Snow Capped Mountains

I´ll start at the end, since it´s fresh in my mind.

We awoke at the standard crack of dawn, to crunchy grass sparkling in the morning sun - frosted over by Jack Frost.

We walked down the canyon, all downhill, following a gushing rushing raging torrent of a stream teeming with freshly melted mountain water.

We arrive at a house. Again, house is a rectangular enclosure made of adobe clay bricks, fastened together by mud, topped with a grass roof. There were two cars in the yard, presumably to take us back to Huarez. The end! We made it. It was a long 4 days, hiking over breathless beautiful mountain passes. We all took our packs off and crashed to the grass. Me, in the warm sun. Others on benches. We ate our packed lunches (bread, candy bar, orange, cookies) and relaxed.

Shortly thereafter a large group of Israelis joined us. We had been leapfrogging them the whole way. There is something about Israelis... that I don´t like. They travel in swarms, they are loud, and for the most part they act as though they are the only people present on this earth. Most of them speak English, although they would never speak it to you. They keep to themselves, speaking in Hebrew only. It has nothing to do with religion, and only to do with the way they carry themselves and the way they treat others. And it´s not just me, many other travelers feel the same way.

Anyway, that´s besides the point. So, in this random yard, we have a cat begging for food - a dog laying beside me in the sun - disinterested in food. Someone gave the dog a piece of bread, since they´d already fed the cat, and the cat came over and tried to steal the bread from the dog! The dog didn´t appreciate his personal space being invaded, so he snapped at the cat. I think the cat was duly spooked and left him alone.

There were random piglets in the yard as well. At least 5 of them, grunting around like a dog, presumably looking for food. There were sheep passing by, being herded by their woman shepards. There was even a goat mixed in with the sheep!
Then two horses arrived, and a pack of donkeys. The donkeys carried all of our camping equipment.

Needless to say, it was quite a scene in this finish line yard.

Then, I noticed a woman leaning against a rock. A frail frazzled woman. And two police officers. Something didn´t look right with this woman. She looked like an emaciated Mick Jagger -- if that is possible. I kept looking at her. Her arms had innumerable veins protruding from them. It was as if the veins had nowhere else to go - inward - due to lack of arm! ANd were being forced to the surface like worms after a summer evening rain.

Then someone mentions that two people died on the mountains. Then the story changes, that a person broke some ribs after a fall.

Finally, the taxis are loaded and we pile in. The Mick Jagger woman ends up in our cab, in the front seat. Her face.... her skin... it looked like it belonged in a wax museum. I don´t know how to describe it. It looked like she had seen a ghost.

So, as we drive along sandy cliff roads, where one false jerk of the steering wheel or step on the gas pedal (more on that later) would send you hurtling over a cliff so steep and high that you may never hit ground -- (picture Road Runner cliffs) -- Lily - one of the trekkers - asks the woman in the front seat if she was with the climber who was injured.

The woman proceeds to tell us the story. Something about base camp at 5400 meters, and an experienced Austrian climber, a Peruvian climber, and herself. With two American climbers on their way to base camp. The American climbers were taking it easy in an effort to acclimitize. The altitude can really wreak havoc on your body. Sam, a very cool guy in our group from New Hampshire, said that -- well, according to his EMT girlfriend -- that your body loses 6 liters of water a day at altitude. So water is important.

Anyway, the Austrian climber decides that the weather conditions are perfect to summit the mountain. Apparently he had already summited 5 peaks, and was comfortable going alone. The Peruvian decided to go home, and this woman - the woman in the front seat - was going to stay at base camp to wait for the Americans.

So, the Austrian went alone. Without a net. From what I understand of ice climbing, you drill a screw into the ice every 10 or 20 meters, so that if you fall, you only fall 10 or 20 meters, then the screw and the rope catch you. In theory anyway.
I don´t know why, but the Austrian did not do this. So the woman in the front seat was hanging at base camp, occasionally glancing up to monitor the Austrian´s progress to the peak - when suddenly she hears the screams.

She wasn´t sure how, but somehow he fell. 300 meters, she says. He landed close to base camp. He somehow survived, which she said was improbable. She had to help him back to the camp, where she loaded sleeping bags and clothes onto him, to counteract the shock.

This happened on Monday. It was now Wednesday. She left him on Tuesday to go for help, assuming the American climbers would reach him and care for him in the meantime. It took her 2 days to get down. Which is where we found her.

As we left, an SUV marked High Altitude Search and Rescue team arrived, and a team in uniforms marched up the hill - to search and rescue the Austrian.

It was pretty sobering.

In talking to Sam and Paul - from NH - who were in Huarez to climb a few peaks - they said that you don´t just break ribs with a 300 meter fall, that the feeling of broken ribs was probably internal bleeding. You could tell that they were affected by the news, as they were preparing to set off on climbs of their own.

So on we went, zig-zagging around mountain corners. We get to the bottom of the mountain, and suddenly the car we´re riding in makes this loud clicking sound and lurches to a halt! The car turned itself off.

The Peruvian woman who was driving the car thinks the car overheated. I say ´well, normally overheating involves steam, and does not involve loud clicking in the front left portion of the car´ but she doesn´t speak English. After a few minutes, she turns the car back on, and we continue, a bit rattled.
Well, it happens again! This time the steering freezed up, and it seemed the brakes did too. WE made it to the side of the road, with the woman driver clearly rattled.
A few minutes pass, and again she turns the car back on. Something is obviously and seriously wrong with the car. She tests the brakes and they seem to work. Spooky.
Luckily, we make it into town, and get into another larger taxi. This poor woman hopefully made it to a mechanic. I have no idea what the problem was, I´m just glad we made it back safely.

We all pile into a van and over an hour later arrive back in Huarez. The woman (formerly known as the woman in the front seat - no longer in the front seat) heads off to find out about insurance. She planned on heading back up the mountain the next day, to retrieve her equipment and to hopefully hear good news about her friend.

These mountains are breathtaking. Both because of the altitude, but also because of their stark natural beauty. They are so still. Jagged. Pristine, untouched. Covered in snow, when the sun strikes them they become so dazzlingly bright it´s almost hard to look at.

There are so many stories from the hike, such an amazing time, I just don´t have time now. I am in Huanchaco, on the northern coast, after an overnight bus ride.
As I left Huarez on the bus, I couldn´t help but think of the woman in the front seat.
And the Austrian.
Falling.
I hope he´s alive, I said a prayer for him.

I´ll write more later. I´m going to try and surf this afternoon. It is overcast and cool, the water here is cold enough that it requires a wetsuit. I may head farther north tonight, closer to the equator. For warm, relaxing beaches and ceviche.