Without
our sponsors, you wouldn't see this site, please visit our
sponsors.
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.
Dispatch
May 3rd, 2001: In
returning to Base Camp, Viviane, Andrea, Paty,
Cristian and Philippe have completed their
acclimatization period.
The
next time we climb up the Khumbu it will be en route
to the summit (we hope!) This is because we have
successfully completed phase one of the trip.
While
a
lot of the expeditions have been struggling to survive
a night at camp 3
(7200m) Paty and Andrea have already spent 2 nights
there, whilst Viviane has managed 3. This has been
done pretty easily when one considers the altitude.
Also,
Viviane and I have been up to 7500 meters (the Yellow
Band) and Cristian has reached the Geneva Spur at 7900
meters. This was all achieved relatively easily, and
without supplemental oxygen. I can also confirm what
we suspected would happen. At lower altitudes (5000 ?
6500m), we are slower than some expeditions, but the
higher we get the quicker we get. From camp 3 upwards,
we will go at the same speed as the others. This gives
us some hope that the normal 18 hours needed on a
summit bid won't turn into 35 hours, which is
physically impossible for a human being to achieve at
that altitude. We owe all this to our beloved Andes
Mountains. I am convinced of this - even though I
wasn't born there, I have spent all my life
there.
SO
this is why we are at Base Camp, resting before
undertaking the real ascent of Everest, confident, but
cautious.
Pancho
and Cristina, who was delayed for health reasons, are
taking their turn at Camp 3, completing
acclimatization tasks. Like us, time is on their side.
They will come down to rest in the next few days when
we will all be reunited to have a good get together,
and get over our various ailments. We still don't know
where or how to spend these rest days, but we will
probably go down to Namche Bazaar at 3400 meters for a
couple of days. There we will experience a bit of civilization
and enjoy a few creature comforts before setting off
on what will be a once in a lifetime's ambition for
those of who don't want to turn it into a hobby.
The
truth is that our hopes are stretched and the reason
for that is simple ? The
sherpas have been able to do very little and we are
still short of equipment and oxygen to get up to Camp
4,
which has to be established before attacking the
summit. They
are of course very tough people, but at the end of the
day, they are human beings and they need rest. Despite
their apparent indestructibility, they are just as
fragile as us when confronted with Mother Nature. The
death of Babu (a double Everest Record-holder ? Base
Camp to the summit in 16 hours and one night spent on
the summit without oxygen) has affected us all
sub-consciously, as it has all the other expeditions.
He died within 20 meters of a cooking tent! Here
you have to take care going to the bathroom.
Our
Camp 3 is very open, and for this reason our bathroom
is quite simply attached to the entrance to the tent,
with all the inconvenience that entails! At this
height, nothing bothers you! The other 'but' of this
camp is the threat posed by the serac that hovers
above us and haunts all our dreams. But there is
nowhere else to camp. There
are 21 expeditions using the same ropes, following the
same routes and using the same camps, which everyone
help set up. We
are lucky because we are away from the hustle and
bustle, which is good for the peace and tranquility of
the group and for the girls in general, particularly
for those 'personal' moments.
Because
Camp 3 is a heap of tents where everyone can see what
everyone else is doing, the selection of the site for
our camp by our Sirdar was extremely well made. In
fact Phura doesn't even let any males get anywhere
near the "Chilean Everest Women." He takes
care of them like they were Holy Bread and he wants to
see all 4 on the summit!
This
is why we hope that his team will get all the
logistics in place so that we can all realize our
dream. He has been a very important member of the team
and his professionalism has impressed all of us who do
similar to work to him in Chile. This is very
important for everyone's confidence, because this trip
has not been at all easy. Each one of us has climbed
to the midpoint 4 times, and the physical work has
been very hard, mainly due to the changes in
temperature.
I
knew this phenomenon from my Patagonia days. In 2
seconds the temperature can change from minus 10 to 15
degrees. It's incredible! We never stop changing our
clothes during treks. When the sun beats down in the
Western Cwm, everyone sweats buckets, but as soon as a
cloud passes or the wind gets up the temperature
plunges below zero. This has caused all kinds of sore
throats and colds.
Coughs
and colds are constant Himalayan companions. But we
are finally at a low level, breathing properly and
without interference. It has snowed almost every
afternoon. At the moment it is snowing, but we are
hoping for stable weather. We
are planning a summit bid for the 14th or 15th of May,
giving us plenty of time to rest and to endure more
time away from our families.
It
was nice to find out that our friends and workmates
Carlos Diaz and Sabine Reuter are going to be visiting
us around those dates, which will be great moral
support now that we have no-one here who is linked to
our friends and families in Chile.
So
everything is going well here, the team is bonding
really well, the first phase has been completed
successfully and we are hoping to complete the second
phase with the same strength and success. Whatever
happens though, I can say that the girls have
surpassed themselves. Some have achieved things they
never thought they would. The Khumbu is one thing, but
the Lhotse Face is quite another, not to mention the
nights at 7200 without oxygen. So the worst is still
to come.
I
am sorry that we cannot send pictures, especially as
they are so beautiful. We all know that a picture
speaks a thousand words. Philippe Reuter
For
full dispatches in Spanish see there site here.
