This weekend we had our first big backpacking trip with ‘la clase de Montanismo.’ The students from mountaineering I, II, and III joined together to hike to the top of a nearby mountain called Provincia. Altogether there were more than 120 of us.
On Friday night at 7pm we met at the university and boarded buses that would take us to the base of the mountain. At about 8:30 we arrived and started climbing and after about 2 and a half hours of intense climbing on steep ascents with rocks and with all of our gear, we arrived at the site for the base camp at 11:30 at night. What was the most difficult for me was not only the difficulty physically but also the difficulty in seeing as we were climbing in complete darkness. Most of the hikers had headlamps but I didn’t and tried to walk in-between those that did.
After a hearty dinner of noodles and sauce my tent group and I (my friends from the exchange program, Mark and Tim) went to bed in the anticipation for a very early start the next morning. Although we were using a two-person tent and had to squeeze it turned out to be an advantage because we were warmer because the temperature was COLD!
We were awakened the next morning at 4am and started climbing at 5am. It was still very dark and again the beginning of the climb was made difficult by the fact that we couldn’t see our footing very well. We had to start climbing early because it would take us a long time to get to the top and then return. What was also hard was that the temperature was very cold but when we started climbing we would get hot, start sweating, and want to shed layers, but when we would stop to rest, our sweaty bodies would grow very cold again.
After many hours of climbing and a few difficult parts with various rock formations, we made it to the top at about 1pm and enjoyed an incredible view while having lunch. We took lots of pictures at the top and although it was very cold, none of us wanted to start the long trek down again. The way down was tough as well because the rocks were slippery and the inclines were steep. After awhile all of our knees and ankles hurt from the stress of not slipping downwards. But everyone was in high spirits because we had conquered the mountain and we passed the time by telling jokes and riddles.
We finally made it down to base camp at about 7pm and made dinner. The night was really fun because one of the guys had brought his guitar and we sang and listened for more than three hours to both old and traditional Chilean music.
It was really hard to get up the next morning as it was raining, cold, and all of our bodies hurt a lot. But after packing up all of our gear we started the hike back to the starting point where the buses would be. Overall, we had a great hike and I especially enjoyed sharing the challenge of the mountain with the diversity of the huge group of people from many different countries.
You are so lucky to be having such an exceptionally good time. I'm sure I was born too soon. Just think what the next generation will have available to do! We all are so proud of what you are doing. We're all just not so computer literate! Fran