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EVEREST WINS THE FIRST MATCH
After
six consecutive conquests, the Andalucians Huisa and López hit against the
roof of the world.
"It is
difficult to explain what we feel at this moment. We feel a deep void that
will be hard to fill. Maybe it is like what an Olympic athlete feels when he
returns without a medal or a soccer player that loses the final match. But
none of them suffers for a month and a half in extreme conditions, far from
their family and with health problems.
Noting
that Everest is the maximum, and hence, that there are always minimum
possibilities of not making it to the summit, we have to note and explain the
main matters why we have quit:
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Precedents
Everest is
not a mountain which is decided to climb fifteen days in advance; we were
already paying for permits and flight reservations in October of last year
(before Aconcagua). So, this is an important decision; without knowing what
was coming in the next months. My father, sick for 23 years and in a
progressive state of deterioration came to an unbearable situation and we had
to get into an specialized institution. My mother, after 23 years facing the
situation, could not overcome this new situation and suffered psychological
problems.
Pedrito,
the son of Pedro, had appendicitis on January 7. Because of hospital neglect,
the situation aggravated. He had to change hospital and was operated three
times. He even was about to go away. Pedro lived two months in that
desperate situation, sitting on a chair during that period of time. But
before he came out of the hospital, Pedro's mother died suddenly, without
being sick. Besides those tragic moments for us, we were still madly going
through with the paperwork to be able to assault Everest and, to make it even
worst, the incorporation of two new members, Javier and Dani.
-
Thamserku, the company that has annihilated our plans.
It is well known by everybody the endless problems we've had, starting with
the loss of a barrel with vital materials, and then having to replace it;
the broken generator, and so, the inability to charge the equipments, send
images and the most important, that Dani and Javi could not work and had to
return. The company sank a very costly and laboriously plan. Then on the
mountain the lack of infrastructure, conditions and competent personnel
aggravated our situation. All of this deteriorated our spirit a lot. I
planned for a great expedition and this is not half of that.
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Acclimatization problems
Even after
having done a good and progressive acclimatization, including a 'trekking' of
15 days and having been above 5,200 meters, Pedro and I have had a lot of
problems at Advanced Base Camp at 6,450 meters, having to go down several days
to recover and then, go back again. My insomnia and Pedro's problems to
breath won't let us sleep, so the exhaustion was being accumulated. Pedro's
grave situation asphyxiated him during the night, he couldn't breath.
-
Everest
Obviously,
to climb Everest you have to be in optimal physical and psychological fitness.
None of these rules were met. All of the above has made us spiritually and
psychologically destroyed, to the point that Pedro ended up crying many nights
thinking about his family. With all this, we have been forced to take a
honest and intelligent decision, and accept that Everest has beat us.
As a
conclusion, we have forcibly learned a lot of things about the mountain, the
route, the camps, the conditions... So, next year we won't make as many errors
as this time. We will come totally fit. As soon as we get to Sevilla, we
will start the countdown. No need to say that the decision to return was one
of the hardest in our lives. I have cried like a child. But what is
important now is to turn the page, to recover and to start again with more
moral and physical strength.
Finally, I
would like to thank all our sponsors for your trust. Next year we will be
there again to make your support count. We just hope that the Andalucians
will understand and support us".
Juan
Antonio Huisa. Chief of the Expedition
Translated
from Spanish by Jorge Rivera
Dispatches
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Millet One
Sport Everest Boot has made some minor changes by adding
more Kevlar. USES Expeditions / High
altitude / Mountaineering in extremely cold conditions / Isothermal to
-75°F Gore-Tex® Top dry / Evazote Reinforcements with aramid threads.
Avg. Weight: 5 lbs 13 oz Sizes: 5 - 14 DESCRIPTION Boot with semi-rigid
shell and built-in Gore-Tex® gaiter reinforced by aramid threads, and
removable inner slipper Automatic crampon attachment Non-compressive
fastening Double zip, so easier to put on Microcellular midsole to
increase insulation Removable inner slipper in aluminized alveolate
Fiberglass and carbon footbed Cordura + Evazote upper Elasticated
collar.
Expedition footwear for
mountaineering in conditions of extreme cold. NOTE US
SIZES LISTED. See more here. |
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A cold
weather, high altitude double boot for extreme conditions The Olympus
Mons is the perfect choice for 8000-meter peaks. This super lightweight
double boot has a PE thermal insulating inner boot that is coupled with
a thermo-reflective outer boot with an integrated gaiter. We used a
super insulating lightweight PE outsole to keep the weight down and the
TPU midsole is excellent for crampon compatibility and stability on
steep terrain. WEIGHT: 39.86 oz • 1130 g LAST: Olympus Mons
CONSTRUCTION: Inner: Slip lasted Outer: Board Lasted OUTER BOOT: Cordura®
upper lined with dual-density PE micro-cellular thermal insulating
closed cell foam and thermo-reflective aluminium facing/ Insulated
removable footbed/ Vibram® rubber rand
See more here. |
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