South America
Argentina
Patagonia, penguins, Iguazu Falls, Ruta 40, climbing Mt. Aconcagua (6960m) and other adventures
ARGENTINA
Patagonia, penguins, Iguazu Falls, Ruta 40, climbing Mt. Aconcagua (6960m) and other adventures
A country with great sights that are inconveniently scattered at different ends of a very large area. So I had to drive Argentina practically in a circle. Glaciers in the south, waterfalls in the north, the highest mountains in the west, penguins and whales in the east.
Leaving the Chilean Carretera Austral and crossing into Argentina. The road with a ridge and stones comes out on the famous Ruta 40. Completely remote and very picturesque border crossing near the town of Cochrane. As you cross into Argentina, the nature and climate changes. It becomes Patagonia with pampas and endless horizons. Beyond the crossing, it warms up immediately. A dirt road leads through endless valleys. Ostriches, guanacos and flamingos are surprised at the rare visitor, watching warily behind the motorcycle.
Leaving the Chilean Carretera Austral and crossing into Argentina. The road with a ridge and stones comes out on the famous Ruta 40. Completely remote and very picturesque border crossing near the town of Cochrane. As you cross into Argentina, the nature and climate changes. It becomes Patagonia with pampas and endless horizons. Beyond the crossing, it warms up immediately. A dirt road leads through endless valleys. Ostriches, guanacos and flamingos are surprised at the rare visitor, watching warily behind the motorcycle.
Driving to the Perito Moreno Glacier, located in the Los Glaciares National Park, 80 km from the town of El Calafate. Perito Moreno is one of the most famous sights of Patagonia. The height of the glacier is 60 meters above the water surface. The depth is up to 700 meters. The glacier is “alive” and moves about 2m per day, breaking and collapsing beautifully with a crackling sound into the water. The blue color of the glacier is the result of a long period of compression and constant thawing and freezing of the ice. Such ice absorbs all colors except blue, which is reflected.
After seeing a beautiful glacier I leave very touristy and expensive El Calafate. Gasoline is getting a little cheaper in the south, but what I drove on 15 liters in Chile here I drive on 20 liters. The increase in fuel consumption is due to very strong winds. Sometimes the headwinds are so strong that my small motorcycle refuses to go in high gear. And when the wind was added to the rain, I had to give up. Now I'm sitting at a gas station with no prospect of better weather, the sky is covered with clouds and rain is in the forecast everywhere in the area. In 1.5 hours the restaurant will be open and I can eat. There is a hotel at the gas station, but it is expensive for me. Was allowed to pitch a tent in the yard under the trees. In the morning as soon as I packed up, it rained again. I asked people who were coming from the north, they said it was raining all the time. The gas station parking lot is slowly becoming a haven for motorcyclists hiding from the rain. The first to add to me was Sebastian, an Argentinian on a 400cc Honda Falcon traveling in his country. Then two more Brazilians arrived on BMWs. I made an attempt to start, but I just got dressed and the rain came down with renewed vigor. In the end we bought some wine and waited patiently, surrendering to the elements. Another day at the gas station passed in conversation.
As soon as the weather improved, I drove to the Atlantic Ocean. The town of Puerto Madryn. There is a sanctuary here with penguins and whales. I saw a whale immediately on the city beach, and went to see the penguins in Punta Tombo. There you can see one of the largest colonies of Magellanic penguins. This place is located 200 kilometers south of Puerto Madryn. Because of its remoteness there are few tourists here, this saves the penguins and makes me happy.
After traveling several thousand kilometers, up to half a million Magellanic penguins come here to breed. The penguins find their old burrows, meet their penguin mates, with whom they continue to breed throughout their lives (10-20 years). It takes approximately 40 days for one egg to incubate. Penguins raise one or two chicks. Both mom and dad take turns incubating the eggs.
After traveling several thousand kilometers, up to half a million Magellanic penguins come here to breed. The penguins find their old burrows, meet their penguin mates, with whom they continue to breed throughout their lives (10-20 years). It takes approximately 40 days for one egg to incubate. Penguins raise one or two chicks. Both mom and dad take turns incubating the eggs.
Made it to Buenos Aires! I have a motorcycle to maintain and the huge city of Buenos Aires itself deserves a week or two. It turned out to be a problem to find a hostel in the center of the city with parking for a motorcycle, most hostels are in big buildings on the upper floors. Eventually I got lucky and found a hostel with parking. A mansion in the center of the city with a courtyard where I put my bike. This is one of the most memorable hostels I've stayed in during my 14 months of traveling. It was terrifying and fun at the same time. I've never seen triple decker beds, and even without a ladder to the top. Of course I took the third floor right away so no one could see my stuff and I was as unreachable as the top of a tree up there. And downstairs was a constant mess. Things scattered around the room. Four of us live in the room, a Turkish transvestite, an Arab from France who works as a waiter at night, a local hostel worker and me, a motorcycle hobo from Russia. Sometimes there are still some tourists passing through for a few days. But the four of us make up the tight-knit community of our strange room.
Cemeteries in major cities in SA are interesting tourist spots. The cemetery has all the country's history, culture and atmosphere. Recoleta Cemetery. In the XIX century in this part of Buenos Aires because of the plague began to move wealthy residents, then the city expanded and now the cemetery is located in the central part of the city. The detailed monuments, crypts and sculptures are impressive.
The town of La Plata is located 50 km south of Byres.
Seeing the Museo de la Plata there. It is considered one of the best anthropology museums in the world, including more than a million exhibits. The museum is really big and interesting. The first floor is devoted to fossils, animals and dinosaurs. The second floor is about humans. Another attraction in this city that needs attention is the Catedral de la Plata. The largest cathedral in Argentina and one of the largest in Latin America.
Seeing the Museo de la Plata there. It is considered one of the best anthropology museums in the world, including more than a million exhibits. The museum is really big and interesting. The first floor is devoted to fossils, animals and dinosaurs. The second floor is about humans. Another attraction in this city that needs attention is the Catedral de la Plata. The largest cathedral in Argentina and one of the largest in Latin America.
Changed the rear tire, it's now a Pirelli MT-60. Went to Honda, bought supplies. It remains to find a welder, to finalize the trunk. Motorcycle engine oil is sold at YPF gas stations, they are everywhere in Argentina. Bike is serviced, going to a party tonight with the locals and will be leaving town.
Leaving the capital, I'm heading north on Ruta 14. Two days and 1000 kilometers of endless downpours. Very hot and humid. I arrived in the province of Misiones. And I like it here.
Seeing Jesuit ruins and going to Iguazu Falls. San Ignacio Mini (XVII century), left from the Jesuit mission to convert the Guarani Indians to Christianity. Several thousand baptized Indians lived in the mission and worked for the order.
Arrived in Iguazu. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain again. I'll change the oil, get some rest and the day after tomorrow I'll go to the waterfalls. Great places here, I like the secondary roads especially. And almost no fences. Argentina has a special attitude to them, they fence everything. Tent to put along the highway is not realistic, well there are gas stations YPF, where you can put a tent. Here there are fewer fences along the roads.
Prices correspond to the tourist flow. Waterfalls attract many tourists. Funny, in the south in El Calafate with the largest glacier I bought the most expensive ice for cocktails with fernet. Then in Iguazu with the biggest waterfalls in the world I buy the most expensive water in the store.
Iguazu National Park is located on the river of the same name in the north of the country, on the border of Brazil and Argentina, both parts of the park in both countries are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition, the complex of waterfalls is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. The total width of the cascades is about 3 kilometers. The largest waterfall “Devil's Throat” is 150 meters wide and 700 meters long.
Prices correspond to the tourist flow. Waterfalls attract many tourists. Funny, in the south in El Calafate with the largest glacier I bought the most expensive ice for cocktails with fernet. Then in Iguazu with the biggest waterfalls in the world I buy the most expensive water in the store.
Iguazu National Park is located on the river of the same name in the north of the country, on the border of Brazil and Argentina, both parts of the park in both countries are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition, the complex of waterfalls is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. The total width of the cascades is about 3 kilometers. The largest waterfall “Devil's Throat” is 150 meters wide and 700 meters long.
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Today according to media predictions the world is supposed to end and why not meet it at the Devil's Throat.
The territory of the park is huge. I did almost all of it in one day. It took 8 hours. I liked it most of all on the island among waterfalls, there were not many people. I was the last one to leave the island when the boat traffic had already stopped, I had to throw up a white flag with a T-shirt so that the boatmen could see me.
I'm sitting bandaged, I fell on my bike 3 hours ago, only 70 km from San Ignacio. I didn't break anything, but I'm pretty banged up. It wasn't my fault, of course, but the pineapple. I wanted to buy this fruit from the vendors along the road. I was distracted and didn't realize my rear wheel had gone off the road and onto the roadside. Because of the height difference between the road and the roadside, the bike flipped and I rolled on the tarmac, leaving my skin on the road. Good thing I was wearing full protection, but I was still pretty badly hurt.
I go to San Ignacio to the hospital for dressings. It's very hot and humid. It's the rainy season, the jungle is particularly steamy, you can't leave the house during the day. I'm living in a tent on the hostel grounds. I feel better in a tent here - it's cooler at night and there are no mosquitoes thanks to the netting. On a cheap tent bought in a supermarket, the plastic arches melted from the heat, I had to fix them too.
I have to sit in one place for 2 weeks, waiting for my wounds to heal. But I love it here and am happily making a New Year's vacation for myself. Life is cheaper here than in the rest of Argentina and the red earth grows especially delicious mangoes. Feliz Ano Nuevo !!!
I have to sit in one place for 2 weeks, waiting for my wounds to heal. But I love it here and am happily making a New Year's vacation for myself. Life is cheaper here than in the rest of Argentina and the red earth grows especially delicious mangoes. Feliz Ano Nuevo !!!
The swelling has gone down, the wounds have healed. The bike's been cleaned up a bit, too. The dashboard is broken, but it does not need much, the plastic is worn, the mirror was replaced, the handlebars were straightened. Got a patch on my bag, patched up my clothes and now I can ride on. Going east to Salta. For 1200 km of road, the jungle was replaced by mountains. I came to Salta to watch the Dakar race.
The organizers of the Dakar Rally Marathon announced the reduction of the combat distance of the eighth stage of the race due to rain. I do not need to hurry and on the canceled section I will still go through. There I have a very beautiful road planned towards the Chilean border.
Together with the racers I stopped at a special gas station for racers, I thought I would get free gas. The spectators welcomed me as a participant of Dakar, but I was not proud for long, the police immediately recognized a cheat and kicked me out of the gas station, my costume was not colorful enough.
Aconcagua
America's highest point
Altitude
6960 m
Days
7
Number of climbers
2
Aconcagua 6960 m - Stone Guardian (Quechua language). The mountain belongs to the Central Cordillera, located on the border of Argentina and Chile, is the highest in the Andes and the entire American continent.
Checking in with Ivan, a guide from Peru, whom we befriended on my first ascent of 6,000 meters. During the climbing season, which begins on Aconhagua in November, Ivan goes to Argentina to work as a guide with foreign tourists. At the beginning of November I wrote to Ivan that I wanted to try to climb Aconcagua and asked him to help me with it. I didn't have the money to pay $5,000 for a commercial tour with an agency and Ivan could help me cut costs and accompany me on the mountain. I am not a professional mountaineer and I dare not go on such big mountains on my own. My last year is already one continuous adventure that regularly shows me to be more careful.
Ivan's conditions for accompanying me were as follows:
We go quickly, for the whole ascent 7 days, without acclimatization. We have both been on high mountains recently and should be able to cope with it. Ivan is definitely fine, I hope so too. My last ascent before Aconcagua was in Bolivia on Mount Sajama at 6500 meters. Thanks to that I had a rough idea of what awaited me. I rent and buy some equipment in Mendoza, and Ivan brings all the missing equipment from Peru. I buy a climbing permit from the Argentine government, which cost $700 at the time, buy food for our entire ascent, and pay Ivan a fee of $1000 for his help as a guide on the mountain. On these terms we agreed to climb to the top of the continent.
While in Salta I run up a small mountain in the center of town every day to get in shape before the climb. With a couple days to go, I'm as focused as possible on the upcoming adventure. To save money, I live in a hostel for free, making a promotional video about the hostel. And when there are a couple of days left before we meet Ivan in Mendoza, I fall in love with a girl who comes with her parents to Salta for a one-night stay from Misiones province. After spending the night in a hostel they go home. Our liking was mutual and when it's time for me to go to Mendoza, I do something a little stupid. Instead of going south, I go north to Misiones. For one day to visit this girl. To make the trip from Salta to Mendoza with the Corrientes stopover I had to spend 28 hours on the bus and make a huge detour. When you are young and traveling, feelings are heightened and you can fall in love lightning fast. We spent one evening together and early in the morning I left for Mendoza to climb.
After meeting Ivan in Mendoza, we buy groceries and prepare our backpacks for the trip.
Checking in with Ivan, a guide from Peru, whom we befriended on my first ascent of 6,000 meters. During the climbing season, which begins on Aconhagua in November, Ivan goes to Argentina to work as a guide with foreign tourists. At the beginning of November I wrote to Ivan that I wanted to try to climb Aconcagua and asked him to help me with it. I didn't have the money to pay $5,000 for a commercial tour with an agency and Ivan could help me cut costs and accompany me on the mountain. I am not a professional mountaineer and I dare not go on such big mountains on my own. My last year is already one continuous adventure that regularly shows me to be more careful.
Ivan's conditions for accompanying me were as follows:
We go quickly, for the whole ascent 7 days, without acclimatization. We have both been on high mountains recently and should be able to cope with it. Ivan is definitely fine, I hope so too. My last ascent before Aconcagua was in Bolivia on Mount Sajama at 6500 meters. Thanks to that I had a rough idea of what awaited me. I rent and buy some equipment in Mendoza, and Ivan brings all the missing equipment from Peru. I buy a climbing permit from the Argentine government, which cost $700 at the time, buy food for our entire ascent, and pay Ivan a fee of $1000 for his help as a guide on the mountain. On these terms we agreed to climb to the top of the continent.
While in Salta I run up a small mountain in the center of town every day to get in shape before the climb. With a couple days to go, I'm as focused as possible on the upcoming adventure. To save money, I live in a hostel for free, making a promotional video about the hostel. And when there are a couple of days left before we meet Ivan in Mendoza, I fall in love with a girl who comes with her parents to Salta for a one-night stay from Misiones province. After spending the night in a hostel they go home. Our liking was mutual and when it's time for me to go to Mendoza, I do something a little stupid. Instead of going south, I go north to Misiones. For one day to visit this girl. To make the trip from Salta to Mendoza with the Corrientes stopover I had to spend 28 hours on the bus and make a huge detour. When you are young and traveling, feelings are heightened and you can fall in love lightning fast. We spent one evening together and early in the morning I left for Mendoza to climb.
After meeting Ivan in Mendoza, we buy groceries and prepare our backpacks for the trip.
Day one. November 16. 6am, with big backpacks trying to catch a cab. The young people are leaving the Friday night parties. Cab takes us to the bus station, from where we take a bus for 4 hours to the entrance to the Aconcagua National Park. At the entrance we are checked in and our permits are checked. We are the first ones going to the top of the mountain in this season, which is just starting. After registration we get numbered fecal packets and our journey begins. We already have heavy backpacks of 35 kg, now we also have to carry feces. Otherwise there's a $200 fine.
The entrance to the national park is at an altitude of 2700 m. To the base camp walk 30 km with a smooth climb up to 4300 m. We don't take a mule, as commercial groups usually do, I don't have money for it. And 30 kilometers with heavy backpacks turns into an exhausting journey.
It is 8 kilometers to the first camp of Confluencia. This section is picturesque, there is still vegetation and birds and hares that are not afraid of anything. We register at the camp. There is a lot of attention to us, nobody has gone to the top yet, we are the first in this season. The doctor checks blood pressure and the amount of oxygen in the blood. The doctor can forbid to climb if he sees any serious contraindications. In addition to the medical staff, there are mountain police in the camps, who identify violators and rescue work.
After the inspection we are released further. We cross the Orkones River and stay overnight. It is not allowed to pitch tents outside the camps, but after looking at our big backpacks and realizing that we will not reach the base camp today, they gave us permission, asking us to contact by radio from the place of overnight stay.
After the inspection we are released further. We cross the Orkones River and stay overnight. It is not allowed to pitch tents outside the camps, but after looking at our big backpacks and realizing that we will not reach the base camp today, they gave us permission, asking us to contact by radio from the place of overnight stay.
Day two. November 17. We leave at dawn. Navigator draws 17 kilometers to the base camp Plaza de mulaz (Square of mules). The trail leads through a wide gorge. As you ascend, the animals and vegetation are left behind. The summit of Aconcagua is not visible, only the cloud cap hanging over the mountain due to the wind.
From exhaustion, I remember how nice it was down in the city. I wonder if I'm doing the right thing going up, if I have enough strength, because we're not at the base camp yet, but it's not easy. In 6 hours we reach the base camp. It is quite quiet in the camp. There are no tourists yet, tourist companies are preparing to receive their groups and organize service before the season starts. Mule Square camp is big, in season it will become a village full of people from all over the world. After all, Aconcagua is on the list of the 7 peaks of the continents that many people want to climb in pursuit of regalia.
We have dinner and go to bed early. Feeling the altitude. I feel it from 3000 meters, and I need to climb almost to 7000 in a couple of days. Ivan says that the blood remembers the mountains and everything will be fine.
We have dinner and go to bed early. Feeling the altitude. I feel it from 3000 meters, and I need to climb almost to 7000 in a couple of days. Ivan says that the blood remembers the mountains and everything will be fine.
Day three. November 18. 4300 m - 5000 m. We leave extra things at the base camp, put on plastic boots and start climbing the mountain. Ivan tells me that I'm going the wrong way and at this pace we'll freeze at the top. We have to go faster. I have to readjust and find a new rhythm.
Ivan says that he has never seen the mountain so empty, we are the only ones on it! He usually works here in January and February when there is less snow and more tourists. We've reached Camp Canada. I still feel the altitude. When I move, my body works and pumps oxygen, but when I sit still, my blood thickens and I get a headache. During the night it was cold and it snowed a lot. This kind of snowstorm here is called Viento blanco - white wind.
Day four. November 19. 5000 m - 5600 m. The wind stopped only around 4 am. By noon, having slept and had lunch, we went to the next camp Nido de Condores (Nest of condors). There is snow under our feet, we reach the camp. Ivan decides to go to the summit from this camp at 5600 meters. There is another camp at 6000 meters, but Ivan does not want to sleep there. In fast alpine style, in which we are going, sleeping there without acclimatization will be worse and colder, the organism will not be able to recover. I can only hope for Ivan's experience. It's really not easy for me to sleep here at 5600 altitude. I can't eat dinner. Nausea and headache again. I take a tablet of Ibuprofen to thin the blood and go to sleep.
Ivan says that he has never seen the mountain so empty, we are the only ones on it! He usually works here in January and February when there is less snow and more tourists. We've reached Camp Canada. I still feel the altitude. When I move, my body works and pumps oxygen, but when I sit still, my blood thickens and I get a headache. During the night it was cold and it snowed a lot. This kind of snowstorm here is called Viento blanco - white wind.
Day four. November 19. 5000 m - 5600 m. The wind stopped only around 4 am. By noon, having slept and had lunch, we went to the next camp Nido de Condores (Nest of condors). There is snow under our feet, we reach the camp. Ivan decides to go to the summit from this camp at 5600 meters. There is another camp at 6000 meters, but Ivan does not want to sleep there. In fast alpine style, in which we are going, sleeping there without acclimatization will be worse and colder, the organism will not be able to recover. I can only hope for Ivan's experience. It's really not easy for me to sleep here at 5600 altitude. I can't eat dinner. Nausea and headache again. I take a tablet of Ibuprofen to thin the blood and go to sleep.
Day five. November 20. According to the navigator from our camp to the summit is 5 kilometers. What is 5 kilometers from 5600 to 6960 meters. It is about 8-10 hours of walking.
We leave at 4 am. We have only necessary things with us: crampons, water, some food, thermos, camera. All clothes are on ourselves. The sky is clear - stars, there is no wind, it is frosty.
After an hour we stop to shoe the crampons. We climb up to the camp Berlin (5900 m) together with the sun. I feel bad, but the weather is unusually good. It starts with traverses on a wide slope. There is no trail, there is a lot of snow. Ivan breaks the path, I follow his footsteps. So we reach the last camp Independencia (Independence), we have a rest.
Climbing up to the wind gate (puerta del viento). I've heard of this place as a turning point, often people say we've had enough and turn back down. It's an open ridge with strong, often hurricane force winds. But the weather smiled on us with the widest smile, this day it was almost windless. We pass along the ridge, at the rock resembling a finger I sit down to rest, but Ivan drives me forward, telling me how in this place someone was killed by a fallen stone last year. This is the only place on the ridge with a rock, behind which you can hide from the wind.
After the ridge the climb starts again, it became very difficult to walk. I take a few steps and I am exhausted. What a pleasure it is to stand motionless, leaning on poles and breathing deeply. But I have to walk, I need a rhythm. And I find it with the help of hallucinations, I guess motivation helped me. It seemed to me that I bought this rhythm as a service at the base camp, and some company gave me the breath. Three deep breaths for one foot-sized step. And it works! But soon this imaginary rhythm also falls into disrepair, I no longer have three breaths per step.
I'm looking at my watch. It's 13:00. We have about 3 more hours, after which we should definitely go down. Ivan is already waiting for me above at the place called La cueva (the cave). Beyond the cave is the last part of the route, to go up the steep slope between two screes of rocks to the top. Ivan worries whether I will have enough strength to descend later and tells another story about some foreigner who climbed up but couldn't descend because he had no strength left. There are still 200-300 meters to the top. I answered him arrogantly that if I reached here, I would reach the top, and if I reached the top, I would somehow get down.
We leave at 4 am. We have only necessary things with us: crampons, water, some food, thermos, camera. All clothes are on ourselves. The sky is clear - stars, there is no wind, it is frosty.
After an hour we stop to shoe the crampons. We climb up to the camp Berlin (5900 m) together with the sun. I feel bad, but the weather is unusually good. It starts with traverses on a wide slope. There is no trail, there is a lot of snow. Ivan breaks the path, I follow his footsteps. So we reach the last camp Independencia (Independence), we have a rest.
Climbing up to the wind gate (puerta del viento). I've heard of this place as a turning point, often people say we've had enough and turn back down. It's an open ridge with strong, often hurricane force winds. But the weather smiled on us with the widest smile, this day it was almost windless. We pass along the ridge, at the rock resembling a finger I sit down to rest, but Ivan drives me forward, telling me how in this place someone was killed by a fallen stone last year. This is the only place on the ridge with a rock, behind which you can hide from the wind.
After the ridge the climb starts again, it became very difficult to walk. I take a few steps and I am exhausted. What a pleasure it is to stand motionless, leaning on poles and breathing deeply. But I have to walk, I need a rhythm. And I find it with the help of hallucinations, I guess motivation helped me. It seemed to me that I bought this rhythm as a service at the base camp, and some company gave me the breath. Three deep breaths for one foot-sized step. And it works! But soon this imaginary rhythm also falls into disrepair, I no longer have three breaths per step.
I'm looking at my watch. It's 13:00. We have about 3 more hours, after which we should definitely go down. Ivan is already waiting for me above at the place called La cueva (the cave). Beyond the cave is the last part of the route, to go up the steep slope between two screes of rocks to the top. Ivan worries whether I will have enough strength to descend later and tells another story about some foreigner who climbed up but couldn't descend because he had no strength left. There are still 200-300 meters to the top. I answered him arrogantly that if I reached here, I would reach the top, and if I reached the top, I would somehow get down.
There is little snow on the summit, it is blown away. From the top of Aconcagua you can see the whole central Cordillera, which has about two hundred six-thousanders. But there is no strength to enjoy the view, there is only one desire - to fall on the ground and not to move. We rest, take some photos and start descending.
But I don't have the strength to descend. I walk a few meters and rest. I take 10-20 deep breaths, walk a few meters and sit on a rock again. I have no strength left at all. I tell Ivan to untie me from myself and go down to the cave and wait for me there, and I will rest for half an hour. Ivan leaves, and I am left alone.
Sitting on a rock, vomiting. But there's no greater pleasure than just sitting still and breathing deeply. I don't know how long I sat like that, but when I opened my eyes, I was suddenly afraid. I saw the sunset beginning to set and the rising clouds above where I am. The thought came to me that I could stay here forever if I didn't get up now and go down.
Sitting on a rock, vomiting. But there's no greater pleasure than just sitting still and breathing deeply. I don't know how long I sat like that, but when I opened my eyes, I was suddenly afraid. I saw the sunset beginning to set and the rising clouds above where I am. The thought came to me that I could stay here forever if I didn't get up now and go down.
I get up and fall down again. I fall, tear my clothes on the rocks, lose my camera. But finally I crawl to Ivan. The sun is still shining. Ivan takes out a thermos from his backpack and I drink two mugs of hot tea.
We arrived at the tent in the dark. The assault day turned out to be very long and difficult, 21 hours. Ivan heated water, I lay down in my sleeping bag, completely exhausted. At night I threw up once more and had some stupid dreams. It was very cold, but I didn't even have the strength to pull on a second pair of socks.
Day six. November 21. We are descending to the base camp. My thumbs, frozen yesterday, are starting to ache. But I got off easily, only the nails came off. In 3 hours we descend to the base camp. We were the first this year on the summit. For Ivan, as a guide, it is a special prestige to be the first to ascend. The other guides congratulate us. We pack our things and go further, we still have to walk about 30 km to the exit from the national park.
Day seven. November 22. Having spent the night in a tent, we reach the first camp. A doctor's examination. The young doctor said that I would live, the frostbite was not severe, but I would have to part with my nails. Having bandaged my fingers we went to the exit from the park and by evening we were already in the city of Mendoza.
We arrived at the tent in the dark. The assault day turned out to be very long and difficult, 21 hours. Ivan heated water, I lay down in my sleeping bag, completely exhausted. At night I threw up once more and had some stupid dreams. It was very cold, but I didn't even have the strength to pull on a second pair of socks.
Day six. November 21. We are descending to the base camp. My thumbs, frozen yesterday, are starting to ache. But I got off easily, only the nails came off. In 3 hours we descend to the base camp. We were the first this year on the summit. For Ivan, as a guide, it is a special prestige to be the first to ascend. The other guides congratulate us. We pack our things and go further, we still have to walk about 30 km to the exit from the national park.
Day seven. November 22. Having spent the night in a tent, we reach the first camp. A doctor's examination. The young doctor said that I would live, the frostbite was not severe, but I would have to part with my nails. Having bandaged my fingers we went to the exit from the park and by evening we were already in the city of Mendoza.
After saying goodbye to Ivan I rest in the city for a few more days. I rented out the equipment I had rented. The store owner asks me to show photos from the top of the mountain. I say that I have lost my camera. He seemed to think that I was lying to him, that I was on the top.
An amazing thing happened to this camera later on. A couple months after I got home from my trip, I received an email from Ivan. He wrote that some climber had found a camera on the mountain. Ivan wrote me the e-mail of the cook from the base camp who had given him the information so that I could find out the details. I wrote to the cook. But I didn't get a reply and soon forgot about this conversation. But three months later the cook wrote to me, saying that he was in the mountains without communication and as soon as he came down, he wrote to me immediately, giving me the e-mail address of the tourist who found the camera, so that I could get the details from this climber. I wrote to this guy, described my camera and got a reply from him that he had found my camera, the camera was in working condition and all the photos were saved. So I got my camera from Austria six months after I lost it somewhere in the snow at 6500 meters in Argentina on the Aconcagua. With this camera I subsequently made my first photo exhibition and became more seriously interested in photography.
An amazing thing happened to this camera later on. A couple months after I got home from my trip, I received an email from Ivan. He wrote that some climber had found a camera on the mountain. Ivan wrote me the e-mail of the cook from the base camp who had given him the information so that I could find out the details. I wrote to the cook. But I didn't get a reply and soon forgot about this conversation. But three months later the cook wrote to me, saying that he was in the mountains without communication and as soon as he came down, he wrote to me immediately, giving me the e-mail address of the tourist who found the camera, so that I could get the details from this climber. I wrote to this guy, described my camera and got a reply from him that he had found my camera, the camera was in working condition and all the photos were saved. So I got my camera from Austria six months after I lost it somewhere in the snow at 6500 meters in Argentina on the Aconcagua. With this camera I subsequently made my first photo exhibition and became more seriously interested in photography.