In The Middle Of Nowhere: Illiniza Norte (Ecuador)
By: Cel Kulasekaran
“Just five more minutes please Anya” – would have been almost my last words. Not too long ago I managed to convince a good friend of mine, капита́н (Kapten) Anya, to squeeze in the peak of Volcán Cotopaxi (19,347 ft) to our Ecuador escapade. With my daily regimen of excessive squash, I did not give much pause to attempting one of the world’s highest volcanoes despite the risk of hypobaropathy.
Confined by Anya’s teaching schedule, our power-trip would include riding (horses) through El Chaupi’s mountain side followed by a quick climb on Illiniza Norte (16,818ft) to acclimatize ourselves for Cotopaxi. Prior to this, my exposure to pain was limited to those inflicted by Taiwo Kuti’s extreme training methods.
I was slightly concerned about hypobaropathy as I share similar blood chemistry with my younger brother – who suffered some effects at 13,435ft when he attempted South East Asia’s highest peak. Despite all our concerns, we chose to forgo taking Acetazolamide (drug aid for rapid ascents) and wanted to see how far we could reach in our natural state.
We began our climb up early on the third day. Hiking up the Illinizas was a treat. The mountainous landscape of the Andes is diverse, colorful, and breath-taking. We neither saw nor heard a single soul. The skies were clear, the air clean and crisp. We heard the earth speak as we paused periodically on our ascent. These were the most peaceful moments I have experienced albeit short.
Throughout our climb, Kapten Anya was completely unaffected by altitude. Of course, this was convenient to her Russian preen and justly so – if not, another affirmation to my suspicions of her secret agent background. In addition to setting a relatively rapid pace, her rehydration rate was almost zero! (No, unfortunately, she is not a squash player)
I, on the other hand, succumbed to hypobaropathy past 15,000ft. As my brain began to gasp for additional oxygen, it was constantly reminded every second by a theoretical jackhammer in my skull. Anya kept conversations going with me, but I had no physical desire (perhaps even no capability) to respond verbally. Although I did not feel any real physical fatigue, I slowed a little and was completely indifferent to the freezing atmosphere about us. When I stopped and lay on the rocks - a rush of serenity fed my brain.
All I wanted to do at this point was to nap on the mountain side, my brain physically begged it. Mentally, I was determined yet broken about reaching Norte’s peak. I could not believe how this physical constraint regulated my will. I begged Anya to leave me be for a short undisturbed nap on the rocks.
Kapten Anya, however, duly insisted this was no place to fool around and that she had a responsibility to return me back to my boss in good order. She convinced me on a little further to safety at her hunch of the nearby refuge between Illiniza's peaks. I have no idea how I obliged on my own two feet with a painfully suffocating brain.
At the refuge, a couple of Spanish firemen climbing the Andes helped with some tea and pills. I rested as Anya decided to finish Norte's peak alone. Her recount of her experience made me happy - but still leaves a slight disappointment in my personal burning ambition. The rest of our trip was diversified with hiking along Quilotoa (volcano crater), bungee-jumping of a river bridge in Baños (I had to compensate for something), a scenic offroad-bike descend from the Andes into the Amazon, and some time on the beach.
I had mixed feelings about returning back to sea-level Boston after such a colorful trip. I was, however, compensated with super-human strength/endurance on the squash courts due to the time spent in the high-altitude geography. I did not anticipate such an impact on daily performance at sea-level but now understand why some athletes choose to train on higher ground.
- First Mate Cel
Note: See http://www.flickr.com/photos/cel/collections/72157622929100313/
for photos and other notes for this adventure.
