24th January, moving to camp 2, 5400m

So, leaving tales of ghosts behing, we plunged on ahead to camp 2, the second of 3 high camps.

I feel positive that my decision to have a private porter (shared amongst the 3 of us, but with my using, and paying for, half of the allowed 20kg) was a good one. I was once again able to enjoy the scenery, stop to take pictures, and enjoy every moment.

The scenery continues to be spectacular; honestly, this is one of the most beautiful settings I have ever seen, and I so look forward to being able to put up pictures!


The wind-blown summit

Looking at the porters work is a very humbling experience.

They took everything down in no time, packed it up, put it in their bags, pranced up the mountain like goats, despite the fact that they carried at least 25-30kg each, and still had the time to put up the tents at the next camp before sliding down past us, all smiles, as we were only about two thirds of the way up! Incredible! And not all of them are men, either; there are a few women, I find them awesome!

Lito, porters "El Turco" (Nenu's boyfriend), Jaime, Rodrigo, me, Shum, Jackman.

It is getting very cold now, the wind is glacial. Lito is always after Jackman to put on his sunglasses, which he hates to do. But altitude blindness is not fun, even though it is temporary. And it hits very quickly. One of the porters, Rodrigo, had forgotten his this morning when he left, and I was happy to be able to lend him my spare. He is a funny guy, looks permanently surprised, his hair always having a huge battle around his head, his eyebrows always high in seeming shock. If he were an animal, he'd be a fox cub. He must be in his twenties, but I swear he looks 14!


We arrived at around 3h30.

Jaime, our group porter, would be staying with us for the rest of the expedition. So our tent would get cozy with the 3 of us in there. He was already there, making water, smiling and humming softly to himself. He is from the northern Argentina region, born and raised in the mountain. He is the strongest of us all, unaffected by the altitude, the cold, or any hardship at all, it seems.

With Jaime

As I had a slight headache, I immediately put myself in hydration mode. Lots of soup, tea, electrolyte induced water, vitamins... the headache was soon gone, and I left the tent for a walk around the camp.


Quique, in the next door tent.

It is really really windy, and pretty cold. Felt like winter in Montreal. I took quite a few pictures. This is the biggest of the high camps, the only one where the helicopter can land with relative ease. There are guardaparques here, unlike the other two camps, and often a doctor as well.

Quardaparques and doctor's station, Camp 2

Right now, there is a lot of activity, because two bodies (from the second and third people who died on the mountain this year) are being brought in (at much effort, it is not easy terrain) within the next couple of days so that they can be airlifted back down. It gave me a chill. I know Lito was approached to be part of this rescue team, but as he is with us, he is not going to go.

He and Jaime prepared brown rice mixed with tuna for dinner, it was delicious! And I was very happy to still be hungry, it is important to keep up one's strength. Two more days!!

With three of us in the tent (Jaime in the middle, since he is the tallest) it was not that cold, about -7 in the tent. The wind screamed all night, but I barely heard it.

The summit at sunset