Post 9
"I get high with a little help from my friends". Joe Cocker
Camp Colera 20,300 ft
I started the day with a helicopter hovering 10 over my tent shaking Ice loose on us. I here one
of our guides yelling he is going to crash which get my attention and I get out quickly in the cold
with out my outer layers. I got up too fast and moved before my heart rate got up to carry ox to
my brain and almost blacked out. Nido de condores camp 2 is the highest point someone can
be rescued and at 18600 ft the helicopter was struggling to maintain control touching down
sliding and then taking back off, ending up unable to land. The body of a climber is in a red tent
just outside of ours and the park rangers were trying to get the body down this was the reason
for the early morning wake up call.
Starting our last 3 day summit push my knee is still tightly wrapped and very stiff and bruising all of the way to my ankle at this altitude nothing heals and everything is difficult getting dressed packing
even getting to your feet has to be done slowly. Max has 4 bottles of ox but will only use it in case of emergency. We climbed to the high camp Colera above 20,000 ft the highest I have ever been. While
packing this morning I am dragging my bag from my tent doing my three leg crawl and my back
goes into a spasm which was one of my biggest fears it happened on Kilimanjaro and with the
boys help I made it. I struggle getting into Colera, the altitude, the dehydration, bad knee, and
now my back is further restricting my mobility and is starting to take its toll. There is a small
wooden structure maybe 8X10 all 8 of us crawl in to get out of the wind and cold we crash in
one big pile while the tents get made.
I only carried 15 lps now water, food, emergency gear
and pack, wearing most of my gear. my double plastic boots are very uncomfortable but came in useful in the steep rocky part of the climb, I could hang a toe in a rock and step up a few blisters but feet in good shape.
The porters are bad ass they carried 50 lbs and when we get to camp they set up the tents and
start melting snow for drinking water. The porter I hired made it from base camp hear dropped
15 lps of my gear and then walked all of the way back down to base camp. We get settled and
boiled water to make our dehydrated meals. I had spaghetti, and roi a 4 cheese pasta we
ended up trading and eat part of our 1200 calorie meal which would be it for the day.
Roi has
chocolate I eat some of but nothing taste good and don't trust my stomach or colon. The
climbing at 3am and I try to sleep waking every 15 minutes with apnea. I have to pressure breath
for a few minutes until breathing gets normal and go back to sleep and start the cycle over
maybe sleeping 15 minutes every hour. I don't get out its cold but no wind. We get our wake up call my back is very stiff . Everyone is struggling it takes 30 minutes to dress. I ask for another rest day max tells me today is as good as I will see with the weather. Everyone feels bad but I have plenty of days left on my permit plus its not the altitude sickness as much as my back that needs a rest day. He agrees he has he has his hands full a film crew with equipment and Jans second push it will be just me and my guide Jorge on my summit day.
In my tent as sun comes up we are so close to the top I unzip my window and can see the
summit I can see people turning around and returning. I get out and start moving around
unusually sunny still below 0 but without the wind feels comfortable. The last few days I haven't
been able to spend much time out of the tent we climb get in the tent and prepare for the next
day just getting out for the bathroom which is done quickly. Roi has every episode of braking
bad on his Ipad we have a solar charger to keep it up and use my close line a holder so we can
watch it helps pass the time, funny nothing works above 20,000, I am now using pencil to write
with because ink freezes and doesn't work but not the Ipad.
As I wait I drink a gallon of water and eat a piece of cake with hot tea Max left. The tea they
drink is called Mate it looks like the stuff you scrape from under you mower deck they drink it
from a gourd with a straw with a screen to keep you from sucking in the chunks. It is a ritual
one guy makes is and hands you the gourd with the straw pointing at you and you have to drink
it all pass and pass it back. He adds more mower deck grass and passes it to the next guy. I
hope I don't get a random drug test when I return because after a glass I am so
jacked up I cant sit still. I feel better than I have in days now second guessing my choice to take
a day. I walk up to look at the hard part of the summit day, the traverse and the caneletta, 300
meters from the top. I meet Roi coming down I first think he was on his way from the summit he
has been the strongest climber first to camp caring all of his gear, but then I see him stumbling
and can tell he was in trouble. Without going into detail he was bleeding internally and exiting
as #2. He has been taking 900ml Ibuprofen for headache and that evening Max tells him dude
your F____ked. Joking kind of, Max has every med in the book and is the most knowledgeable
guide on the mountain so if we did get bad I have confidence he would get us off the mountain.
A Norwegian climber dies on the summit I meet two rangers sliding the body down he is in a
metal gurney with snow packed around him. I am not sure what team he was with or if he was
on his own but the two rangers ended up getting him down to base camp eventually getting him
off the mountain, I met them in the med tent at base camp a few days later and Max was
impressed with their effort. The cause of death was high altitude cerebral embolism HACE.
I watch our group return scattered and spent they go strait to the tent and crash in their clothes.
I eat my last dehydrated meal and prep for my attempt in a few hours I feel good. Roi is better
but tomorrow is a long walk to base camp and will test everyone. Max comes to my tent at 9pm
and tells me we have a bad forecast for summit and I need to return to base camp with the rest
of the team restock and return. He said since i am climatized I can bypass lower camps and
climb back plus i will have my own guide. the weather hits in waves where snow and strong
wind blow then calm sunny day follows. I have been above 18000 ft for 5 days injured and now
out of food. I don't like the call but not thinking clearly and looking back was the right move. I can see it in my rambling journal that i wrote the past 5 days.
The next morning we load gear and walk down from summit camp to base camp at plaza de mulas
14600. It took us 5 days to get here from base camp and now we return down hill in one day
with a plan to spend another rest day and then return to high camp for summit bid making it the
third trip up to 20,000 ft. I pack bag not happy and don't pack enough water or get my gear right
for the descent. I send my heavy down gloves and jacket with porter and start without enough
layers on and get very cold and loose felling in my fingers. My heavy double plastic boots are
warm but quickly cause blister on both feet I have to stop often and take care of hot spots. As
we pass the 2 lower camps we pick up gear we left, the body of the polish climber is still there. I
am getting top heavy I fall with the weight a lot. the worst job of the group is the porters load the now frozen poop bags to carry them down for disposal.
I arrive in base camp it is Sunday which is steak night they grill steaks and serve malbec wine it
is wonderful especially after a week of camp food. Max buys everyone hot showers and we are
met with hot pizza in a dome tent the first time we get to talk to each other about the events.
Roi and I go to doctor Roi bleeding has stopped and the doctor said it was a ruptured palp in his
colon. He unwrapped my leg gave me another shot and told me I can continue on. We return
to the dome and wait for the steaks. For the last 3 months i have steered clear of alcohol but
the malbec and steak were calling my name.
