Boyd, Rob, Colleen, George, Patty, Nile, Bob and I) were the only ones there for dinner. We were fed a soup, bread, crackers, steak, salad and mashed potatoes. Now let me say that few meals have ever tasted so good. I was so hungry from being so high and underfed. I loved it so much. All the orange juice you could drink. I was almost full but both Boyd and I ordered another steak sandwich. I barely finished the thing. I was so stuffed it hurt, but I was so happy. We just told war stories around the table as we ate and digested. Here we sat, with electricity in the highest hotel on earth. It was such a great experience. During the day we worked out the rest of our trip. We were going to hike out with the keewees. We are using their mule service out. Once at the trailhead we get picked up by a truck, get our gear and drive down to Los Penitentes. There we have a hotel room with shower and 2 meals. The next day we have a bus into Mendoza. There we will hang for a day or two. The big Argentina-Mendoza Wine Festival begins, tomorrow and goes 2-3 weeks. We will have a blast we are told. We mainly just want to eat fruit, steak, and shop for crap. After dinner, we had to hike the half mile back to camp. This was an experience. It was pitch black with fog. Everyone followed each other and at times you wondered if you were on the trail. The terrain was like the moon. At one point we all came up to a light. Some guy was lost in the terrain. He kept his cool but you could tell he was glad to be with so many people after being alone in the dark. Soon we were back in camp. Bob went to sleep but I wanted to organize my stuff some. Then I decided I better write the past two days in my journal before I forgot. I have probably been writing 1-2 hours but I do not ever know since my watch is never worn. I know I had to replace my batteries. It has also been snowing for about an hour. Tomorrow we hike down to Confluencia. It should be fun and easy. Hopefully they are still selling hot dogs.

Here at Confluencia, no hot dogs but I did get a coke! This morning was mellow, just slowly got up and packed. Once all was ready we headed over to Andes Sport to put our duffels. We paid the $120 for a mule to carry 135 lbs. Our packs were still around 30 lbs. We gabbed a bit but finally we were off. It began snowing as we left. Down at Old Plaza de Mulas we took some pictures and Boyd caught up. Soon we were down to the easy stuff. It was snowing very hard but not warm enough to stick. The last several miles were just Boyd and I about a mile ahead. Our gear passed us when we crossed the creek. The trail dropping into Confluencia camp was tough on the feet. In camp I set up the tent and threw gear inside, it was now raining. I followed Boyd over to the Coca-cola tent where we got a coke. We chatted with 2 guys who spoke little English. The fun did not last long so we went back to our tents when Bob and Rob arrived. Colleen arrived shortly after. Bob heated some water and we ate our last freeze dried food of the trip. Now it is after dinner, the keewees are trying to get all our food, and soon it will be dark. I will read a bit and then go to bed. Only 2 hours out tomorrow.

Camp Berlin and Beyond