Risin' up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive......
I set a new personal record this week! Jane and I summited Chachani on the 4th of July. That's 6075 meters above sea level!!! The trip started out with a drive to base camp which is at 5300 meters. The drive seemed to take forever since Chachani is just outside of Arequipa. It guess it is a BIG mountain after all. We weaved our way through the dirt road where little bands of vicuna were feeding on clumps of grass which reminded me of Don King's hair do. These Don King hair dos littered the vast field leading up to the mountain. After reaching the base camp area, we set up our tents and relaxed in the sun. Our group had four people which also included an Aussie and British girl. After dinner, Rachel (the Brit) started vomiting and became rather delerious. Adam (the Aussie) also suffered from altitude sickness later on in the night. Two o'clock finally came and half of the team was wiped out. Jane and I grabed our pack and started the hike to the summit at 330 AM. The hike out was not bad since we were going slow. After a climb to 5600 meters, we traversed across an ice field dropping a bit of elevation. The crampons were rock solid and we made it across without any problems. After the traverse, it was two major climbs to the top. Jane was starting to feel the effects of the altitude midway through the second ascent. Though difficult, we made it to the top where we took some time to enjoy the view of the city and Misti volcano next door. The way down was the same route and the diet of candy bars and gatorade finally caught up to me on the ice field on the way back. Still able to walk but slowly, Jane and I trudged back to the base camp exhaused and dusty. Adam and Rachel greeted us with gummy bears and Redbull which put a little life into our bodies. The round trip was about 11 hours, but it was worth it. I'm not sure if I will ever have an opportunity to try a 6000 meter ascent ever again, so I'm happy that I completed this climb.
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive......
I set a new personal record this week! Jane and I summited Chachani on the 4th of July. That's 6075 meters above sea level!!! The trip started out with a drive to base camp which is at 5300 meters. The drive seemed to take forever since Chachani is just outside of Arequipa. It guess it is a BIG mountain after all. We weaved our way through the dirt road where little bands of vicuna were feeding on clumps of grass which reminded me of Don King's hair do. These Don King hair dos littered the vast field leading up to the mountain. After reaching the base camp area, we set up our tents and relaxed in the sun. Our group had four people which also included an Aussie and British girl. After dinner, Rachel (the Brit) started vomiting and became rather delerious. Adam (the Aussie) also suffered from altitude sickness later on in the night. Two o'clock finally came and half of the team was wiped out. Jane and I grabed our pack and started the hike to the summit at 330 AM. The hike out was not bad since we were going slow. After a climb to 5600 meters, we traversed across an ice field dropping a bit of elevation. The crampons were rock solid and we made it across without any problems. After the traverse, it was two major climbs to the top. Jane was starting to feel the effects of the altitude midway through the second ascent. Though difficult, we made it to the top where we took some time to enjoy the view of the city and Misti volcano next door. The way down was the same route and the diet of candy bars and gatorade finally caught up to me on the ice field on the way back. Still able to walk but slowly, Jane and I trudged back to the base camp exhaused and dusty. Adam and Rachel greeted us with gummy bears and Redbull which put a little life into our bodies. The round trip was about 11 hours, but it was worth it. I'm not sure if I will ever have an opportunity to try a 6000 meter ascent ever again, so I'm happy that I completed this climb.
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