Chachani

Today is my birthday and during the last year I´ve reached new heights, 20,000 ft. Otherwise the reports that Chachani would be easier than el Misti were slightly exagerated. The base camp was at 17,500 ft. which in theory made the climb much easier, but even having spent a couple of nights at 16,000 ft., camping that high was a challenge. I developed a nasty altitude head ache almost immediately which made it nearly impossible to sleep. Maggie on the other hand was out like a rock, until we were forced out of bed at midnight. Although not technically difficult or extremely steep the route up the mountain consisted of a three pass system that required long traverses across steep seasonal glaciers. Waking up in the middle of the night allowed us to cross most of the snow while it was still cold and firm using crampons and ice axes. Our guide, Mikey from Zarate Expeditions chose not to give Maggie an ice axe. Instead he roped up to her waist with a loop around his down hill hand, giving her the feeling of being a child lead by a leash. No sooner had they roped up, just after 3 am, Maggie tripped over he crampons and went sliding down the steep pitch. Mikey braced automatically first on his bamboo pole and sunk his axe, catching her like a pro. She says it was just to test the rope system. The only other group climbing with us were three Austrians and a Swiss. During the previous afternoon the guides went over the predictable weather patterns on the mountain and the predictable habits of the climbers as well. Just like clockwork the other group made it through the first pass before altidude sickness took it´s toll on two of them high on the second pass. One of the guides decended with them and we continued on to the summit with the remnants of their group. The weather also held true to the guides predictions. Just before dawn the wind started making conditions miserable. Frost started creeping out of every crease on our jackets and collected on our hair. The rest of the climb was quite brutal. even with two pair of gloves and socks my fingers and toes went numb. The only reward came during the descent, when the sun came out and we could see our surroundings. Typically the mountains are only visible in Arequipa for a couple of hours in the morning. Chachani was very aesthetically pleasing in comparison to El Misti, with more shimmering snow fields and outcroppings of vibrant volcanic rock poking through.

We´re off to the Colca Canyon now for five days of backpacking.