The Summit

At the top

So after a month of trying to catch our Irish friend Michelle, we finally managed to meet in Huaraz, Peru. The town, nestled between two mountain ranges, is known for having some of the most beautiful treks in Peru. Although we did not think that we would be doing this much trekking when we started this trip we seem to seek it out in every country. Maybe we should have bought proper trekking shoes. I don’t think that my trail running shoes were meant to take this kind of a beating.



View on the way to Laguna 69

The first day was a relax and get our bearings day. That night we met Michelle and planned the days to come over a wonderful bowl of criolla soup and roasted chicken. She had already done the Laguna 69 trek and we were trying to talk her into doing a summit. Earlier that day we had stumbled into an office and they only had to mentioned it and we were sold. Neither of us had ever done a summit and what a perfect opportunity. So we decided to do the Lake 69 hike as an acclimation hike and we convinced Michelle that summiting a mountain was a great idea.

Small Laguna on the 69 Trekk




Waterfall on the Laguna 69 trekk

 So the next day we went on the lake 69 hike with a British girl named Mel. On the way up she gave us some great tips on India and Nepal. The trek was a deceivingly hard hike. It was just 6 hours but it was exhausting, by the time we got back we were drained. The laguna was beautiful and worth the effort. For all of its beauty the hike still killed us and we were worried about the summit the next day. We still had to go to the tour office and pick out our gear. When we got there we were laughing and having a good time until we found out that we would be carrying all of our gear. Then the mood took a devastating turn and we were all nervous about how we were going to make it up the mountain with 40 pounds of stuff on our backs. We had never done any trekking with full packs and now we were doing it at over 4500 meters. Michelle by the way was being overly positive during the entire event. We were not at all pleased. 

Us at Laguna 69, the bluest water I have ever seen

Another view of the Laguna and its little waterfall



Still positive right before the ascent to basecamp



 The next morning we got up at about 6 to pack up all of our stuff and get to the tour office at 8. When we got there we had to fill our bag with all of our gear and then head out on a two hour car ride. Michelle’s positive attitude changed when she picked up her pack. It was not nearly as light as she had expected. Then it was a grueling 4 hour trek with sections of rock climbing and bouldering all with a giant pack and energy draining heat. When we got to base camp we met a group of Israelis who were doing an ice climbing tour and we talked about our travels and they shared coffee with us. It was nice but once the sun set I could not get warm. No matter what I put on I just seemed to stay cold. It was a little troubling to the others who thought maybe I was not going to make it. After our three course dinner of avocado tuna sandwiches, chicken noodle soup, fried rice, and tea we went to bed. I could not get in my sleeping bag soon enough. The cold was wearing me down and we had to get up at one the next morning. I would not call what happened that night sleeping more like resting with moments of sleep. The altitude does not let you sleep much plus the ground was not the most comfortable thing I had ever slept on.

Michelle getting our tent set up while I take pictures... sneaky huh?

Michelle and our guide Phillipe getting the tent together

Dinner and tea at the basecamp kitchen

We were supposed to wake up at one in the morning to start the hike but we had woken up at twelve and decided to go back to sleep for an hour. Well we over slept and woke up at two. The guide was up and had not woken us up. We scrambled to get all our gear on and then had an amazing breakfast of this watery lumpy thing he called porridge. I though Michelle was going to vomit. Then we were off bouldering our way to the glacier. Once we got there we put on our crampons and got roped up. He was leading and I was next in line followed by Michelle and then Christina. He went to the ice wall and hacked at it with his axe and then started to climb so then I walk up and said, “do I have to do that” and tried to stick my axe in the ice but it just kind of bounced off. I started to climb anyway and it was quite fun until about 30 min in when every step felt like it was my last. All I could think about was just keep moving one foot after the other. I was walking slower than I thought possible and I still could not catch my breath. At one point I asked him how much longer and he said three hours. I tried not to sound like part of me died when I responded with an oh okay. Then when what I felt was a hour had passed I asked him how much longer and he said two and a half. I was shocked and he said that we were just walking really slow and I turned to the others and said “I can’t walk any faster.” Christina responded, “I can’t either” and then Michelle said the same. When we were about 90 meters from the top he said that we could not go any further because of crevases and that we would have to turn back. He said that we had made it to the north peak just not the south peak. I have no idea if there really is a north peak but I am not going to ask questions. The way down was ten times faster mainly because we went a different way than on the way up. This is because the way down is full of crevases that you can not see in the dark.

Us at the top

Sunrise from the top of Valanaracu

On the way back down... doesn't laura look chipper in the back

I guess I should also mention that on the way down the order is switched so it was Christina leading the way through the dangerous crevases. On several occasions she was standing between two crevases and Phillipe would say to the right… no I mean the left. As you stepped you would hear the ice cracking under your feet. It was a frightening sound. As if the ground beneath you would all of the sudden disappear. Another humorous event was when she walked up to a crevase about two feet wide and philipe asked do you think that you could jump over and she hesitantly said “yeah I think so.” Meanwhile Michelle behind her was thinking I don’t know what we are going to do when she jumps because I am not jumping. We learned that later, thankfully philipe decided to take a different path. The rest of the way down was uneventful and it was not until after we packed up our campsite that the trouble started.

The way up had been hellish and now we were doing it in the opposite direction with tried legs. Lets just say we all fell a few times and by the time we got to the bottom I could no longer move my legs. I do not know if I will ever do a summit again but it was definitely an experience I will never forget.

Also when we got back to the hostel Christina told Michelle that she could not believe that she said “I can” when we had both just commented that we could not move any faster. She had been thinking about this for the entire day seeing as we had gotten back to base camp at 8 am and it was now 7 pm. It was completely untrue that she had said that but it became a joke for the rest of the trip and we would randomly say “I can” in a high pitch girly voice. I think that Michelle only found it amusing the first time.

Just a funny picture of Laura with a llama I couldn't resist including

Laura