Chiguata

We took a day trip, our last weekend in Arequipa, out into the countryside. We found our way to Chiguata, located at the base of El Misti and just a couple miles from the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve (10 miles east of the city of Arequipa). We were looking for a hiking path that we were told was scenic and peaceful.

We hopped a combi to a cab and finally made our way to the plaza of Chiguata. After inquiring about the path to the lady in the bodega next to the church, she pointed us down the dirt road towards Misti that would turn into another dirt road that would turn out to be the path we sought out.

Snowcapped Pichu Pichu in the background. 

After settled on our path, the foregrounds began to flow like lava as Misti towered over the green valley. The sky was so big and blue until the territorial Eagle seemed displeased with our presence. At that point the sun was falling in the sky so we decided we had sufficient fun and headed back to catch a crowded combi home.

Climbing El Misti Volcano

This past weekend I attempted my 2nd major climb of a volcano. This time it was El Misti, the active volcano and symbol of Arequipa, Peru. It is still the rainy season in Arequipa so there were more clouds, rain, ice and snow than ideal but this was our chance to go for the summit. El Misti is the 2nd tallest volcano in Arequipa (2nd to Chachani) and stands at 5,822 meters (19,101 feet). It's said that Misti erupts every 1,000 years or so and the last eruption was in the 1400's. When Misti erupts next, the people of Arequipa claim it will have a blast radius of 20 Kilometers. The center of Arequipa is a mere 17 Kilometers away and an eruption could erase this more than 500 year old city from the map. This fact made me appreciate my stay in Arequipa all the more as who is to say when this city may become a modern day lost city.

We left for our adventure at 8 AM Saturday morning with our trusty agency Wayki Tours located on Avenida Jerusalem downtown. This was the same company we used when we climbed Chachani and we did not hesitate to go back to these guys. The prices are fair and the guides are awesome. This time we were paired up with Aldo como Caldo. The daring group this time was Jacob, Micah, Shana and myself. We shared a 4x4 with Aldo and our driver Thomas to the entrance of the conservation land of El Misti and Thomas drove us on a dirt road as far as he could.




We grabbed our bags full of coca leaves, chocolate, 4-5 liters of water and all of our gear for camping and started walking uphill towards base camp which was at an altitude of 4,600 meters. The hike that first day took about 4.5 hours and was quite draining carrying all the weight of our backpacks up to that altitude. It was also raining off and on which didn't make the trek any more comfortable. Nonetheless, we arrived at base camp a couple hours before sunset and set up our tents while Aldo began preparing our feast of noodle soups. The first noodle soup had eggs and the 2nd course had tuna fish. I know it sounds gross, and I don't like tuna, but this was a welcome refueling after hiking with about 15 Kilos (roughly 30 pounds) of gear. We ate as the sun was beginning to set and the clouds began to clear so we could see the distant Arequipa way down below.

After enjoying the sunset the temperature dropped rapidly so we bundled in our tents around 7 to try and sleep before our 1 AM wakeup. It is very difficult to sleep at that altitude as the air is so thin and it certainly didn't help that the wind and rain made me wonder if we were going to get blown off the volcano. The weather eventually settled down enough to allow me to sleep for about an hour or so (which is pretty good in this situation). We awoke to Aldo beckoning us to breakfast around 1 AM. Aldo had coca tea, bread and cheese waiting for us and we ate as much as we felt comfortable eating before packing up our bags and heading out. 

The hike from the beginning was steep without much of any sign of a path. At many points we were climbing hand and foot over rocks guided by our headlamps. The higher we climbed the harder it was to breathe and the colder it got. We tried keeping our breaks to just a few minutes to prevent getting cold and stiffening up. We stopped just long enough to catch our breath, drink some water, and re-up on coca leaves. Keeping a wad of coca leaves in your mouth, coca tea and coca candies all definitely help with the altitude.

Sunrise over Pichu Pichu Volcano

The climb felt more treacherous than Chachani as it was steeper and rockier. However, we were fortunate that for much of the climb, the clouds cleared and allowed us some magnificent views of both Arequipa and Pichu Pichu volcano as the sun began to rise. After the sun had risen, we could also see the shadow cast by El Misti (badass!). Once we were close enough to see the cross on the summit it was time to put on our crampons to make our way across the steep frozen terrain. By the time we made it to the crater of the volcano we could clearly smell sulfur and we were just about out of gas yet there still was a dangerous 40 minute climb to the top of the crater and the cross at the summit. The terrain was frozen snow and an incredibly steep drop off the backside of Misti. We carefully walked up the steep hill hugging the side of the crater for fear of falling to our death. Am I being dramatic? Yes. However, had we slipped or faded off balance to our left and fell, there would have been little chance of stopping before we got slidding too fast down the steep, smooth, snow and ice backside face of Misti.

The shadow cast by Misti

Granadia break!

 After over 7 hours of climbing, we managed to reach the summit somewhere between 9 AM and 10 AM. It was a great feeling to conquer the symbol of Arequipa and my 2nd peak above 19,000 feet. We were happy to find the cross at the top was much larger and more elaborate than the cross at the top of Chachani. We made sure to enjoy the moment and spend sufficient time resting and snapping pictures so we can remember the accomplishment and not the pain. I think we waited long enough after our climb of Chachani to forget how difficult it was allowing us the confidence to attempt Misti. I'm glad I had forgotten.

 However, it wasn't over. We had to descend down safely into the crater and then carefully slide down Misti. This was brutal work on the quads just trying not to fall. Our return trip took us over 5 hours and I was spent. I couldn't feel my legs for the last 2-3 hours and was just trying to keep them moving one in front of the other. My knees were shaking with each step and I was praying I wouldn't blow out a knee flexing against the steep incline. Luckily, we all made it back to our car safely. Granted, we made it back 2-3 hours later than our guide wanted us too, but what can you do? We did it. What's next?

Climbing Chachani Volcano

This past weekend, a bunch of us teachers set out to conquer Volcan Chachani. This 6,057 m (19,872ft) beast of a volcano proved to be, by far, the most difficult challenge both physically and mentally I have yet faced. Chachani is the tallest of three volcanoes here in Arequipa, Peru along with El Misti  (5,822m) and Pichu Pichu (5,664m).

Loading up for our 3 hour drive to the drop zone near Chachani

Arequipa way down below.

It is currently summer in Arequipa and during the day the temperature is between 70-75 degrees. However, the top of Chachani is below freezing and covered in snow due to the altitude. In preparation for the trip we took pills to prevent altitude sickness and I bought a hefty bag of coca leaves to chew throughout our climb. These preparations proved vital but I could not possibly prepare for the sheer difficulty of the challenge.

After just over two hours of driving we stopped for a bathroom break in one of the more desolate landscapes I've seen. At this point, we realized that there was a seemingly serious issue with one of our two 4x4 vehicles. We ended up having to use one of the vehicles as a shuttle to get us all to the drop safely. There were a few points when I thought we were going to tip over due to the intensity of the final stretch of the terrain. Nonetheless, we made it. We stepped out at the feet of volcanoes onto a snow covered ground.

A wild Vicuña, the national animal of Peru, in front of Chachani

Brandon takes the road less traveled

The Bold

Uh oh. 

This dude joined us with his gf. He is a mountain climber who is mountain biking around South America. Are we in over our heads if this is the only other guy joining us?

Stone Faced. There seemed to be faces in the stone everywhere. Could be the altitude. We were pretty high. 

Our guide, Gido, sat in the trunk all cramped like a champ. 

Drop Zone. 

Team Sandwich

Coca!

Waiting for the 2nd carload at the drop zone

Bad Ass John

The celebratory beer busted out early

Just us and our legs from here...

We readied our gear, layered up and made some sandwiches with delicious, delicious, fresh Siabata bread and ham and cheese provided by Team Sandwich. Once the other carload arrived we grabbed our backpacks and hiked for 2 hours to base camp, which was at 5,100 m. We could already feel the effects of the altitude. I was breathing like a machine almost from the start. During the hike I found myself thinking, "umm... this is the 'easy' hike? Oy."

Caramello

We made it to base camp and set up our tents and prepared for dinner and sunset. Our surroundings were surreal. Dinner was ramen noodles with tuna.  It sounds gross and everyone thought it WAS gross...except me. I don't even like tuna but I think I was just so excited to have a hot meal that my taste buds played tricks on me. I had seconds. We ate and watched the sunset behind a volcano.

Our tent

Mica looks on as Gido cooks dinner

Sam getting her grub on with excitement (kindly served by Alfredo and Gido)

We were warned that sleeping would be difficult due to the altitude. Apparently, your body intakes less air while sleeping, and as a precaution, your body keeps you awake to breathe. We were told to expect 1-3 hours of sleep, 3 being great. I probably slept around an hour. Even while lying in the tent my chest was rising and falling as deep and fast as possible to maintain.

I exited the tent around 1:30 AM to a sky like I had never seen. The stars were everywhere, filling up constellations making them difficult to recognize. I was lucky enough to see three shooting stars above Chachani while I waited for the less anxious to join me. We were served breakfast at 2:10 while the moon rose behind Chachani. It was a crescent moon so for the first few minutes, it looked like glowing devil horns coming out of the volcano. We didn't think this bode well for our journey. Nonetheless, we began our climb in the dark at 2:30 AM.

Tired. Mouthful of coca leaves.

One of our last breaks before the top

My heart was pumping full volume almost straight out of the gate. All I could do or think of was counting my breathing with my steps and focus on placing my feet exactly in the prints of those in front of me. There wasn't a whole lot of talking which said a lot about how we were feeling, however, our guides, Gido and Alfredo, were whistling along the way like it was a stroll in the park. We stopped every hour or so to re-up on the coca leaves, stuff our faces with chocolate and have a sip or two of water. Just over halfway up we encountered snow which would slow our progress the rest of the way.

While close to the top, we hit more steep and slick terrain. Both of Alex's rented boots began separating at the front of the sole. They were flopping worse than Manu Ginobli. At this point it was actually getting pretty dangerous. Thankfully two days prior I had broken a string playing tennis and brought the lightweight, synthetic gut on our trip thinking it could be useful. The guide had stopped to use this to tie her outsole back to her foot. He told me to continue so I began traversing across the mountain while climbers were above me higher up. I heard an increasing rumbling sound and turned just in time. A rock the size of a basketball was tumbling straight towards my legs. I dove out of the way and it rolled safely past. However, my 3/4 full water bottle came out of it's loose holding in my backback and went skidding down Chachani. Thankfully I had a gatorade buried safely away inside my pack. Soon after this we reached the "last push" which was an incredibly steep, slippery hill with random rocks jutting out from the snow. We basically had to rock climb on these rocks as it was too steep to even crawl up. We had to use our polls and the rocks as leverage to prevent from slipping down the steep slope. After making it up to flatter ground I lay face first in the snow for a few minutes. I have never had less energy in my life than this exact moment. After a short rest, the summit was a short walk away.

Just under 6 hours after we left base camp, 5 out of the original 11 of us made it to the summit! 6,057 m (almost 4 miles into the sky)! It took us a long time to make the final push as we were completely exhausted. It seemed like we were "15 minutes away" for about an hour. But we did it! We finally got to see the cross at the top representing the summit. Apparently, all mountains in South America have a cross at the top. Thankfully it was there because due to the clouds, there sadly wasn't much else to see. Also, thanks to Jacob for bringing the celebratory rum. Just what my body wanted at that point...

Alex and I at the summit with our badass guides Alfredo and Gido! 

Thijs and Jacob celebrating properly

We had used 100% of our energy to summit Devil Mountain and were not properly anticipating the return trip. It took us a grueling 2 hours of slip sliding down the mountain to base camp. The top part was so slick and steep we slid down on our asses until the guides yelled at us for fear we'd rip the snow pants we had borrowed from the tour agency.

Jacob digging in his heels and skidding down Chachani

Looking back on it. Thijs, Alex and Gido are in the distance 10 minutes from base camp.

After finally getting back to base camp we had maybe 10 minutes to rest before we had to pack up and make the 2 hour hike back to the drop zone. Our guides were worried about the weather and didn't want us to get caught in a storm. Seeing the two 4x4 SUVs on top of the last hill... I can't describe. What an incredible experience.