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July 21, 2000 Hello everyone! Just a quick update on my journeys in South America. I'm passing through Quito today to pick-up supplies for the next few days, and slipped into an internet cafe to pop off an email. We've been sleeping above the clouds for the last 4 nights. We spent last night and the night before at about 15,200 feet. The goal has been to slowly acclimatize our bodies to the altitude before our first summit attempt. The experience has been incredible to say the least. We arrived at the base of Iliniza Sur about three days ago. Upon arriving, we learned that conditions on the mountain have been less than favorable. The mountain had been receiving heavy accumulations of snow almost nightly. The day before we arrived, an American climbing team was taken by an avalanche on the same route that we were going to attempt. Luckily, only one member of the team was injured with a broken leg, the others escaped with minor injuries. We spent the next two days monitoring the weather and checking conditions on the glacier. Last night and this morning, we decided that our window of opportunity was open. Following a different route, we launched a summit attempt this morning at 4 A.M. Under the light of our headlamps, we headed up the glacier. It was very steep, but the snow seemed to be firm and ideal for climbing. After about 1,500 feet of climbing, a nasty looking storm front started moving in from the East. Since the route we had taken was heavy crevassed, finding our way down in a white-out would be extremely dangerous. At 700 feet below the summit, we turned back..... It was the right decision, and I have no regrets. The climb up to that point,16,500 feet, was absolutely awesome! In 24 hours, we will make our attempt on Cotopaxi, 19,347 feet. I feel healthy and strong and hope that our luck with the weather will improve. I think of you all often, and wish you could be here with me. Wish us luck and continue sending your good thoughts, we need all the help we can get..... Talk to you soon! Nathan. |