Ski skeleton, starting point below
We booked our trekking trip in the Andes with Campo Base at the local Hostel and initially were told it was a walk on a path and wasn’t too difficult. Then information was given to us once we paid and the walk became “moderately difficult” and as we were to start at 2900m and reach 3850m (around 12,600ft) we would also have to deal with walking at altitude…. and thus nerves set in!
Roger came to the door to pick us up, and he was not at all what I expected. A hippieish wymsical guy, he was friendly but shy in speaking English. He asked if we had walked at altitude, and when our double response was “No” he just smiled, rested his head back and said “tranquillo, tranquillo”! I was the only girl on the trip, and initially I felt there was a bit of reticence about my being there. A German guy who’d done quite a bit of walking in the Alps and Africa was making me nervous that I had bitten off more than I could chew!
The people carrier taking the 9 of us to Villacitos, the ski resort which was our starting point, was rather dilapidated and sure enough it broke down trying to go up a steep hill on unsealed roads. We had an unexpected 10min break and after letting the van run downhill again to start we hopped in and set off up the steep hairpin bends again.
Roger and the view
Roger said in order to deal with the altitude it was important to drink lots of water, eat regularly and take it slowly, tranquillo. So, off we set, with much joking as the driver decided he would come along too… which was not the norm, apparently. It seemed that he thought “if SHE is doing it, then so will I”! A chain-smoking, coca-cola drinking driver who normally doesn’t walk was some sight, but he brought up the rear, taking it easy as he went. As the walk got steeper and the altitude kicked in the pace slowed, and as he caught up to us he started to give me high fives! When it started to get tough, particularly for me as virtigo kicked in and the steepness of the walk was making panic start to well, he was asking me if we were continuing,… when I said yes, it was a high five then “vamos!”.
Andes peaks
I found that the altitude made me breathless, my heart was racing at an alarming rate at times…. but I was reminded, “tranquillo…. tranquillo, take it slowly please” from the chilled out Roger. A rep from another tour company was on the tour, and a guy from Campo Base was doing the walk for the first time himself although he was a hillwalker, and his brother came along on his first ever hillwalk! They were running off ahead, with Roger just slowly shaking his head and smiling.
The views behind us were fab, although a little hazy, but we could see the winding road that took us to our starting point, and see down the valleys in the distance back to Mendoza, with clouds floating below us, dramatic peaks with glaciers ahead of us… felt like we were on top of the world!
3850m up in the Andes!
We finally made it to the top! Lomo Blanco, 3850m. Now for the coming back down… we went a different route down, which I was glad of as it had been rather steep and with shale it was slippy underfoot and therfore a bad combination for me with my nerves at seeing the mountain face drop away from my feet! First of all we traversed rocks and boulders, but then we hit shale again, and my bottom hit the deck twice… I was starting to think it might be better for me to go down on my backside!!
Heading down
Once we hit the saddle of the mountain there was a choice to head up to another peak but I was too tired, but all the “young” ones headed off, hot on the heels of the Kiwi who’d run past them doing a spot of fell running, they were not amused that the foreigner was over taking them so they zoomed off, leaving me, Roger, Mr Driver man and the German guy to take it easy down the shale path through the valley.
A great day, but hard work and most certainly moderately difficult, but if you like hillwalking or trekking, then it will be bliss!
Sunset
