MOunt Aconcagua 2016 (Training for Everest)
I choose to climb Mount Aconcagua because 1) It was quite high and even though I had submitted Lenin peak the previous year, I still wanted a challenge 2) I was confident to climb it without guides and porters 3) It would be my second trip back to Argentina and I loved the country.
Aconcagua proved to be formidable challenge in every sense: From the bad weather that we experienced in base camp to the strong winds we experienced due to this year being an El Nino year to my partner falling sick and had to leave me.
After 13 days of melting our own ice, cooking our own food, packing, fixing our tents, arranging our own logistics, planning our own summit date, I left for the summit alone on the 13th January 2016. To me, it was the best date in the short period that we were there. Many people did not even have a chance to attempt the summit due to winds of 120km/h. My day was much lesser although still considerably high for mountain summit bids. Mine was 60km/h and I decided to attempt the summit. I woke up at 3am, melted my ice and ate some soup and biscuits. I packed my pack, which contained a GPS, two bottles of water, alot of snacks and a whole lot of courage. I knew that if anything were to happen today, there was no one to count on but me. If you think about it, mountaineers who climb solo put alot of stress on themselves. There is constantly a mental torture that he/she puts on himself to leave the tent into the darkness. I did it.
I left from camp 2 (Nido De Condores - 5500m) which is normally where people don't go to summit from. Usually, people go from Camp 3 where they only need to climb less than 1000m. However, my ascent would be tremendous and it would be 1400m, higher than I have ever climbed in one day for a summit day. I still felt confident since I learnt alot from my previous Lenin peak summit day of 15 hours.
I reached camp 3 in 2.5 hours and there, I was blasted by winds. It was a cold reminder how desolated the place really was. Shattered tents everywhere and then i wasted no time and left to go higher. On the way up, I saw an Italian guy who was sitting down below one of the big rock faces. He was meddling with his crampons and the other american climbers just walked past him. I stopped and helped him with his straps. Apparently, his straps had came off and when I asked him where his partner was, he said, he went up. I then quickly took off my mitten and helped him to strap them on properly. He was super happy and I too continued the climb.
After 3 more hours, I reached the part called Independencia. It was a part where most people stopped since there was a break from the winds. Many people here turned back that day since there was a bad traffic jam above it and also the winds were getting stronger. I took a break and then decided to continue at around 1045am. I reached the traverse and then the winds started to blow extremely strong. I actually lost my balance alot of times during this climb and it really takes a toll on people. I saw the traverse and the Canaleta in from of me and I knew I was just 4-5 hours from the summit. However, I thought about the fact that I might be too tired to get myself down to camp 2. I knew that I was strong enough to do it but I had alot of "what ifs" going through my head.
In the end, I went up and finally made a decision to turn back at the traverse. I made my way down with no regrets knowing that I could always come back to climb this mountain in better conditions. I went back to camp 2 and packed everything and carried everything including my half-broken tent (Due to Winds) all the way to base camp in the same day. The next day, I left base camp, bid my fair wells and thanked the mountain for letting me go safely and promising her that I'll come back to summit another time.
Back home, i reflected upon my successful failure, and I knew that I was that close to completing my second summit. But thinking about it, it was a success because all that I had planned had went well. From my training to the acclimatization, to the planning to all my equipment. Basically, nothing failed and I reacted well to each situation to ensure that I had the best chance of summit that day. In fact, I knew I was more than prepared.
"Live to climb another day", thats my new motto for climbing.
Allez ad signing out till the next climb, Cho Oyu!
Jeremy Tong Zhi Hao(Ah Tong)
Aconcagua proved to be formidable challenge in every sense: From the bad weather that we experienced in base camp to the strong winds we experienced due to this year being an El Nino year to my partner falling sick and had to leave me.
After 13 days of melting our own ice, cooking our own food, packing, fixing our tents, arranging our own logistics, planning our own summit date, I left for the summit alone on the 13th January 2016. To me, it was the best date in the short period that we were there. Many people did not even have a chance to attempt the summit due to winds of 120km/h. My day was much lesser although still considerably high for mountain summit bids. Mine was 60km/h and I decided to attempt the summit. I woke up at 3am, melted my ice and ate some soup and biscuits. I packed my pack, which contained a GPS, two bottles of water, alot of snacks and a whole lot of courage. I knew that if anything were to happen today, there was no one to count on but me. If you think about it, mountaineers who climb solo put alot of stress on themselves. There is constantly a mental torture that he/she puts on himself to leave the tent into the darkness. I did it.
I left from camp 2 (Nido De Condores - 5500m) which is normally where people don't go to summit from. Usually, people go from Camp 3 where they only need to climb less than 1000m. However, my ascent would be tremendous and it would be 1400m, higher than I have ever climbed in one day for a summit day. I still felt confident since I learnt alot from my previous Lenin peak summit day of 15 hours.
I reached camp 3 in 2.5 hours and there, I was blasted by winds. It was a cold reminder how desolated the place really was. Shattered tents everywhere and then i wasted no time and left to go higher. On the way up, I saw an Italian guy who was sitting down below one of the big rock faces. He was meddling with his crampons and the other american climbers just walked past him. I stopped and helped him with his straps. Apparently, his straps had came off and when I asked him where his partner was, he said, he went up. I then quickly took off my mitten and helped him to strap them on properly. He was super happy and I too continued the climb.
After 3 more hours, I reached the part called Independencia. It was a part where most people stopped since there was a break from the winds. Many people here turned back that day since there was a bad traffic jam above it and also the winds were getting stronger. I took a break and then decided to continue at around 1045am. I reached the traverse and then the winds started to blow extremely strong. I actually lost my balance alot of times during this climb and it really takes a toll on people. I saw the traverse and the Canaleta in from of me and I knew I was just 4-5 hours from the summit. However, I thought about the fact that I might be too tired to get myself down to camp 2. I knew that I was strong enough to do it but I had alot of "what ifs" going through my head.
In the end, I went up and finally made a decision to turn back at the traverse. I made my way down with no regrets knowing that I could always come back to climb this mountain in better conditions. I went back to camp 2 and packed everything and carried everything including my half-broken tent (Due to Winds) all the way to base camp in the same day. The next day, I left base camp, bid my fair wells and thanked the mountain for letting me go safely and promising her that I'll come back to summit another time.
Back home, i reflected upon my successful failure, and I knew that I was that close to completing my second summit. But thinking about it, it was a success because all that I had planned had went well. From my training to the acclimatization, to the planning to all my equipment. Basically, nothing failed and I reacted well to each situation to ensure that I had the best chance of summit that day. In fact, I knew I was more than prepared.
"Live to climb another day", thats my new motto for climbing.
Allez ad signing out till the next climb, Cho Oyu!
Jeremy Tong Zhi Hao(Ah Tong)