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Chilean
Women Everest 2001 Expedition
First
South American Women Expedition to Mount Everest
Four
Chilean women started an expedition to Mount Everest.
They are Vivianne Cuq (leader), Cristina Prieto,
Patricia Soto y Andrea Munoz. They are joined by three
high-altitude cameramen: Christian Cuq, Philippe Reuter
and Francisco Medina. The rest of expedition includes
one doctor, one producer and one professional cameraman
from Chilean National Television. Total: 10 persons,
all Chilean, except Philippe Reuter, who is from
France, but lives in Chile.
Update
4/11/01: Hello
to all! I imagine everyone wants to know how life is
and what goes through our head at base camp. We will
try to recreate a little of our day to day experiences
here on Everest.
First
it is hard to imagine, or describe, the amazing
glacial moraine that exists at the foot of this
mountain. This moraine is like the ice that
accumulates in your freezer but mixed with boulders
and dirt that make our walk extremely difficult. All
around us are cracks and crevasses that make for a
most challenging experience. All
around us you can feel the glacier move, the sinister
noises made by this activity remind us always that the
seracs and crevasses are a force to be reckoned with.
With this in mind it is no surprise that many did not
sleep well, if at all, during our first night here.
The movement of the ice and the avalanches that we
hear continually serve as a constant reminder as to
the dangers and risks of climbing Everest, or any
other high peak.
This
is not to say that our group is scared, only aware.
After the third day most of us have become accustomed
to the glacial activity and are solely concentrating
on climbing the mountain. Gladly,
we are not alone on the mountain, base camp is a true
Tower Of Babel, many tongues are spoken and we learn
more each day. We share this moraine with Americans,
Russians, Canadians, Italians, Argentineans, Indians,
etc.
The
official language of Base camp is English, without
even a slight command of this language you lose the
opportunity to get to know some very interesting
people, including Sherpas. The Sherpas are a wonderful
people, I am continually astonished by their capacity,
they have truly become part of our team. They
are here as equals, they do not command us but work
with us. They understand that this is our climb
and they respect that as they help us attack the
mountain. They cook our food and assist us in many
ways, but they know this is our climb.
Along
with our climbing sherpas we have three cooks, two
remain at our Basecamp and the other is
stationed at our ABC. The truth is we are a very
united group, we all know what our goal is and in one
form or another realize what is required to attain it.
Like any other climb, teamwork is the key to the
summit, without we have no chance. Our
ABC chef is a superhero. We get a great
breakfast and we do not have to do the dishes. We are
sincerely happy to have such a competent member
assisting us.
We,
as a group, have five sherpas and after seeing that
other groups have on an average 1 sherpa per climber
we realized that we were a little short. No worry to
us though, we have a strong, united team.
Not
to change the subject, but there is something with
which I have yet to become accustomed with, I speak of
our bath. The
bath is divided into two sections, one for urination
and the other for .... These facilities are less than
100 meters from our tents. It is good that we are
friends and understand that we have no control over
these functions and it is part of camping.
We
have spent most of our days organizing our climb, here
is a small list of the things we do during our day. We
prepare our high altitude tents. To secure them
against the high winds we are likely to find at
altitude we make sure to pack the special iron stakes
that we ourselves made back home in Santiago. We break
down the food requirements by camp and make sure that
the necessary tents and other equipment are packed
together. Check
each bottle of Oxygen and the regulators. Each bottle
of 02 has our name on it. And ultimately, an
important part of our journey, to enjoy ourselves and
make friends, an important part of any expedition.
During
our free time each member spends their time reading,
writing, listening to music or simply enjoying the
wonderful landscape that surrounds us. It has made me
cry.
We
will keep you informed as things happen. In closing, a
note to our families. Thanks to those who have taught
us to love nature and enjoy each moment. Although many
will not believe us, we are happy doing this. We
do this to express our love of life, and to enjoy life
to its fullest. We know how hard it is for
our loved ones to be so far away from us, and us from
them. It is because they understand this, and still
love us, that we can find happiness on our climb.
We think of you often and love you for the freedom you
have given us.
As
incredible as it seems, we are here at the base
of Everest, a place where so many dreams have
been fulfilled, and now we have the opportunity
to fulfill ours!
Ciao.
Patricia Soto.
For
full dispatches in Spanish see there site here.
