Cheers to being a gumby (a new climber) again. What is the best way to go from feeling like an expert to feeling like a novice in a day? Fly 3000 miles to southern Patagonia and start climbing mountains that challenge your mind body and soul. Learn "ice & snow skills" on the fly.
The buddist philosophy of "the beginner's mind" is a great states to strive for. A beginner sees with fresh eyesand acts every moment as though it were the first. Doing what is easy gets boring and the only way for me to learn how to swim is to jump in the deep end. This deep end just happened to be some of the most challenging peaks on the planet.
The 40 days I spent in El Chalten, the jumping point for the Fitzroy and Cerro Torre were mostly good relaxing bad weather days, about 25 of them, punctuated by 15 or so day of nice weather and sadistic exercise. No amount of running with a pack on or climbing 20 pitches a day can prepare one for the amount of abuse carrying a 35 kilo pack for 25 kilometers will give. I hiked 2072+ miles, i've climbed 1000M of hard granite in a day. This was by far the hardest thing I have ever done. Again, it is good to be a beginner again.
I did get the bug and I do have the mind set for alpine climbing. I love the danger and the comittment. I love the clarity that comes from solitude. I love the mental challenge of staying positive while rain bound in a tent.
During those 15 days in the mountians I climbed:
400 M up the Fitzroy, only to be turned around by my partner's fear of comittment
500M Solo to the summit of Guillamet via the 5.10 Brenner Ridge
600M up El Mocho via the 5.11 Benatears. We added two new 70M 5.10 and 5.11 pitches to the base by starting on the south side
250M up El Mocho via the 5.12a squeeze chiminey called Grey and Yello Arrow. We backed off 3 pitches from the top due to not taking the route seriously enough.
400M up the 5.11a Media Luna
