Silvio in America del Sud

I’m in Las Flores, a small village with a population of seven hundred people at about sixty miles from the borders with Chile. This time the target is to climb the Cerro de Olivares, a mountain of 6,220 metres which is rarely climbed. For a climber used to the stay at 3,500m and above it is possible to get to the summit in about five days.
I have just finished to arrange the logistic issues. Tomorrow with a private 4x4 vehicle I will get to 4,100m, where I will leave the dusty road that connect the village with Chile. At this point I will start my – I hope – easy climb to the top of the mountain. I have been spending the last week at less than 3,000m hence tomorrow I will reserve the full day to the mere transfer and wait about a day before gaining more height.

I am right at the place described in my climbing guide. The informations I have are very scarce as I could not put my hands on a real map as this place is too closet o the border with Chile and for some reasons all the related topographic informations are reserved. To get a “declassified” copy of the area the waiting time was about two weeks and what’s more it is necessary to attend personally in Buenos Aires.
However, getting here wasn’t so tough and I think that I am in the right place. As almost always the driver had not the smallest idea and the only thing that was checking was the meter just to be sure he was not going to drive more that agreed.
There is a small strema that provide fresh, clean water and tomorrow it should be relatively easy to find the direction for the next camp (placed at about 4,500m).

Cerro de Olivares, camp 2 (4,500m) – 13th December 2006, 8 pm

It could not be worse: the wind is fiere and a few minutes ago it also started to snow.
This is not everything. Yesterday I broke the zipper of my sleeping bag, exactly the last thing I needed. Now I got a wonderful broken sleeping bag that cannot be closed.
The wind is too strong to dismount the tent and move it to the next camp, placed at about 5,100m, but what is the most important with the sleeping bag in such a condition I have small hope to resist to the cold.
I want to be totally honest, things risk to be already difficult enough during the next night. I will try to close the sleeping bag around me with some tape, what it is important right now is to resist. It is 8pm and the temperature is already 8 degrees below zero. The fierce wind increase of course the thermal dispersion. The only way-out is might be to climb directly from here to the top of the mountain but this equates to climb about 1,700m in one day and I do not have the slightest idea of the route to follow. At the current stage the summit is not visible. Whatever is going to be my next move I need the weather to improve if I want to move from this bloody place. Otherwise I have no option but to wait. The wind is to strong to stand outside and cook but I got enough of food that can be eaten cold though I could not spend more than 48 hours without ingesting anything of hot. This would harm my moral if not my health!

Cerro de Olivares, campo 2 (4,500m) – 14th December 2006, 5 am

5 am: this tremendous night is almost over. I have no idea if the approaching day will be better, may be. Right now the sky is completely clear, it doesn’t snow anymore and the moon shine just over the horizon on a sky dark as black velvet. After an heavy snowfall, the wind and the clear sky have made the night even colder. I definitely could not resist to another night of that kind at an higher height. Not with the sleeping bag in this conditions.
If the weather improves I will move the camp at 5,100m and try the summit tomorrow at 4am. In the current conditions the more I wait the less of chances I have to be successful.
Again… if the weather improves. I am dressed with all my cloths and despite this I am very, very cold.

The weather improved and has been fine for all day but some clouds have appeared a few minutes ago. The wind calmed down but it is still quite strong. It took about one hour to set the camp. The camo at 5,100m described in my guide was on a route that is currently not in condition (too much penitents). To get here I had to climb on a steep slope of loose rocks, get on ridge and finally descend on it. There is not the smalles trace of any previous camp. Nothing at all, not a single stone, this place looks totally pristine. I know that this is absurd but I have the strong feeling to be the first to be here, may be I am opening a new route. If I get to the summit it will be worth to contact the International Alpine Journal to check if this route has been climbed before.
A few steps from here there is a reasonably sized glacier. I climbed on it for thirty minutes before set my climb to check its conditions. There is no clear evidence of any risk like crevasses, seracs or enough snow to start an avalanche. I have a doubt: the summit that seems to be the top of Cerro de Olivares does not look to get to 6,220m; I don’t think is higher than 6,000. May be it is a false summits which hides the main one.

Campo 3 (5,040m) – 14th December 2006, 10pm
I cannot sleep as always happens the day before the summit day. With some adhesive tape and a thin rope I found an efficient way to close the sleeping bag. For the time being I manage to keep the cold under control but the colder time of the night arrives in a couple of hours. The weather is better than yesterday or may be it is just the wind which is not so strong. I guess I will leave the camp at about 6 am, before it would be too cold. Las Flores (1,900m) – 15th December 2006
I am back in Las Flores. The most important thing is that I am fine but all my equipment is in a pretty bad state. The last four days were a tough test! I need to buy a new sleeping bag, new boots and repair the tent. And wash my equipment which is absolutely filthy. Yes, filthy not dirty.
I did not get to the top but only to the false summit that was visible from the camp 3. My GPS measured it at 5,861m; from there following a ridge oriented N-S in about two hours of easy trek over snow and rocks it would have possible to get to the main summit. But this was not possible this morning: the wind was blowing at obout 60 mph and I was too weakened by the struggle of the last three days to even think to continue. The way back was very uncomfortable, with penitents everywhere.
After all I am happy of the result, it was gained in difficult conditions.
During the next twenty days there are no mountains on the agenda. Untill December the 23rd I will be in Buenos Aires, afterwards in Italy for a week and than back in Argentina to climb Cerro Lorenzo, a technical mountain of Patagonia. This time I will be not alone but part of an expedition with three others climbers from Argentina. I hope that for that day I will have managed to put together a decent equipment, during X-mas this is going to be a difficult task.