Home | Ecuador | Cotopaxi

Hello everybody
I was rope pulled yesterday. It was quite the experience...something very foreign. Not only have I never been rope pulled but I have never been in such a predicament where rope pulling was essential.
I climbed Cotopaxi. It is the highest active volcano in the world. It is 5937m high. A place where the air doesnt work like it does in Vancouver. There is a lack of oxygen and the air pressure is low.
There were 6 of us and I was placed at the end. I dont know why but because I said I had a little rock climbing experience I was placed in that final position. The weather was bad but that added to the whole challenge of what we were about to do. The wind was blowing and the snow was falling hard. We left at 3 am from a refuge we had stayed at the night before and off we went into that good night. In front of me were 5 guys all roped together and behind me was this vastness of black and grey. I could make out nothing behind me.
The climb was very steep. There seemed to be no break in the slope of the volcano. But we moved on, step-by-step, nice and slow. When you move quickly you are prone to altitude sickness. The lack of oxygen and air pressure can cause headaches, vomiting, and other non-pleasurable experiences.
We were walking on a glacier, thus the rope, and crampons(spikes on the bottom of your boots) and we had an ice axe.
All was beautiful and fine. It was a challenging climb...we took few breaks only because a steady slow climb is best to avoid altitude sickness. The rope between each person was about 6 metres long and ideally you are supposed to keep the rope reasonably taut. So a large part of my experience was looking down at the ground at both my foot placement and the rope. Besides the wind was blowing too hard and the little pellets of snow-hail was coming down too hard to look up too often. If the rope was on the ground and loose...I would stop. If I felt a tug I would move on a little faster.
There is a whole pschology of being last in a mountaineering climb like the one I participated. I had a lot of time to think during that climb and watching that rope became a part of me. Loose, stop; taut, move; looser, stop!; tugging hard, move!
It was never ending.
At first the experience was awesome. Being part of a train of guys all with the same hope and being challenged by weather and volcano made the climb all worth while. But after about 4 hours I wasnt happy. I have never ever been in a scenario like I found myself yesterday. I am making this very dramatic (as it was to me) but just to clarify that there were no avalanches, falling into crevases, or crazy animal attacks. The problem was me and my inability to cope with the altitude. One and a half hours from the top we took our longest break. The guide said we had ten minutes to rest. I seriously took 3 to 4 minutes getting my wits back. I fell into the snow with the inability to move. I was not physically tired...I just didnt get enough oxygen. I couldnt take a big breath. I was hyperventilating and it wouldnt stop. After about 4 minutes I tried to empty one of my water bottles but it was completely frozen so I just threw it away. Taking my gloves off to get some food was difficult because my hands were cold...and to make matters worse the next thing I know everyone was standing and I had just started eating. I spoke up to say that I needed more time which is not like me at all...Im usually the one of the last to be weak but yesterday was my day. But to no avail. The guide said get up and lets go. So I did. Again...it was not a physical tiredness...it was something I have never felt before...I dont know how to explain what I felt, but it wasnt a good feeling, I can say that much. Somehow I made it up the last steep sections but not without that rope being part of my reason for doing so. It continually pulled me. My mind was telling my body to stop...the rope telling me otherwise. I watched that rope so intently. Sometimes when I conjured up some energy I would go up 3 or 4 steps fairly quickly so that the rope would coil under my feet and then behind me. But that would only result in a few seconds of watching it pull slowly and relentlessly out from under me and rise slowly off the ground to the point where I would be pulled forward with a soft tug. Move on.
About 100 metres from the summit I made the mistake of looking up and seeing that one of the groups...we had broken into two three man groups by this time... had reached the top and were celebrating. At this point I had no desire to get to the top...which is very foreign to me now. But I couldnt have cared a less for making it to the top. I was so dizzy and out of it that I just wanted to stop and rest. But that rope. It pulled me. Hard. Harder. I moved on. I felt like a dog on a leash. The one thing that kept me moving was that if I stopped I would also stop the guy directly in front of me from reaching the summit and I felt bad about that. So I staggered on. I had no ability to place my feet in appropriate spots...ready made footprints of my friends ahead or smooth pockets between the rougher wind swept ice mounds seemed to avoid my feet. I staggered like a drunk man being pulled slightly by a rope from above. Finally at the top all I wanted to do was strip myself of that damned rope but there were congratulations in progress and instead I found myself hugging some strange german guys.
I climbed Cotopaxi. With help from a rope. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I cant believe how difficult it was. But I did suffer from altitude sickness and with the lack of sleep the night before and the strong wind and snow and cold it all added up to be a very challenging climb. Not physically but ... I dont know. Mentally? No ... I could think. I just could barely move. Why? The only answer I have is lack of oxygen.
Cotopaxi is a beautiful volcano. The surrounding park is huge and amazingly beautiful. The beauty in this country is stunning. I dont think Ill be leaving any time soon. There is so much to see. I am here in Quito and I dont know what Ill be doing next but it wont be climbing... at least not yet.
Thank for reading.
Take it easy.
Sean

More from seanchorney here