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CLIMB WITH PRIDE-ACONCAGUA 2007Updates from the team in Argentina Only two to go on... Today was another rest day for the team members. They had a big task yesterday, scaling up a further 800m from the Base Camp to High Camp One. "Carry high, sleep low"- This was the technique commonly used in high-altitude expeditions, and it was what the team would be doing. To carry the load up to the High Camp One but returning to Base Camp to spend another night before moving on again to Camp One. This not only helps the climbers to acclimatize, but also allows them to carry half their load up on the first day and set up tent in the next camp for the next day. To start off the update for yesterday, Rene'e told PRIDE today from the Base Camp that "a lot of things have happened" and that there were "a lot of changes now". PRIDE wondered if this was all good news! Unfortunately, not everything turned out as planned. Rene'e explained that many of the team members were having problems coping with the high altitude and the low oxygen environment. This had compromised their ability to take in oxygen, as well as their chance to move on to a higher altitude. Low oxygen and altitude sickness Both Harun and Shereen had already experienced difficulties as they arrived at the Base Camp. "Harun's oxygen level was too low, and Shereen was having some problems with the altitude as well," said Rene'e. Due to those reasons, Harun and Shereen had to stay back at the Base Camp and could not progress further to the High Camp. When PRIDE spoke to Harun today, he said that he was feeling all right. The weather was also getting warmer with less wind, around 20 degrees Celsius. "I'm much better today. No more headaches, which is good. Today is the first day I don't have a headache, so I'm coping quite well, I think,"said Harun. His oxygen level was returning, and filming was not a problem for him. Brad Clement, an experienced adventure freelance camera operator from the US, is also helping Harun to film the expedition for a documentary commissioned by Astro. He will continue to film at higher altitudes without Harun. "Brad is doing very well. Even yesterday, during the trek to High Camp 1, it was really tough but Brad is very strong and has been really filming all the way. So, I think we should get some really good footage at the end of this expedition," said Rene'e. Rene'e was next Only four of the team members - Zabil, Kabie, Stephanie and Rene'e - continued trekking to the High Camp One yesterday, starting off at 10:45am. "We started late, according to our guide, and they gave us eight hours for us to reach Camp 1, but then cut it down to seven hours. This was because they needed to give us time for the trek down, which would be quite hard," said Stephanie. Mid-way on the trek, however, Rene'e had to stop and return back to Base Camp. Sadly, she did not make it all the way to High Camp One. She returned to Base Camp with the lead guide, Andres, as Zabil, Kabie, Stephanie and Brad, who were accompanied by the other two guides, Laura and Carlos, proceeded on According to Stephanie, half-way up to Camp One, gusts of very strong winds would come and go, blowing up small rocks that would hit the climbers on their faces and bodies. At one point, the wind got so strong that it threw Stephanie towards Kabie. Both of them almost fell off the steep cliff nearby, if it wasn't for the guide who had held onto them! For some time, the climbers had to lie in a prone position, close to the ground, to avoid being blown away by the vicious wind. To add to the challenge, the trail was also steep, sandy and strewn with loose rocks. A struggle with the elements The trek was very exhausting and a real struggle. It included very few stops, and the last one hour was extremely arduous, as Stephanie revealed to PRIDE. "The difference was only about 200m to 250m, but it took us one hour and 10 minutes to reach to the Camp One. It was really, really tiring. And after certain parts, we have to take two steps, three steps, and then stop and catch our breath few times, and then start again. Because most of the time, we are moving but we are still in the same place," Stephanie said. And due to the minus zero temperature, even the water in her Camelbak, as well Zabil's and Kabie's, were frozen. During the trek down back to Base Camp, Stephanie went down the trail first with Brad, while Kabie and Zabil were at a slower pace. On the way down, Stephanie had a slight headache due to the sudden change of the altitude. But she quickly recovered once she got back to the Base Camp. The altitude took its toll Coming down to spend another night at the Base Camp from the High Camp, which was part of the plan, Kabie experienced altitude problems and extreme fatigue. Hence, it was decided that it was also no longer possible for him, as well as the three others - Shereen, Harun and Rene'e - to carry on with the expedition. "This was according to the doctor's advice, because if we go any higher, we risk getting further complications from the altitude," Rene'e elaborated. The symptoms of altitude sickness are caused by the lower air pressure at high altitudes. The lower air pressure results in lower oxygen levels and hence, it becomes a strain on the body to obtain oxygen out of the air. In rare cases, it may also lead to two serious, even fatal, conditions - high altitude pulmonary oedema or high altitude cerebral oedema. Altitude sickness is not related to physical fitness. More often than not, it has to do with how quickly the body has to adapt to the high altitude. That is why "acclimatization" is a very important part of any high altitude expedition, as ascending too quickly would take its toll on the body. Working out a plan As the climbers are now split into two teams - one which will not progress beyond the Base Camp, and the other which will be moving on to the High Camp - Rene'e said that those who cannot proceed will try to work out a plan for the days ahead, while Zabil and Stephanie push on towards the summit. According to Rene'e, there were two options they have discussed. One of them was to stay at the Base Camp. "But that would mean that we will have to ask Zabil and Stephanie to come back up to the same route which they have used. And really, I said that it is not really a good idea… the Normal Route [a different route which they were planning to use] is actually shorter, then if they came back to this Base Camp. Also, by doing that, they would traverse the mountain, get to see the whole of the other side of the summit and come out on the south side. So we are not going to deprive them out of their experience either," Rene'e explained. The other option was to return back down on the same route they came up on with the mules to Penitentes, the small resort area at the base of the mountain. They would then wait for Zabil and Stephanie in Penitentes, so that when they exit the Normal Route, Rene'e and the rest of the team would be there to meet them on the other side of the mountain. "Please don't worry about us, everything is still fine, everyone is relatively well," Rene'e affirmed. "I mean, we each have a problem maybe, but it's all under control and there's nothing to worry about!"
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