I'm not going to talk or money or miles, but the altitude. This weekend, I have overcome the first 4000 meters, or more precisely 4368m. Of course, you can say that this is not even the Mont Blanc. In this case, just try! Our journey started Saturday morning in Santiago, we were still reluctant to leave because it got lost somewhere in the south, and it is arrived at Cajon de Maipo to an hour. Cajon de Maipo is a canyon in south-east of Santiago. At its bottom, there is a village called Baños Morales, 93km from Santiago, that is two hours away.
Pathfinder led us to the bottom of the valley overlooked by the San Jose Volcano, 5,856 meters. The road was not paved and was full holes, so we did use the four four, but do not think that the Chileans can not pass with a Renault Megan we found the parking lot. A tip: in Chile, never buy a used car from town, you do not know what was with the owner.
We took our bags with food, clothing, sleeping bags, rope, crampons and ice axes, and it was gone. The plan was to arrive at base camp, that is about 1000 meters up, sleeping, the summit of Cerro Moai next day, down in the camp, and take the business down to the car. This plan, the cosmonaut has done with the help of Andeshandbook . I still have a board for you. The Andeshandbook is most likely done by people who do the Mont Blanc during their walk on Sunday afternoon. So instead of dividing the time of ride they give two, as we did in the Alps, roughly multiply by 1.5.
The first day, Saturday, so we rode for five hours with our huge bags in the base camp. As it was Easter, there were already two small groups of people in the camp. And as in Chile, it is a holiday Friday, not Monday as in Europe, the two groups came on the eve of the coup and on Saturday was their day of ascent. The first group had already returned from the summit. We asked them the way and they told us, jokingly, that if you wait a little, we will see the light of torches as the second group will use down as night began to fall. They advised us to leave at five o'clock in the morning, otherwise we will not go back to that day. Looking at the empty tents, we said, contemptuous, the second group, it must be the CFO on vacation, since they fail to do 900 meters in altitude in the day. Or maybe, it's lazy like us and he can not get up early? The cosmonaut has still noticed that the guys in the group who had already returned to the area have not yet sissy, they all climb in three days, not two, as new, it was expected. Sometimes you have to listen to what intuition tells you, but slowly fell asleep thinking of the 900 meters negligible as the next shoeing.
After nine o'clock, three hours after sunset, the second group returned.
We left at five o'clock in the morning under the moonlight. The mountains were barren. Nobody was climbing that day, so we knew we would only all day. And as the season finished normally in March, and it was only thanks to the extreme drought that could rise in April, it was clear that we will probably last on the summit until spring.
After about 100 vertical meters, we lost the trail and began to cross the moraine. And as the glacier melted, the moraine was miles away. We crossed the big stone for two hours. In the end, when we were more than 3500, I began to trail heavy legs, but he should continue to the glacier. I hate the glaciers, because there are cracks insidious, but at this time, I was excited about everything that is not a moraine. 
And after another hour of crossing the moraine, my desire became reality. It was under the glacier. But, oops, also before an Andean phenomenon very specific to the penitents. I read in our book on the Andes as it exists and I thought it must be pretty and that with a little luck, I'll see one day. Well yes, not one, but a field. He said many in our book that one, it might be nice, but one field, it can prevent you from passing. And imagine that the penitents are so insidious that the photo they seem to be quite pretty and nice and you can not imagine that the galley is to the cross! And actually, the truth is that the galley, it does not translate in photos, but precisely in the absence photos, and we have not a single photo of the climb because they lacked the strength to do so. And especially not in the most difficult places. The photos I show you is going down we had them. 
masses of ice that form the penitents leave holes at hand, which is clear if you know the law of the constancy of matter. The only possibility, how you can cross it to pass from one hole to another or if the holes are not too large, walk on the edges of the holes, but it is not possible here, where the penitents become. Try to climb 300 meters of vertical jumping fences and you will understand why there are plenty of mountaineers who can not make a record because of this phenomenon. Our book says that we must try to identify the penitents through the binoculars in advance and avoid them. Bah, look at the picture and tell me where you want to avoid, knowing that the rock is a pile of stones on a slope that leak. By fighting with the penitents we saw about three cracks that I welcomed as friends who do a fair play. With rage, I cut the heads of penitents with my ax and I've really had enough. In a moment, I told myself that I'm already above 4000 meters, then it's done, but hey, the goal was a little higher.
So there is mounted. We went through all the penitents and wicked half past one, we were at the top. Our picture shows that c 'was the galley.
He had to descend. Cross again the field of penitents and the moraine. We thought that we will find a trail on the moraine we have missed the ascent, but no, there were only a piece of trail at the very end, otherwise, it would still pass through the stones. Well, down is easier. But on the other hand, you have to climb in your legs. And so, somewhere on the moraine, it was decided he should stay another night in the base camp and make the rest of the descent the following day.
We were in our tent even when it was daylight, but I must say that I got exhausted. I hurt everywhere, especially in the head and stomach. I could not even sit, I placed directly into the sleeping bag and I fell asleep for half an hour. Upon awakening, we took an aspirin, which is good against altitude sickness, and without dinner, we went to bed. It was only about eleven hours of the night, our bodies have recovered enough to wake us from starvation. It was a quick dinner and we had to sleep again 
. The next day we woke up around seven hours, we ate, we gathered our things and we went down the 1,000 meters remaining. Our only wish was to see Pathfinder and once we were there, the cosmonaut could not resist taking it photographed three times.
So here we are back in Santiago. The cosmonaut has to leave Thursday and Telescope so we will rest a little mountain. But despite the galley down, it has already started to discuss our upcoming trips.
PS The photos here are .
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