Do you look at insanely beautiful photos of the mountains and dream of being there one day? Big mountains are real not only for professional climbers. You can be a fragile girl who has never been particularly involved in sports and go to a big peak, our today’s heroine is sure. Anastasia Zaitseva, TV presenter, travel blogger, and traveler with experience in 47 countries, shares with readers of liza.ua the story of her victory – climbing Mount Aconcagua.
Anastasia Zaitseva
A year and a half ago, she fulfilled her dream and moved to live in New York.
He collects peaks in his collection – there are already three mountains in Nepal, one in Tibet, and Aconcagua, which will be discussed.
When they asked me why I was going, I joked that I simply could not find an argument why not. But seriously, I always go for an improved version of myself. For unusual people who gather in the mountains and their stories. For an informational detox. The whole route is a steep climb up a narrow path, and chatting with a neighbor will not work. And walking is sometimes so difficult that you absolutely don’t want to turn on an audiobook or podcast in your headphones.
But despite the decent physical activity, it constantly accompanies a feeling of happiness and peace of mind. And what sunsets we found! The mighty snow-capped peaks of the Andes in the glow – it’s really exclusive! Such views can not be bought for money, you need to make a lot of effort to reach this height, being deprived of even basic comfort all this time.
I also love doing something extraordinary. A blonde with a microphone is the least expected to be seen in the mountains, dressed in a thousand clothes and with a face puffy from height. Breaking stereotypes about the glamor inherent in my profession.
I like to trim myself – there were moments when I even cried, but overcame myself and went forward. This is how you develop strength of mind and character.
Mountains teach that everything is surmountable. All difficulties are forgotten very quickly, and only a pleasant feeling of pride remains.
Now for the complications
The worst thing for me is the descent. When all the forces are given to the top, the legs are already trembling, and you need to be extremely careful. Most accidents in the mountains happen on the descent.
There may also be problems with drinking water. The assault starts at 4 am, and it is simply physically impossible to have time to boil plenty of snow by this time. It so happened that our guide, my friend, who was carrying my second thermos, was forced to evacuate a person. And in all this turmoil, I forgot to take this thermos from her, finding myself with a half-liter of tea for a 17-hour assault. As a result, on the way back, the local guide stated that I was severely dehydrated. Yes, I myself realized this when exhausted, lay down, and ate snow, and the guide at that time removed the “cats” from me because I did not have enough strength to untie the mount.
Also, by coincidence, I became the high-altitude cook of this expedition. Cooking for 11 people at a height is not an easy task. I especially remember the assault camp at 6100 m. Then a snowstorm arose, and I didn’t even want to stick my nose out of the tent, which itself was shaking from the wind.
But when you know that the guys are hungry and waiting for their snack, you put on everything you have and bring them food to the tents.
Aconcagua park rules
- An insidious surprise right before the very top. When it is 200 meters away and you can already see it, the most difficult, painful and dangerous section begins, the passage of which takes another 2-3 hours, depending on the speed of the group.
- There is also a summit time – 3 pm. Rangers can be found anywhere. And if they decide that your speed is not high enough to reach the top in time, they will turn down. We were half an hour late to the summit. It was lucky that the Rangers were lower at that moment. Otherwise, we would have to go down, without reaching the very little.
- The park has quite high prices for porters, so you need to carry all your things yourself. When I weighed my backpack on the day I returned to base camp, it weighed 16 kg. With my weight of 52 kg, that’s like a third of me. It is not surprising that I was blown away by gusts of wind with him.
- The park is very environmentally friendly, so you need to collect your biological waste in a specially issued bag. If you do not return the package at the exit from the park, you will be fined.
- In the lower camps, an examination by a doctor is obligatory. If you miss it and suddenly something happens, then the insurance company will then refuse to pay for the evacuation, and this is several thousand dollars for a helicopter.
Food and life
It will not be superfluous to practice putting up tents, in conditions of height and constant wind – this is not the most pleasant experience. On the third or fourth night, I got used to the discomfort and cold, even the stones hardly pressed into my back. From hygiene – a mug of water and wet wipes, you can take a shower only after going down after climbing to the base camp.
All products were bought in the city and brought with them. There are limits on food that can withstand being transported by mules, scorching sun, and sub-zero temperatures at night. Therefore, they took cereals, pasta, a lot of canned food, cheese, sausages. Of course, sweets: chocolate, cookies, and dolce le Leche – this is our boiled condensed milk and, in combination, the national sweet of Argentina. I tried to cook something tasty for the guys, I even got meat and vegetables for a salad when we were at the base camp.
What to take with you
First of all, good company. Due to changes in the weather, you can get stuck in a tent for a long time. Seeds also help with boredom. 🙂
Be sure to bring solar panels. I always take ginger, lemon, and chemical heating pads. This time, during the assault, I almost froze my fingers, at some point I realized that I completely felt them, and stopped to put chemical heating pads in my mittens. This is due to the fact that in conditions of lack of oxygen, our brain directs it to vital organs, and fingers are not among those.
How to get there
First – to Buenos Aires, then – an internal flight to Mendoza, lasting a couple of hours. From there, 3 hours by bus to the entrance to the Aconcagua National Park, then on foot.
Finally, I will say that if the ascent were even a little easier, it would not be so interesting.
I believe that until you try, you will never know your limits. Climbing Aconcagua is a great opportunity to expand your horizons.
