(Central Point of This Chronicle)
We took our second altitude pill, got our equipment ready and, as soon as we loaded everything in a 4×4 truck, we left for Piedra Grande hut. Our group increased by one with the driver of the van, José, who would be the support for Mauricio and the two of us at the hut.
We arrived at Piedra Grande at about 6 in the afternoon.
The hut is a simple one-story building with the room inside divided into a space on one side of it with two tables, and two wooden platforms on the other side, one above the other, arranged like bunk beds. It has a couple of wooden stairs to the upper platforms.
When we got to the hut, there were four or five people already sleeping on the platforms. Nomads brought thick foam pads for each of us, and José put them in a section that was empty. On top of those pads we put our thin pads, and on top of them we placed our sleeping bags.
While Mauricio, Alexandra and I arranged our gear in the empty spaces we found in the hut, José prepared dinner for us, something that I did not really expect, or didn’t remember that it was part of the services we had paid for.
Before finishing the sleeping gear, José called us because the food was ready. I was surprised by the presentation and taste of that food. It was roasted chicken breast with spaghetti in white sauce, tomatoes spiced in a way that I have no idea (but oh God, they were so delicious!) and avocado.
After lunch we returned to the «bunk beds» of the hut, where we got ready to rest. It was already 7 at night, and we would have about 4 and a half hours to rest, because Mauricio told us we would start the walk at 12:30.
Mauricio had told us that we should use the red LED lights in our headlamps to avoid shining a bright light on other people’s faces.
I didn’t sleep very soundly for a long time, but I’m pretty sure that I did it for at least a little time within the four hours we had to rest.
The smell of dark mahogany, of moist oak that I perceived from the wooden platform where my sleeping bag was had a relaxing effect on me. At least that’s what I felt at the time.
My cell alarm went off at 11:30; I snoozed it for 10 more minutes, and then I woke up completely and started to get ready for the hike. This included putting on the thermal clothing I had brought to wear as a first layer, then the pants I have for mountaineering in the snow, three pairs of socks, a long-sleeved fleece shirt, and on top of this I would put on my large jacket which is mostly for wind and rain.
I also got my two pairs of gloves ready, wore a wool beanie, and also a band thing to protect the neck from the cold.
José was waiting for us with something to eat before we started, which was simply some peanut butter bread, and he had other slices of bread with Nutella, both with banana slices. He also had coffee and tea ready for us. I didn’t have much appetite, but knowing what was in front of me, I ate one of those bread slices almost completely.
Here I had the opportunity to ask Mauricio about the headlamps with the little red lights. I told him that earlier that I had gone to pee, that little red light was pretty much useless. He told me that no, that on the climb we would use the normal light, that the red LED comment was just for when we were inside the hut, to not bother other people that were there sleeping.
We went back to the hut to get our backpacks, that had this for each of us:
– Snow hiking boots, which are not very efficient to hike on regular trails.
– Crampons.
– Harness.
– Ice Axe.
– Two bottles of water that Mauricio had given to each of us.
– Outer layers of that weren’t necessary right now but would be essential a little higher up. In my case this was my down jacket and a pair of gloves.
I think the backpacks were about 22 pounds, which is not much for a two-day high mountain hike, but at the height we were, they felt quite heavy.
We ended up not starting the hike at the time that Mauricio had planned. He wanted to start at 12:30, but it ended up being a few minutes after one in the morning.
I had the GPS watch that my family had given to me about two or three years ago, and I set it up to record this hike. Thanks to that data I know all the times and altitudes of my hike.
The first part of the trail is on an ancient concrete aqueduct; Soon, the trail itself starts, a trail that is a constant climb with some semi-flat gaps. It does not have any super steep inclination, but each step does go up, and that costs a little more those altitudes.
Mauricio was not walking fast; It could be said that he was actually walking slow. I saw Alexandra doing well. Mauricio stopped every 10 minutes or so, for us to take a breather.
All of a sudden, I began to feel very tired. At that moment I did not see anything strange about that situation, because I was doing something difficult, and such a reaction from the body was to be expected, was normal. But…. It didn’t add up that I felt that way so soon after we had started the climb. I remember having that first sensation about 45 minutes after starting, and we were hiking slowly!
Then I began to do the ‘Rest-Step’. It is a method for climbing on the snow that is considerably slower than normal hiking, but it maximizes the efficiency of energy management.
The next half hour, roughly, was a cycle of Alexa and Mauricio walking in front of me while I was climbing with my very slow rest-step. They would stop and wait for me; I would catch up and rest at that point for a minute. We did that about two or three times, while in my mind the idea was growing that I was not going to male it. I also started to think that my friend was there because of my idea, and it was starting to look like I was going to end up getting in the way of my friend reaching the top.
In one of the break stops, which seems to have been about the seventh (according to the data from my watch), I told them that seeing that the trail behind us was still very clearly defined, and the hut was not too far, I would go back so that I would not hinder the two of them from reaching the top. This happened within an hour and a half of starting the walk. We weren’t at 15,000 feet yet, but we were close.
It was a good, sincere, short conversation. The agreement ended up being that we would no longer attempt to summit the mountain, but that we would at least reach the glacier, which was at about 16,000 feet. Mauricio said that we would continue to walk as slowly as necessary, but that he saw no reason why I could not reach the glacier.
We kept climbing, but my exhaustion didn’t last. About 50 minutes later, including another rest stop, I told them that I had lost the mental and physical battle that I had been fighting since we started, that I did not see any way to continue the climb; that I still thought that a return would be possible from the spot we were at.
Mauricio thought about the situation and told me that he felt confident enough to continue the climb with Alexandra to the glacier, since it was relatively close; The spot where we were at, had some rocks that offered protection from the wind which, by the way, was never a factor that night. He took off his outer jacket and gave it to me. It was useless for me to insist that I did not see it necessary, since I had my own jacket and enough layers to protect me from the cold. The phrase he told me won: «It’s always better have an extra jacket, in case the cold attacks.»
He also took essentials out of Alexandra’s backpack needed for the little distance they had left to hike and put it in his own backpack. He left Alexa’s pack with me. He told me they would be back in about two hours.
When they got on their way, I sat on the ground and began to look for a comfortable way to lie down, which did not take long. I slept soundly for a few minutes. I was awakened by wanting to move a little; I would do it and fall asleep again fast. I started feeling cold in my legs, I put Mauricio’s jacket on top of them. That helped a little, but at one point, the cold temperature woke me up. I was shivering. I put Mauricio’s jacket on top of the one I was wearing. The shivering went away momentarily, but after a while it came back.
I remembered what Mauricio told me: to walk, jog, do whatever was necessary to warm up, in case I got very cold. I did some squats and also some fake push-ups (not on the ground, but with my hands resting on a rock a little higher than where I had my feet). These little things helped my body get a little warmer.
I laid down on the spot I was before waking up and got back to sleep again.
Within two hours of saying goodbye to Alexa and Mauricio, I heard voices. I got up and took a few steps and, indeed, I saw two guys coming down from the same spot where my people had left. One of those guys said hello, and asked if I was Mauricio. I thought they had a message from Mauricio, my guide. I asked them that and they told me that they had met him and my friend, and that he had asked them to guide me down to the hut.
One of the guys was a mountain guide from another company, and the other was his client. The guide’s name was Victor.
I told Victor that it was a very good idea for me to return with them, but that I saw it pretty much impossible because I had Alexandra’s backpack and I didn’t see how I could bring it down.
Victor looked at the backpack and told me that he would take it down, to not worry about it.
Indeed, that’s what the man did.
I was very surprised, in a pleasant way, to witness the level of camaraderie that exists among these mountaineering guides. Both Victor and Mauricio would later explain to me, in separate conversations, that this camaraderie and solidarity was not something uniform among all the mountaineering companies operating on the Pico, but that it was a reality between two or three of them.
The climb to the point where I gave up took me 2 hours and 26 minutes. The climb down to the Piedra Grande hut took me an hour and 11 minutes.
In the hut I lay on the foam mattress that was still in the place where I had rested, and continued to rest, just waiting for Alexa and Mauricio’s return. According to the other guide, Victor, it would take them between 3 and 4 hours to get back. It didn’t take them that much, not at all. About an hour and a half after I got to Piedra Grande, my two partners arrived. It took them a total of 2 hours and 41 minutes out of the 3 or 4 that Victor had calculated.
José was already getting ready to make breakfast for us, but both Alexa and I said we weren’t hungry, which expedited our return to Tlachichuca.
The trip back in the 4×4 was a mix between deep naps and chats with Alexandra about spiritual things, resurrections and / or reincarnations. Those chats made me remember my friend Correíta when we went to Argentina.
When we got at the little town, each of us was able to take a shower before having lunch at the house where we started the day before. Then to the car for the drive all the way to the hostel in Mexico City.
Crónicas de Mao 