Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Baños, 3rd October 2006 - ENGLISH
Right now I am in a hostel in Baños, a small city just in the middle of Ecuador.
The last week was very dense of things. My first climb was very succesful. In three days I could get on top of the Nevado Cayambe and despite the short time I could acclimatise to the height of the mountain (almost 6,000m). Energised by the prompt success I organised everything for the second climb after a couple of days of rest spent around Quito.
Last wednesday I was already at 4,800m resting at the hut "J. Rivas" (the oldest hut in Ecuador). The day after before the sunrise tied on the rope with two swiss climbers met during my way back from Cayambe, we were climbing the Cotopaxi, a perfectly symmetric volcano covered with a white glacier. At about 100m from the top (just at the crux of the route) we decide to turn back. It was to late in the day and the snow had "turned to sugar" under the sun of the day.
You can imagine I am too stubburn to accept something like that.
The day after, just to replay a scenario which is getting unfortunately very common, I start from the hut again, this time to get to the top. Unfortunately the weather conditions today are not so nice. The wind is very strong and for the most of the day it is very cold indedd. However I get to top, even if the only evidence of this is given by my GPS because I can hardly see at more than 5 meters from my nose.
But the very worse has still to come.
Back to the hut I realise my left foot is quite sore. This pain grows in intensity to get over the limit of the sustainability during my bus journey back to Quito. The bigger nail if my left foot is almost black and there are clear sign of infection. I guess this is one of the backdrop of the marathon I run just two weeks before. The cold and the strains suffered during the climbing did the rest.
Arrived in Quito I realise I do not have a wide range of option, I need a doctor. I got to the local hospital and the doctor explain me there is only one thing to do: remove the nail.
I don't know if anyone that is now reading this post has an idea of the pain connect to the removal of a nail. I had a vague idea and this was more than enough to convince me of the necessity to request an injection of anesthetic. Fine, the doctor agrees; he admits the pain would be to high. Despite all the efforts, there is no way to inject the anesthetic in significant quantity. The infection is too severe and the anesthetic cannot properly flow in the toe. Indeed the pain provocated by this unsuccesful operation is absolutely unsustainable.
But there is no limit to the concept of pain.
The doctor decide to operate and remove the nail with a strange pair of scissors; of course I am not informed of this decision. He just tells me: "Let's explore the situation, we might not have to remove the nail". During the five seconds following his sentence the doctor "operated" and I felt an immense pain. Do you remember the scene of the soap in Fight Club when Brad Pitt pours the acid on Edward Norton's hand? Here we are.
Useless to say since since that day (it was September the 29th, friday) I have not climbed, and actually untill yesterday my toe was so red and sore that I could hardly walk. I realised on myself that our nails are there for a specific reason.
The situation is now getting better hour after hour, but I have no idea when I can manage again to use crampons and climbing boots. In the meantime I have moved from Quito to Baños, which is less than 60 km from Chimborazo, the mountain that with its 6,310m is the highest of the country. As soon I will feel fine enough to trek I will move to the first camp at 4,000m; the day after to an higher camp at 5,000m and when the weather conditions suitable go for the summit.
It is difficult to give a forecast, but stating my actual conditions I would consider that achieve the next climb before the 9th of the current month would be a success.
To be continued...
P.S. Digital pictures of my toe and of the removed nail just after the "operation" are available on request.
The last week was very dense of things. My first climb was very succesful. In three days I could get on top of the Nevado Cayambe and despite the short time I could acclimatise to the height of the mountain (almost 6,000m). Energised by the prompt success I organised everything for the second climb after a couple of days of rest spent around Quito.
Last wednesday I was already at 4,800m resting at the hut "J. Rivas" (the oldest hut in Ecuador). The day after before the sunrise tied on the rope with two swiss climbers met during my way back from Cayambe, we were climbing the Cotopaxi, a perfectly symmetric volcano covered with a white glacier. At about 100m from the top (just at the crux of the route) we decide to turn back. It was to late in the day and the snow had "turned to sugar" under the sun of the day.
You can imagine I am too stubburn to accept something like that.
The day after, just to replay a scenario which is getting unfortunately very common, I start from the hut again, this time to get to the top. Unfortunately the weather conditions today are not so nice. The wind is very strong and for the most of the day it is very cold indedd. However I get to top, even if the only evidence of this is given by my GPS because I can hardly see at more than 5 meters from my nose.
But the very worse has still to come.
Back to the hut I realise my left foot is quite sore. This pain grows in intensity to get over the limit of the sustainability during my bus journey back to Quito. The bigger nail if my left foot is almost black and there are clear sign of infection. I guess this is one of the backdrop of the marathon I run just two weeks before. The cold and the strains suffered during the climbing did the rest.
Arrived in Quito I realise I do not have a wide range of option, I need a doctor. I got to the local hospital and the doctor explain me there is only one thing to do: remove the nail.
I don't know if anyone that is now reading this post has an idea of the pain connect to the removal of a nail. I had a vague idea and this was more than enough to convince me of the necessity to request an injection of anesthetic. Fine, the doctor agrees; he admits the pain would be to high. Despite all the efforts, there is no way to inject the anesthetic in significant quantity. The infection is too severe and the anesthetic cannot properly flow in the toe. Indeed the pain provocated by this unsuccesful operation is absolutely unsustainable.
But there is no limit to the concept of pain.
The doctor decide to operate and remove the nail with a strange pair of scissors; of course I am not informed of this decision. He just tells me: "Let's explore the situation, we might not have to remove the nail". During the five seconds following his sentence the doctor "operated" and I felt an immense pain. Do you remember the scene of the soap in Fight Club when Brad Pitt pours the acid on Edward Norton's hand? Here we are.
Useless to say since since that day (it was September the 29th, friday) I have not climbed, and actually untill yesterday my toe was so red and sore that I could hardly walk. I realised on myself that our nails are there for a specific reason.
The situation is now getting better hour after hour, but I have no idea when I can manage again to use crampons and climbing boots. In the meantime I have moved from Quito to Baños, which is less than 60 km from Chimborazo, the mountain that with its 6,310m is the highest of the country. As soon I will feel fine enough to trek I will move to the first camp at 4,000m; the day after to an higher camp at 5,000m and when the weather conditions suitable go for the summit.
It is difficult to give a forecast, but stating my actual conditions I would consider that achieve the next climb before the 9th of the current month would be a success.
To be continued...
P.S. Digital pictures of my toe and of the removed nail just after the "operation" are available on request.
# posted by Silvio @ 8:47 PM 
Comments:
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Holy crap Silvio, that removal of the toenail must have been horrendous. I'm not sure I wanna see that photo, though... I'm still waiting for the photo with my own foot twisted at 90 degrees after my last year's fall from a stupid indoor climbing wall...
Be strong man !
Be strong man !
Jesus! Must have been agony. You are so stubborn though - if you manage to come back having lost only a toenail, I'll be happy. Sounds like you are managing to be sensible, having read your other accounts. "Lunar" landscapes? Only the stars for company? You poet. Carry on taking care of yourself!
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