Héctor Sanmiguel tells us his experience in the mountains of Peru and Patagonia. A unique trail and mountaineering adventure on virgin slopes.
An unknown diamond
This project had been flying over my mind for a long time. Traveling to this area so removed from everything became a priority as I was growing in my projects and found the physical and mental state to assume the commitment that this adventure required. A day several years ago I discovered by chance, a black and white photograph of a great virgin mountain in the Peruvian Andes, but sometimes the ideas take to take reality and in the mountains, almost never nothing is what it seems. Re bying information I found some details: an almost unknown area and only before explored by two heavy expeditions (one German and a Polish in the 70s and 80s), in addition to a Peruvian in 2005-2006. Mine has been the 4th expedition to these mountains and the first solo and total autonomy, in addition to the first ones in which it went in a light style and running by mountain.
The Jatún Chacúa mountain range (close to the well -known Huayhuash mountain range) has been one of the most productive activities of my career and the history of these mountains. Until now, each expedition had made 1 to 5 ascents in the area, in a team formed by several climbers, but under a very light style, running by mountain with an exploration, mountain and adventure perspective I have been able In addition to a chain of 9 mountains in the day, of which 7 of them were possibly without previous ascents. This is the big difference with the way of climbing mountains that has been taken so far and that I try to explore in my projects, running through the mountains can be an incredibly efficient weapon to explore new land and distant and virgin peaks, the distance no longer implies a problem as large as in a heavy expedition, and new ascension and descent lines, links with other mountains, etc.
Although the risk becomes a fundamental factor and that increases to some extent, by going alone and running in altitude and in technical field. After 17 days in the base camp and more than 30 in Peru (acclimatarction and approach), the rainy season entered with force and the snow took me back to civilization with a good background in one of the most remote places that I have ever experienced.
Far Patagonia
This has been the second part of the project in two parts of the Andes of this fall. It has undoubtedly been the trip with more last minute changes, logistics difficulties and bureaucratic problems that I have ever made. Initially, my idea was to go to the Andes of Chile and Argentina (the Altos Andes) to with a mountain -based mountain range vehicle and perform ascents running to high and recognizable mountains (6000's such as Tupungato, Marmolejo, Silver, Aconcagua ...). But a few days before leaving there from Peru, at the last minute, we decided photographer Fernando Guevara and I, due to bureaucratic problems and with the vehicle, travel to Patagonia from Chile and try to reach some mountains that he had thought for the future.
There are some islands in the Tierra de Fuego, between Argentina and Chile, near Cape Horn, where there are still virgin and lonely mountains, born from the same sea, with glaciers and wild shapes. Being able to make some of these tops without ascension, running, on Uns Island away from everything, for me it was a dream of a child; But once there the border and security policy put us in many problems to achieve them. Military zones, the prohibition of Chile of entry into the country by the Beagle Canal, the exorbitant prices to be able to approach the sailboat from Punta Arenas 300km to the north, the sea conditions, the prohibitions of the Argentine National Park ... a week from Embassy to Embassy and permission to permission, without getting anything feasible. A plan B in some mountains remote within the Argentine part that we could not reach by sea or by land. A plan C in other mountains also within the Grande Island of Tierra de Fuego that we could approach in 4x4 and then carrying all our material on several trips (more than 100kg in total), but that on the second day we were there we received a notice that the stay in the area was prohibited by being controlled by military of the Argentine Navy. A D Plan to explore some mountains of the National Park of Tierra de Fuego that after trying to process the permission, they refused, they led to a last plan f ...
We managed to reach a hill inside the Andes dividing, on the Grande Island, with 4x4; Enter a valley and establish a CB between the several meters of snow that were still still being southern spring. 6 days we could be there, very cold, wind and snow in recent days, which made us return. These days we managed to make some beautiful mountains running, in very winter conditions. Time ended and we had to leave Patagonia with a bittersweet feeling. It has undoubtedly been a trip full of difficulties of all kinds, an examination of patience and looking for plans other than what one carries in the head. We will try again another year, sure.
Nutrition
In such an adventure, nutrition is undoubtedly one of the most important factors, key to a good development of the project, not only for sports performance in the mountains and chain of mountains, but for a matter of safety and health, for staying so many days in height (between 4000 and 5000m) living, sleeping and running, where the recovery between one activity and another becomes much more complex. You must have products that with little weight give you a lot of energy, that allow you to stay active and concentrated in a difficult activity and that help you recover to try to run again the next day. 226ers products such as Energy Gel, Salt Electrolytes and Endurance Fuel Bars have been key to optimal maintenance of physical and mental abilities in a demanding and sustained activity in altitude and time, with a minimum weight.
By Héctor Sanmiguel Vallelado.
(September-November 2015)
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