CATAMARCA, ARGENTINA – We had finished our acclimatization training. We had arranged for a truck to take us – again – across the vast Catamarca wilderness to base camp of Ojos del Salado. We had recruited two young men with mountaineering experience to join the expedition.
With offerings of water, beer, mountain herbs and coca leaves, we had petitioned Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) for permission to safely climb the volcano. We had rented a satellite phone for emergencies. We had our summit gear, and many days’ supply of food.
Pacha Mama may have heard our petition, but she has her own timetables and moods, and it’s a climber’s job to read them and plan accordingly.
When we made it back down from the mountains to Fiambala, we learned that a three-day snowstorm would strike the volcano shortly after we arrived at base camp. Expedition leader Francisco Seufferheld, his wife, Jeannine Koninckx, and the two mountaineers could wait it out, but my husband, Jeff, and I had already planned to delay our return home one week. Another extension was out of the question.
Also, it occurred to me that the expedition would likely do better without us. Our last training hike on the volcano San Francisco had not gone well for me. As we climbed to nearly 5,400 meters, I felt an uncomfortable pressure in my head – a telltale sign, I have learned, that my heart is beating too fast.
My pulse was 142, about 80 percent of maximum for someone my age. It was a beautiful, sunny day, with less wind than normal on San Francisco, but I had to stop frequently to let my heart rate normalize, and it took much longer than usual. (I had just started taking the high-altitude drug Diamox, which is a diuretic and can lower one’s potassium levels, so my symptoms may have been a side effect of the drug.)
I was the slowest person on the team, and I was holding the others back. Jeannine and Francisco are strong climbers. Federico and Nicholas are young, experienced and fully acclimatized. I knew they would do best if they could climb the volcano quickly. It was time for us to withdraw.
Jeff and I took a bus back to Mendoza and soon learned that the expedition faced yet another obstacle: The well-worn tires of the rented truck that ferried climbers to the volcano were blowing out, one by one. New tires were not available in Fiambala. Francisco and Jeannine were coming back to Mendoza to pick up new tires for the truck’s owner. They plan to return to Catamarca when the weather normalizes and begin the final push up Ojos del Salado.
I will follow the expedition from afar, communicating with the team via text messages and calls from their satellite phone. I have collected recent photos of the volcano and its lake from other climbers, and will share them with my updates on the expedition’s progress.
OTHER POSTS
Blog Introduction
On the Road
Day 1
Day 2
Climbing Higher
The Why
Expect the Unexpected
Changes in Plans
Follow @diana_yates_ on Twitter or visit diya.photoshelter.com for more updates and photos from the expedition.
