No matter how big the face,
Or how full your plate,
When you climb onto the rock,
A new realm you’ll unlock.
The world suddenly shrinks,
To nine square feet.
Living in the moment,
Is truly a treat.
No worries about what tomorrow will bring,
Cause your future rests solely on what you can cling.
The past is a jumble,
Most problems have gone.
What most concerns you,
Is what to step on.
The cracks are for the hands and feet,
And jams are mostly for arms and fists.
A pocketed face looks mighty good,
And a chimney’s for climbing and not for wood.
While getting to the top may be the goal,
Even the holds within reach could be beyond your control.
If you can’t make the next move,
And are stuck in one place,
The top no longer matters,
And a new goal you’ll then chase.
If you try while you’re climbing to think worldly thoughts,
The vision you conjure may be of knots.
But when you make a move forward and stand up on a nub,
The moment will win,
And you’ll understand then.
It was cold and restless sleep at our high camp on Bolivia’s Huayna Potosi. As I think back, it was actually more like quiet time, except for the constant banging of the tent flap out in the frigid, high-altitude night. Sometime in the very early morning, I got up and went outside to relieve myself and, while doing my business, marveled at how clear and full of stars the sky was. But that marvel was tempered by my personal acknowledgment that ultimately the clear skies would just mean even colder temperatures. At least, I reasoned, since there was no threat of snow, I wasn’t going to have to get up and shovel any of it away from the tent in the wee hours of the morning. I quickly got chilled, and so, once back in the tent, I pushed myself deeper into my minus 25-degree bag and cinched the hood tightly down around my head. Cinching down and tightening the hood, along with a persistent need to go outside and relieve myself, periodic dozing off, and a mental organization of the rope-up logistics, occupied the bulk of my supposed sleep time.
I now concede the fact that it was undoubtedly the five candy bars I ate in celebration of successfully getting across the avalanche debris field that caused the distress. I should’ve known better, but for a variety of reasons, it’d seemed like a good thing to do at the time. At least, I reasoned once back at home, the whole thing had taught me a good lesson.
Ancohuma is a big mountain located in an area of the Bolivian Andes known as the Cordillera Real. Until a team of three American teenagers and one adult guide collected summit data in 2002, its elevation was never determined. There was conjecture up to that point that its height was possibly over 23,000 feet, which would make it the tallest peak in the Western Hemisphere, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. It ended up being 21,079 feet- tall, but not the tallest. Continue reading “Measuring Ancohuma”
The night was long and restless. He was cold inside his sleeping bag even though the three of them had worked so hard to make things cozy. And then, there was the wind. It blasted the tent relentlessly, and he was worried about getting blown off the ridge. “What would that be like,” he tried to imagine? There was no actual sleep for him. But there was a sort of vigilant grogginess. While his body was mostly still, his mind actively raced in a frenzy of hyperactive speculation. He was uncomfortable, and the situation was damn near depressing. But thankfully, he wasn’t outside climbing toward the summit- yet. That would happen soon enough.
The Top of Huayna Potosi; Cordillera Real, Bolivia
Take the broad shoulder
Above the Upper Lake
To the North Ridge.
Then, follow it up to an obvious headwall.
Bypass that to the east
And gain the summit pyramid.
Thirty degrees,
Mixed terrain.
One step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Dirt, rock, then snow.
Be careful
With your feet.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Crampons,
Balling up.
Tap with
Your ice axe.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Look to the west,
And see the mountains
Create the horizon.
Step.
Rest,
And breathe.
The rope,
Keep it
On the downside.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Chunks of snow,
Sliding
Down the slope.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
The tie-in,
Check
The knot.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Ice axe,
In the
Uphill hand.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Don’t fall,
But be ready
To self-arrest.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Blue sky overhead,
Cloud build-up
In the west.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Hot and thirsty,
Snow and ice
Everywhere.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Wind,
Slapping
The face.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Keep following
The trail
In the snow.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
The top,
Over there and
Not so far.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Steeper,
But only
For a short distance.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Water,
Got to stop
To take a drink.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
That has to be it.
The summit ridge,
Straight on up to the top.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Plumes of snow,
Being blown
Over the top.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Everything,
Seems to be
Below.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Which one
Is the actual
Summit?
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
Pain,
Lungs burning, and cold feet.
Joy.
Step,
Rest,
And breathe.
No more up.
No time to rest.
Don’t waste your breath.
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