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General Climbing Discussion

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Havachatwithhexy... 22-Dec-2005 At 1:41:35 AM The HEX

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Dream ? ... feelz pretty damn real to me ! ... Mousey leading the way across the Col of Patience , to the start of The Compressor Route , where we will dig a snow cave ... should come in very handy... if ...

>...the weather closes in reeeaaaalll farkin BAAAAAD !! ...

...we must be vigilant of many things ...

'...At last he reaches a secure place to belay me up, and I walk the final ramp to the summit. My foot placements feel almost fragile as I walk on a surface few have walked before.
It is 7.30pm and the mountain is deserted but for us. Overwhelming views of the Patagonian Ice Cap to the west and the towering Fitzroy range to the east, which we plan to climb next, surround us.
I have always been aware of the power and energy of the mountains. For the 10 minutes we stand on the summit I feel a part of it.
Now we have to abseil the distance of 1 400 meters below us. The wind is howling, I've dropped my warm gloves and the sound of a fantasy waterfall is playing in my head again. After midnight, completely exhausted and only 300m below the summit, we stop for a few hours sleep.
It's our third night on this rock with no shelter. I lost my appetite three days ago and energy is very low. Despite my desperation I can't sleep, as I fight the comforts of home from my mind.

The abseil home

The view of an alpine sunrise is the only thing that gets me to my feet. We have 28 abseils ahead of us. By now my body feels detached from itself, and is functioning on autopilot. My eyes and mind fix on the footprints that our friends have left in the snow leading back to our tent. We eat snow and suck water from the rock. The last snow-covered 400 metres drag out for hours, as our rope gets stuck and we have to cut it, not knowing if we'll have enough left to get us down. All concentration has vanished with my energy. Around midnight my feet are on the glacier and we start walking down. It's difficult to walk after four days of vertical climbing, and every five steps I fall over. Every time it is harder to get up again. Below, I can see the lights of our friends. An hour later they come to greet and embrace us with great spirits and hot food.

It's been 98 hours since we left our camp...'
(Marianne Pretorius)

..........................

... this is the famous monumental bolt traverse ... we will have to be very careful here ... probably too lateral to rap ... but down clipping the bolts could be a tad rad if the rime gets to them before we do ...

... but then again ... maybe we should rap back down Five Years In Paradise ... the Scandanavian sheilaz might be keen to give us a belayjob ...

*...consciousness arrives...*

... bugger !!! --- I hate it when I wake up just when dreamz start getting ...