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The Aconcagua Diaries

January 26, 2011

In collaboration with Reach Out to Asia (ROTA), Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani has set off to climb Mount Aconcagua of the Andes range, the highest mountain in the Americas at 6,962m (22,841ft). The Gulf Today brings you the exclusive diaries of the adventurer underlining his towering effort

DAY 1

Days 1-4: Tales of treasure and missing backpacks

The year was 1897 and just fourteen days after having celebrated the New Year, a middle-aged Swiss explorer named Matthias Zurbriggen had successfully conquered the highest peak in the Southern hemisphere. Back then, the fifteen day climb through the Andes was considered so perilous that explorers could only hire porters for the journey by telling tales of treasure atop the mountain. I too was concerned about the peril our climb could involve as we walked to our aircraft on the 114th anniversary of

Zurbriggen’s climb, but Aconcagua’s summit was my treasure. It was the second of the famed seven summits that I had planned to check off my bucket list this year after having conquered Kilimanjaro just months earlier.

Masoud Mohammed and I began our journey with a series of connecting flights which would take us from Dubai to the Argentine city of Mendoza at the foot of the Andes. We covered the fifteen thousand kilometres to Buenos Aires via Sao Paulo in around eighteen hours of flying over two days, but took a surprising eight hours to cover the last one thousand kilometres to Mendoza because our flight crew needed to be replaced just minutes before departure. What followed was delay after delay as we checked our baggage in and out twice at the same airport before we were finally on our way.

It was late on day three when we arrived in Mendoza and the Andes which dominate the city’s landscape were barely visible under the cover of darkness. We soon learnt that we were fortunate to have collected our backpacks in the arrival lounge that evening because both Raed Zeidan and Zed AI Refai who were accompanying us on the climb had theirs lost in transit. Filled with thermal wear, hiking gear and emergency supplies, each of our backpacks was crucial to our survival on Aconcagua. We spent several hours visiting counter after counter at the airport in search of the missing backpacks, before eventually calling it a day and deciding to check with Jeff the next morning.

Jeff was a true adventurer at heart and a veteran of many previous ascents. We had been planning the trip over the telephone for weeks and he was going to be one of the two guides leading our journey to the summit. We met over an early breakfast the next morning and reviewed the list of things we would need to do on day four. We had planned to stock up on supplies and rebuild the two missing backpacks from scratch in case they didn’t turn up by lunch. At just over 750 metres above sea level, Mendoza was a sunny city and we took in as much of the warm weather as we could before beginning our climb. Even in the heat of a South American summer, temperatures in the higher reaches of Aconcagua were rarely known to rise above minus twenty Celsius.

The hours went by and it was soon twelve in the afternoon. There hadn’t been any news of the missing backpacks all morning, so Raed and Zed decided to make one last trip to the airport. It paid off. The airline had managed to track down their missing backpacks earlier in the day and had received them just in time for lunch. With one less crisis at hand, we spent the rest of the day stocking up on supplies and retired early for a good night’s rest. We had planned to head off to Puente del Inca by daybreak to register and begin acclimatising ourselves for the climb. Our journey had begun, but the real tests were yet to come.

DAY 5

Days 5-8: The trek up to base camp

It was seven in the morning on day five and the sun had just begun to rise above the vineyards around Mendoza. We took our last shower in the comfort of our hotel while our guides checked our climbing equipment and then drove off to Parque General San Martín to purchase our permits for the climb.

Once inside, the park office almost felt like we were gearing up for a race – each 3,000 peso climbing permit required us to pass a series of fitness checks along the way and complete the journey in no more than twenty days. The reality, of course, was that each checkpoint ensured that we were healthy enough to reach the summit and that there was sufficient aid along the way in the event of an emergency.

Raed received the last permit shortly after ten and we then began a four hour jeep ride into the heart of the Andes. The view of the open plains along the way was truly breathtaking, but the four of us could barely look away from Aconcagua as we drew nearer. It wasn’t long before we arrived at our cabin in Penitentes, which was a short distance away from Puente Del Inca at 2,720 meters above sea level. The camp was known for its distinctly yellow caves and channels that had been stained by hot springs over the years.

After stretching our legs and depositing our backpacks, Jeff invited us into the main hall for our first briefing over lunch. He explained that we were going to take the Polish glacier traverse route on the east face of the mountain instead of the more popular routes on the north-west face.

Our target over the next three days would be to trek up to base camp at Plaza Argentina and begin acclimatising ourselves. The key was to alternate ascents and descents to trick our bodies into producing more red blood cells as we gained altitude. We returned to our rooms after lunch and spent the evening resting before retiring to bed by ten.

Jeff came knocking at our door early on day six. He had organised a group of Arrieros that morning, whose mules would carry our luggage over the first two days to help save our energy for the climb that lay ahead. We drove a short distance to meet them at Punta del Vacas, where our backpacks were carefully balanced on each mule.

The six hour trek along the Rio de Las Vacas that day would take us up to Pampa de Leñas, the first of two stops en route to base camp. There wasn’t much to see along the Vacas valley except rocks and a few shrubs, but the mules and their antics kept us entertained. One even managed to race up the valley with our tents for a good five minutes before the Arrieros caught up.

It was five in the evening when we arrived at Pampa de Leñas. The Arrieros steadily unloaded the mules, set up our tents and began preparing dinner by seven. Strangely enough, the air at 2,800 meters seemed noticeably thinner after the long walk, but Jeff assured us that we’d feel far more at ease in the morning. We tucked into our sleeping bags by ten that night and completed the second eight hour trek up to Casa de Piedra the following day with just an hour of sunlight to spare before nightfall.

Time seemed to fly up on Aconcagua and it was the eighth day of our journey before we even knew it. Zed was the first to wake at seven that morning and noticed that it was far cooler than usual. One of the Arrieros had heard reports of snow from an earlier group and Jeff reminded us to be prepared.

The seven hour trek up the Relinchos valley that day was shorter in distance than those of the previous two, but we had to ascend a steep 1,000 metres to reach base camp. We began carrying a few light backpacks on our way up this time, knowing well that we would neither have the luxury of mules nor Arrieros the following day.

Plaza Argentina was a sight for sore eyes when we arrived at five that evening, even though the weather at 4,200 metres grew cooler with every passing minute. We took a moment to gaze back at the valleys we had crossed while the Arrieros unloaded the mules one last time and set up our tents. They had barely begun to prepare dinner when the wind suddenly grew stronger and snow began to fall. We hurried into our tents, but the storm showed no sign of relenting even after sunset. Dinner that night would have to be the extra packed meal we’d been saving up. As we zipped into our sleeping bags to the sound of the wind howling outside, one could only wonder what lay ahead in the higher reaches. We were determined to reach its summit, but did Aconcagua have other surprises in store for us?

DAY 9

Days 9-13: Climbing past blades of ice

I couldn’t remember much of the previous evening’s storm when we woke up on day nine. We were all looking forward to a day of rest after the hike up from Pampa de Leñas and had fallen asleep despite the sound of snow beating against our tent. The guide books will tell you that this is usually the day on which most climbers begin to have a headache, but thankfully, none of us did.

The Arrieros bid us farewell by seven in the morning and began their journey back to Punta del Vacas. We were on our own for the first time and were coping fairly well. Having seen the previous night’s storm, Jeff suggested that we carry a load up to camp one that morning and rest the following day instead. It didn’t take us long to agree and we were soon off to our first fitness check — a must for climbers who wished to continue past Plaza Argentina. We passed the crucial heart rate and oxygen tests with flying colours; however the doctor did say that Masoud had a slight fever, but could continue because he wasn’t medically ill.

With a clean bill of health in hand, we quickly packed a part of our equipment and began the climb up to camp one. The five hour trek took us up the moraine-covered Relinchos glacier and past the surreal sea of Penitentes — a vast field of two feet tall blades of ice. Unlike the relatively moderate seven degrees Celsius at base camp, the weather at 4,950 metres was a snowy minus three degrees Celsius. We were at the mercy of the elements for the first time in days and had to huddle together to share our packed meal, since we had neither tents nor time to spare. The journey downhill proved to be even more difficult, as we slipped and slid through the mixture of fresh snow, ice and sediment, falling several times along the way. In fact, Raed was so exhausted by the time we returned to base camp that he tucked into his sleeping bag right after dinner.

It was soon day ten and our hard work in acclimatising to the low oxygen levels had begun to pay off. We felt much better waking up than we did the previous morning even though we hadn’t gotten as much sleep as we had hoped to. Masoud’s fever also seemed to have gone away, but Raed was still very tired and decided to relax in his tent. There wasn’t much in terms of entertainment at 4,200 metres, so we spent the day stretching our legs and taking photographs of the area before turning in for the night once again.

We woke up early the next morning and carried our tents along with the second half of our equipment to camp one. The Arrieros had made it seem so effortless over the previous days that we only realized how difficult it was to set up a tent in the face of a temperamental wind when we started to do it ourselves. Our plan was to repeat the same two-part routine we had completed over the last three days to rise up to camp two, but we would need to complete it in two days this time; and we almost did.

Everything seemed to go according to plan on day twelve as we climbed up scree slopes with the first part of our equipment. The journey to camp two was arduous and the Mercury had dipped to minus ten, but I was happy to know that were just metres away from surpassing Kilimanjaro. We returned to camp one after a brief pause and were resting in our tents when Gabriel, our second guide, noticed that Raed had grown pale. Jeff had seen his fair share of climbers worn down by Aconcagua and suggested that we call the clinic at base camp to rule out any problems. The symptoms, however, were all too familiar for the doctor. “Your friend is showing the early signs of an infection,” he said, “and will need to be evacuated.”

Raed was heartbroken. All those months of planning and training were about to vanish into thin air, but the clinic reluctantly agreed to let him spend the night to see if his condition improved. Sadly, it didn’t, and the doctor radioed for an evacuation when Raed remained just as pale the next morning. We said our goodbyes as Gabriele accompanied Raed to the air ambulance waiting for him at base camp, before continuing up to camp two with Raed was heartbroken. All those months of planning and training were about to vanish into thin air, but the clinic reluctantly agreed to let him spend the night to see if his condition improved. Sadly, it didn’t, and the doctor radioed for an evacuation when Raed remained just as pale the next morning. We said our goodbyes as Gabriele accompanied Raed to the air ambulance waiting for him at base camp, before continuing up to camp two with Jeff. Gabriele was a strong climber and would only be a day behind despite the trip downhill.

We arrived late that evening with just an hour to spare before sunset and were relieved to learn that Raed was recovering well in Mendoza. As we went to sleep beneath the cloudy skies, we realised that conquering this mountain depended just as much on good fortune as it did on our determination. With two more camps to go, would Aconcagua allow all three of us to reach its summit or whittle us down one by one?

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