Utah - Peru 2002 (4)

Guess who's back ... no, not Shady you groupies... Anyway, Mandy and I are back in Huaraz... We went back for it... Here's the drag out.

On Wednesday of last week we headed out casually to try the Original route on the Sphynx. We decided to take a collectivo from Huaraz to Caraz (about an hour and a half) and a collectivo is a toyota mini van basically with several seats in it.... Our collective picked up 25 people at a time along the way, with no shortage of their good of various types. 25 people in a Toyota Mini Van!

Let me tell you, these folks seriously work hard and it's proven in that they can sleep anywhere. On this collectivo, at 8am, I'm surrounded by sleeping bodies. The one pressed against me was that of a young mother with her 2 month old baby boy in her arms... I kept my eyes on him cause, hello, she's sleeping! But, that must be one of those motherly talents. She was so quick too. Her husband was sleeping across from her and she would jerk awake as his bag of fruit was about to fall from his lap! Crazy... The others were sleeping standing up, around sharp turns, over rutted roads.. The kids on the ride were fun too... until one of them, the three year old, started licking the palms of his sisters' hands.. yuk! When we got to Caraz, a bunch of taxis tried to get us to ride with them to the Laguana, then the two boys that drive the collectivo shot each other glances, shut the door and drove off saying.... 60 soles, we'll take you. Vamanos... So, we're off, cozy in our own empty collectivo to the trail head... at least, after they asked 7 people along the way how to get there....

So, we get there, pile on our lite packs (everything was at the base) and hit the trail. They kept asking where our guides were and were amused at our going alone. So, we punched it up the trail in an hour less than the first time with the heavier packs. We promptly set up our tents, filtered water, made lunch/dinner and then talked logistics...

The plan for climbing... to those that understand it all... was to start early, make it to the ledge and sleep on the ledge for one night and then go on from there to the top. Well, we slept awesome that night! Being there the week before helped with acclimatization. We woke up late though! So at 7am we're running to the base where all of our gear is stashed. We get there 30 minutes later and have to sort the shit, put on our harnesses, lug it to the base and gawk at how heavy the hallbag became suddenly when you add warm clothes for two, water for two days, food, sleeping bags...etc... So, there I am, racking up for the first pitch and Mandy looks at me slyly and says, "well...... I don't know." I just sat back into myself and said... "I know." Fact was, there was no way we were going to make it to that ledge with that bitch of a haul bag... The wall was low angle enough to pose serious threats to our plan... So "Let's go Craggin" Mandy said. The plan changed to a more simplisitc one.

On this fine Thursday with clouds hovering over nearby peaks, we decided to just take up the three ropes we had, get as far as we wanted and fix ropes back down. We swung leads up the first five pitches. The climbing was awesome and the sun peaked out on us most of the day. Mandy stepped up at one pitch for some 5.10 fist action that I backed away from... She rocked it and we were psyched to be two strong women getting higher and higher. At the top of that pitch, we fixed our first rope and headed back down. Getting down from here was easy. We did some rope trickery to make an unexpected 50m rope work for us and we were on the ground in no time with our ropes fixed all the way to our high point for the next day. That night we planned to sleep under a rock at the base of the climb so we could be right there and ready to punch it in the morning... We tried... but come 6pm Mandy and I were craving warm salty foods and growing sick of Luna bars and GU... So, back to the warm cozy tent. Turns out, we would've been hurting had we not done that cause it was a cold, windy night. The next morning we got up early and on time and jaunted off to the base with nothing on our backs! At the base, everything was ready...oh except one detail.. Because of the 50m rope, we had to borrow a 60m from these Italians for the rap at the descent... So once we got to the base we had to rifle through their stash and find the BLUE rope.. They said BLUE... Three out of four were blue so we measured them all out! Two of the blue were only 50m and the other was their lead line, so we took the pink 55m. The PINK.. haha!

So, finally we're off and running... in place! Jugging fixed lines is a little epic. The first pitch was easy, low angle, but the next two together were steep and it was exhausting at 16,000 feet. But, we get to the base of the chimney in good time and I take that lead... 5.7 chimney... no problem.. Except I'm claustraphobic.. Just kidding, that was the easy part. I get out of the chimney with no issues, pull onto the face and clip a nice piton. Then I hit the slab... it was good, a little run out... and actually I almost had an emotional breakdown when I was staring face to face with a brain plant and no gear for a ways below me... then I saw a bolt to my right and was giddy.. But it did a number on my head for the day.... So, anyway, Mandy came up, took on the next lead.. the first of the two technical cruxes.. She got up there, dealt with the jungle down low, pulled thru the roof up high and styled the finger crack. I joined her and graciously declined the next lead... wimpywimpy but no thanks... So, she took it on. It was hard! It was not easy at all going through the roof and then finishing up on the flake! She did it and I followed and we were worked. At this point we had one pitch to the sleeping ledge, the half way point... and it was 12:30pm... so, we'd get up there and see.. Well, we got up there, the sun was gone from the wall, the wind was whipping and we were just psyched to have gotten that far and have had fun...

So we decided to turn around... rap the route. The rest would be the enduro-route finding crux and no matter where we looked or who we talked to, we couldn't get a solid idea of where to go or how it would really be... so, down down.. and happily so! We didn't need to climb in the dark and the cold to feel like we had accomplished something! We already had! So, all's well... and then we start to rap! What a royal epic. Rapping is the least fun part about climbing for me cause it seems the least safe... ropes running over sharp edges, anchors pulling, whatever... Well, we rap down two pitches and we're happy with our decision... then the ropes get stuck.. they don't even pull! So, we swing 'em, pull 'em, twist 'em, etc... and then, since I didn't lead the cruxes, I step up... gotta do my part.. We fix one line and I jugged the other. At a ledge I pull slack on the fixed line and move the stuck one.. I do that a time or two and think, "all good" and head back down... They don't pull! So, I go back up again, higher, tie into another anchor, pull the rope up, deal and head back to Mandy who is convulsing with the cold at the lower belay...

The next rap is uneventful and then we're off on our third. I come out over a roof and Mandy is way the hell down there.... " wow, we cleared two pitches?"... "well, not exactly... I just thought the rope wouldn't pull"... Well, if I joined her, we would've both been stuck with the possibility of not having any ropes, on a ledge that's at least 30m from the fixed lines of our Italian campmates (who had climbed earlier that day and since gone back to camp).... So, I went into the right anchor and neither she from below nor me from above could get the ropes to move... The only only solution was for one of us to jug back up and fix one of the ropes, then we'd fix another to the Italian's lines and then be out... At this point it's 3pm and we're so cold... Mandy goes up, fixes the line and then we rig an anchor for our last fix and we're home free... four raps to the ground! It was so good to get down at 5pm! What an epic.. but we both handled it like champs and laughed as much as we could in between the obscenities! We also learned a lot about swag that you don't usually have the chance to deal with when all goes well. Major props to our boys in SLC who pulled it off in a day last year. It's an undertaking for sure and I have the ultimate respect for it... The Italians were fixing all the way to the ledge over the course of two days, then after a day of rest, jugging in the dark to the ledge and climbing to the top! Burly! Jugging hurts! They were happy to know we fixed two more lines for them and they were free to keep our ropes!

The porters came for us on time Saturday morning and we punched it down the trail with light loads, took our pirvate bus back to Zarela's and now we'll go out for Thai food with Naresuan.... We went to the Eucalyptus saunas today... hot, steamy, so good.. sweating all the dirt from the climb out and sucking in all the yummy herbs in the air... so nice... ready for Pad Thai! Ciao Ciao.. -rai