Today we were trying to summit our first big mountain. It is called Traeja and it was supposed to take around 10 hours to complete. In mountaineering, we have something called an "alpine start" where you have to wake up super early in order to summit a mountain. This was my dad's and my first alpine start, and I am not a fan. We had to wake up at 2 am and be ready with our packs on at 3 am.
Meanwhile, I was still feeling pretty terrible. We hiked an hour and a half to the same glacier as yesterday. The group was all there by the time we got there, and our guide went to talk to the other guides.
We were sitting down drinking some water when our head guide started telling us that the weather was really bad. He said that the weather forecast showed the weather only getting worse and that the forecasts are usually correct. He explained that we could probably go for another hour on the glacier, but then we would have to turn around, so there really wasn't a point to keep going. So, we turned around and everyone was pretty bummed, including me. I was a little happy because I didn't feel very well, and I got to go back to sleep, but still disappointed that we didn't get to summit our first mountain. Weather calls happen a lot in mountaineering. When we got back to the tents, our group members were telling us about all the times they hadn't gotten to climb due to weather.
On Aconcagua, weather is the number one reason that people don't make it to the summit. We were hanging around the main tent sharing stories when Alejo came in and told us that there was a strike going on in La Paz the next day. He explained that this would not allow us to get back tomorrow so we would have to leave today. So, we began packing up our bags and tents and then it was a short hour hike down to the van to go back to La Paz. All the mountains were really beautiful after the fresh snowfall.
We got to the hotel, and it was really nice to be back down at 12,000 ft. We had cell service again and got to shower and relax before dinner.
Oh, it’s so beautiful! You forget how dangerous it can be until your favorite redhead lives to tell the tale!
Sometimes it’s the journey not the end
So glad you are sharing this experience with a group who has stories to swap:)