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 Marty Schmidt - 16th dispatch from Aconcagua, Argentina 2011 | |||||||
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Everything is good. We reached the summit
today... yay! Graeme did really well, it was very very cold and windy all day
today... real windy... up to 100+ winds. Had to deal with the cold, keeping
fingers and toes warm and keep moving. We waited a little bit longer to get
out of the tent and waited for the sun to get up... that was a good call. Summited around 2.15 pm and we left roughly at 10.30 am... the winds were very persistent on the way to the summit and on the summit we couldn't take any photographs on the top, it was too windy (inaudible...) a few photographs and video (inaudible...) We basically got out of there and back to our high camp at 6,265m. We're sitting in the sun right now, but the wind is still around. Inside our tent we're doing fine, we decided to stay here the night. A pretty long day for Graeme. We'll pack up everything in the morning and then head down to Plaza de Mulas and then do the long run out instead of walking out to train Graeme for his Coast to Coast, which is the 10th and 11th of Feb... that's next week! Than catch a bus back to Mendoza and then we'll do a final dispatch to let everyone know we're safe and sound. Bye bye! Earlier:
Marty and Graeme at our high camp 6,200m... all is well. Graeme did stupendously today; he got the rest step down, carried a load and he's got his breath technique down. The weather was good, the clouds would come over and chill us down 15-20º and then the sun would pop out and warm up 15-20º. So that's what altitude weather can do to your body and your soul up here at Aconcagua. So we're sitting really nice and the tent anchored down really well. We're just having good salami and crackers and a lot of hot drinks. The wind is brewing up a little bit, we're hoping that it doesn't brew up too much for our summit day tomorrow. We're gonna get up roughly at about 5 o'clock and get out by 7. Hopefully it takes about 5 hours from this high camp... roughly 700 meters, we go to get up and over (???), across the North face traverse and then on into the Canaleta and on to the summit. Everything is great. Looking forward to the summit and getting a nice dispatch from the top to let you guys know. We're working hard tomorrow for a summit. This is Graeme's highest point he's ever been to on this earth - this is the highest point outside the Himalayas. Every step he takes is more awareness for diabetes as well as for Annies...Talk to you hopefully from the summit tomorrow by noon. Bye bye, Cheers. Earlier: Dispatch fourteen: [Technology is letting me down this weekend, Marty sent me a txt message to let me know my voicemail stopped working completely - will hopefully fix this tomorrow - Daan] His message said: All is great with us. Two nights at Camp I, off to Camp II now. Beautiful morning after big storm last night. Talk soon, Marty Dispatch thirteen: Hello everyone following us. We're at Base Camp, at 4,200m. We made it up here yesterday, trekking in from Casa de Piedra and all went well and we had a good night's sleep. A little bit of headache in the morning for Graeme, but with a little bit of French toast this morning and fresh fruit, it got him going and he carried a 25 kg pack up to Camp I, which is about 5,000m... his headache went away very quickly. (...) It's just a wonderful vertical dance that you do here at altitude. Graeme is here to do that and to experience it and he's doing great; he did a first carry up to Camp I, all went well and came back down in a couple of hours, with no issues. We're down right now doing the medical check and signed in with the Park Service. The medical check is one of those things you have to do in Aconcagua to get the OK to go climbing... [At this point the connection was lost and Marty rang me back to leave a second message. Unfortunately I lost the second message off my voicemail and I only briefly listened to it once. I'm therefore unable to give a literal transcription, but the the main focus of the message was that all was going well, more talk about the delicious food they are having and that they are planning to push up more carries - Daan] --- Earlier: A quick update on Marty and Graeme’s progress. They’re on their way to Base Camp. Everything worked really well leaving Mendoza. First day of the trek was great - rain came in the afternoon. Also on the second day, but they're comfortably snuggled up in their tent cooking a beautiful dinner; fresh mushrooms, dried tomatoes, tortelini, fresh peppers, oregano, thyme, salami and fresh bread straight out the oven. Good food! Base camp tomorrow - Plaza Argentina, around 4,100 meters. All is looking good and Graeme is ready for the big league; after an extensive programme including the ascents of Mt Rolleston, Aspiring, Tasman, Cook and Rainier it’s now time for the next step. This climb is not just for fun but also to support Diabetes New Zealand and promote healthy eating: CLIMB FOR LIFE 2011 1 in 3 Kids born after 2000 will develop Diabetes! Support Diabetes Education and Healthy Eating with Graeme Giles and Marty Schmidt and their Climb for Life: 1 cent per 10 feet climbed. That's only $22.00 for a successful summit bid! Graeme Giles says: "As part of the expedition and to really to give a purpose to the climb I am raising money for the Diabetes Auckland Kids Camp and their education programme. Ann and I, via our Annies Business, sponsor this on a regular basis and we are very passionate about educating people as to the benefits of good eating and exercise. Did you know that with current trends 1 in 3 of our children born after 2000 will develop diabetes in their life time and most of this is totally avoidable." Earlier Hi everybody, Marty is about to start his second consecutive trip to Aconcagua this year. Below you'll find 2 dispatches from Mendoza, Argentina. Enjoy! --- Tenth dispatch from Aconcagua: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 Waiting in Mendoza for Graeme Giles of New Zealand to arrive tomorrow for our climb to begin on Aconcagua. He and Annie are making this climb worth more than putting one foot in front of the other... this climb is dedicated to ¨Climb for Life¨; 1 out of every 3 children born after the year 2000 will get diabetes. This climb is so important to make people of this earth, no matter which country we live in, aware of this issue... for this generation and beyond. Climbing and skiing can cure many issues, this is a gift we all have within us. Let's make it count each and everyday. While waiting for Graeme, my mind and body needed to train... I am an Asics running shoe man, have been for so many years, love them. But I could not find one single pair in Mendoza to buy. I like staying with items that I know and can trust. Back in the 1970s, I was running all the time with my new Nike Waffels, does anyone remember the royal blue and yellow Waffels??? They were great, light weight and good support back then. So I went for Nike in Mendoza and this has been bringing back the good old days of Castro Valley, California running days and nights in and out of all the hills of Lake Chabot. Been at it hard every morning and evening, beating the heat of the day, temps getting to around 34ºC. Running is a wonderful base to have, along with cals, swimming, cycling, yoga, meditation, etc. It is a good life that we all have when balanced. While on Aconcagua for the past 2 weeks with Rob and Bri, I had many good memories come into my way of living in the mountains. Just the connections that we get from walking into this hills and then having the goal of life staring right in front of us to be challenged wich brings a smile to my face and heart everyday. To capture this feeling and expressions from the high mountains and bring them down to the horizontal world is the key to my life. As I get older, this key is getting more balanced, becoming more soft to work with, more awareness of my true self so that others can feel good towards themselves. It is in the sharing that counts for us human social beings. This past trip I met my good old climbing guides of the past, Damien, Kurt, Eric, etc. and some new guides getting into the work. I met many new potential clients who want to use this Aconcagua experience and make it happen on other mountains around the world. We are all in this together. You´ll get some dispatches from the hills soon again. All the best, Cheers, Marty. --- Eleventh dispatch from Aconcagua: Hello Macpac and everyone one interested in another journey to Aconcagua. This expedition is with my wonderful client Graeme Giles from Blenheim, New Zealand. He and Annie have started "Annie all Fruit Chews" many years ago and in 1992, when I went to K2, the Abruzzi Ridge, they were one of my first sponsors. We have not looked back, only forward and have been committed to each other ever since. Almost 20 years now. Annie came up to me about 6 years ago and asked me to get Graeme out of the office and into the mountains with me... so we did Mt Rolleston, then walked in and out of Mt Aspiring, then flew in and walked out of Mt Tasman and then walked in and out of Aoraki/Mt Cook... with some technical rock in between all these climbs... going overseas last year with Mt Rainier. This has lead us to where we are right now, Mendoza, Argentina and preparing for our expedition as I am writing to you these words. I just picked him up from the airport and all is super, he looks and feels great, his bags come in and we are getting our permits this morning and leaving on the bus for the National Park in the morning. Our route will be the Vacas Valley, with Plaza Argentinas as our BC, then pushing the gear and camps back up to 5,800 meter camp for our summit push. We are planning to circumnavigate the whole Aconcagua mountain, after our summit bid, we will traverse across the north face and down to Plaza de Mules on the other side, arrange one mule to carry our our gear while we run the 26 miles back to the Park entrance of the Horcones Valley. This all leads to Graeme heading back home to New Zealand with me on the 6th Feb and going straight into the famous Kiwi adventure race called the Coast to Coast, starting in Greymouth and ending 250 kms away in Christchurch. He will run, cycle, kayak all the way. This is so exciting and a wonderful opportunity for us to be together on a high mountain, enjoying the challenges and finding the peace within that all of us have... some just need to get out more and find it. I know these dispatches might seem ongoing, I will try to spice them up for you each time. I don't like drama or epics so if you are waiting for something like this please think differently, all the prior planning on each of my trips works well, for this is the mountaineering way on all the mountains of this earth. It is great that Graeme is becoming my climbing partner and he is doing such a great job of it. Looking forward to sending words out to you while we are ascending this Aconcagua. Good thoughts to you all and hope to see you in the hills one day. Much love and light, cheers, Marty Earlier: Hello everyone from Mendoza, Argentina. Just checking in to let all know that Brianna and I summited on the 11th of Jan, 2011 on Aconcagua after reaching the summit of the middle Peak, between the North and South summits. Bri did so well at altitude, she is on her way now to bigger things. Rob, her father, also did really well, making it to 6,300 meters but needed to turn back because his feet would not warm up. He is safe and sound in Mendoza with all his feet and ready to head home to Utah. He is already preparing more for his next climb... I am off again for the second summit this season making it the 33rd time up there. Every time is very special, new people, new weather, always working hard to balance all of life anywhere on this earth. Keep in touch, I'll send more dispatches from the hills. Thanks for following us on this expedition... next one kicks off in a few days time. Cheers, Marty. Earlier: Another summary of Marty's last call to me: All is going well. Rob, Brianna and Marty have brought their last pieces of gear down to Base Camp and will take a few days to walk out and get back to Mendoza. They all came down the mountain safely after the successful summit bid of Bri and Marty. Rob was in good spirits when they joined up again and had a good night's sleep. They packed up and headed down. The team clearly had a great adventure together and is looking forward to seeing each other again in the future. Bye bye from Aconcagua Earlier Today's dispatch was quite hard to understand due to static on the line, but here's a summary of Marty's words: Marty and Bri calling from just under the summit. They started early this morning together with Rob. At 6,300 m (21,000 ft) Rob's feet were really cold. It was -20ºC (-4ºF) and with the wind the windchill was even worse! He couldn't keep his feet dry (?) and Marty tried to warm them on his chest for a while but to no avail. So they turned around and went back to camp to leave Rob there and save his feet from frost bite. Marty and Bri then went up again for their summit push. They first took a detour to a 'sub-peak' which went well and took them about 2 hours. They then continued and reached the 'normal' peak of Aconcagua at 6,962 m (22,841 ft). What an awesome effort by 22 year old Brianna. Now on their way down back to camp. Playing it safe and simple. They'll make a plan what to do next when they get to camp. Marty is keen to give Rob another go at the summit. Earlier: Hello everybody, This is Bri and Rob and Marty, It's 1.30 and brewed up... I believe it's the 11th of January... 11.1.11 that's what Rob says in my other ear... and it's take-off time for the summit! There's no wind, temperatures are ok and all systems are go. So it's feeling really good, everyone is fine and happy. We had a little bit of sleep last night and it feels good to be preparing for hopefully a 10 hour ascent and with a 5 hour descent... 15 hours round trip. So that's in our minds and that makes us motivated to just put one foot in front of the other and going to the summit. So this is their objective for this trip and hopefully we attack the summit today and we'll call from the top. Ok, letting everyone know that we're doing well and off to the summit today. Bye bye from Aconcagua Earlier: Fourth dispatch from Aconcagua: Hello everybody, Just letting you know everything is good. Rob and Brianna are doing great, the father-daughter team. They're experiencing every day, setting a new height record for themselves - they've never been above 14,000 ft and we're sleeping right now at 16,600 ft which is roughly around 5,100 meters and we're getting there... We're at Camp I... did really well up here. Yesterday we pushed a great carry up to Camp II, which is 5,800 meters, so a big jump and everybody did really well. Rob's knee is coming around* and a little bit of sinus drip in the back of his throat and persistent coughing (...) sleeping with a scarf on his face as well as climbing with a scarf around his face to get a bit of warmth going into him instead of the cold air. And Brianna is just cruising along at altitude, what more can I say... she's doing great and her attitude is positive and she's enjoying the adventure and just the excitement of being on a big mountain. And it's great to see a father-daughter team working together, great lively conversations in the tent. We're all sleeping in the Macpac Hemisphere tent and loving it... a lot of room since Rob is 6'6"... he's a big tall basketball player and he's fitting nicely in the tent. So today was a good rest day, it makes us stronger and prepared... * Daan says: I now realize that I made a mistake in the last dispatch. Some parts were very hard to understand because of a dodgy connection and I wrote '... Rob and me were a little bit hurting...' At the time I was surprised because, as you know, Marty is a machine. After hearing this message I realize he said '...Rob's knee was a little bit hurting...' Apologies! --- Fifth dispatch from Aconcagua: Hello everyone following us, This is a dispatch from our high camp at 5,900 meters, roughly 19,300 ft ... about 300 ft below Kilimanjaro and about 700 ft above Mount Elbrus in Russia, so just to give you an idea. So Rob and Bri are doing fantastic, they're weathering it out at this altitude... never been up here before, so it's a record for them. They're doing great, no headaches and (...) having strength. We went out today, out into a storm and tried to get up as high as we could just to acclimate and the storm knocked us back. We're in the tent right now and it's storming away and I guess it's like pulling the top away from your dining table and putting a sheet over the top and sitting underneath it for 48 hours, 50 hours and preparing to then go for a 7,000 meter mountain. It gives you an idea and that's what we're doing right now and everyone is coping well. We're just waiting for the weather to break and hopefully try summit day tomorrow, which would be the 10th and if the 10th doesn't work, we'll try the 11th and if the 11th doesn't work we'll try the 12th. So that's our game plan. So if you don't hear from us for a couple of days, it's because we're sitting still waiting for the summit and when you do hear from us hopefully we're on the summit giving everyone a big hello from the top of Aconcagua.
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