Aconcagua Story
Page 7
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"Upside, Now Going!" Alex Lowe
This time we started later in the morning. My headlamp had new batteries, my water was well insulated and we were on 'the easiest way up.' We started out as a group of six, the South Africans Alan, Greg, Oliver, and Doug along with Jim and myself. James elected to remain in Camp Two. They all looked to me to lead the way and we headed out. Sunrise caught us at about 20,500-ft. We stopped and took our boots off to warm cold feet. We must have looked pretty silly, grown men with their feet in each other's armpits. It was a good thing though Doug had already suffered minor frost bite on one of his toes.
At Independencia Doug turned around with a headache. The rest of us went on.
At the base of the Canaletta the rest of the group called for a rest. We
stopped for a minute but I wanted to go. I was afflicted with summit fever and I
was feeling competitive. It seems that our personalities become magnified at
altitude. When I started again I decided to just
keep going, Greg was pretty close behind. I thought he might pass me. I did not want
that to happen. The little bastard! I had been above 19,000-ft for six days and I was starting to
feel less strong.
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The Ruta Normal on Aconcagua |
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The lower Cannaletta, Greg in Blue, Alan, Jim
and Oliver below.
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I started moving at a steady pace as fast as I could and not stopping to rest. I passed several other groups of climbers and then enjoyed several minutes alone on the 22,835-ft summit. I had two Buddhist prayer flags with me which I had along for Dave Bridges and Alex Lowe. There is a cross on the summit with beads and flags all over it. I tied the flags to other flags on the cross and as I touched the soft cloth my eyes filled with tears again. I thought of all the friends I had lost in such a short time. I also though about how close I had come to losing my brother Gordon to cancer a year before. I said aloud, "Good bye Alex, good bye Dave." The tears flowed freely until two German climbers arrived and I pulled my goggles down to cover my tear streaked eyes. A little later Jim arrived after passing nearly everyone else as well. His competitive side was also alive and well. In an inspiration from Alex I started doing push ups on the summit. No one else wanted to join in and they looked at me like I was crazy. |
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Alan, Jim. Greg (standing), Oliver and Michael on the summit with cross and flags.
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Soon Greg, Alan and Oliver showed up as well. Greg just collapsed on the top he had pushed himself too hard. After a while of exploring around we decided to head down. By then I had been on the summit for almost two hours. On the way down the Canaletta Greg started showing alarming signs of double vision and loss of coordination. He was suffering from High Altitude Cerebral Edema. He could be dead within hours. |
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Looking down the awesome South Face of Aconcagua. |
After Oliver started Greg on Deximethisone Jim walked in front of him on the trail and helped him place his feet. Our progress was agonizingly slow. I started to urge them to go faster. He was seeing double and becoming incoherent. Not knowing how Deximethisone works I suggested that he take an additional anti-inflammatory. I thought it might help if his brain was swelling to cause the vision problems. I did not know exactly how Deximethisone worked and how long it would take. I later learned that Deximethizne is an antinflamitory and the extra medication was unneeded. |
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We crossed several snowfields. At each one Alan walked next to and below his friend hoping to catch him if he fell. At last we were across the snow sections. By then the medications we had given him were starting to take effect. His vision was somewhat better. We started down again at a fast pace, I was worried sick that he might fall but I also knew how fast he could deteriorate if we did not get him down soon. We practically ran all the way to Independencia. We arrived in camp before dark and James, who was still fresh, accompanied Greg to base camp. As we passed the Polish Glacier we saw the Aconcagua park police hauling the Argentine climbers down. They had no body bags they just tied the climbing rope around the dead climber's ankles and stared hauling. It was horrible. Morris the hillbilly, or was it Mark?, was helping them. He had given up the climb and volunteered to help move the bodies. To us this seemed very noble but also very strange. They had moved the bodies close to Camp Two and within sight of our tent. Not wanting to stay there for another night we decided to pack up. putting ridiculous loads on our backs we descended to Camp One and arrived after dark. The next day we made it to base camp where Greg was doing fine and drinking beer. |
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Jim and Mike with heavy packs. Photo by Oliver Williams.
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Now, as I prepare for Everest I think of departed friends. My desire to climb is not diminished. Every person who goes to the mountains makes their own choice to be there. Death is part of life and adventurers accept this. Risk is a big part of the appeal for many. I often wonder, however, if the families of the men and women who die in the mountains will ever accept the loss. For them the desire of their loved ones to take risks is very difficult to understand. |
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