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| Cordillera Blanca : Puertachuelo Honda (2) (17-19/09/2013 ) |
Après une semaine cloués au lit tous les deux, l'idée était donc de nous rattraper en passant par un col inédit.
Sur les bon conseils de plusieurs péruviens, nous avons décidé de louer des ânes afin de monter jusqu'au sommet du Portuachelo Honda.
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| Nous, on porte les vélos... |
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| ... enfin, on fait ce qu'on peut. |
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| Et la haut le putain de guide nous crie "Sube, sube" car il est pressé de redescendre pour nourrir ses moutons. |
Le putain de guide, en fait, il nous avait assuré que de l'autre côté la descente était beaucoup plus facile que la montée. Il nous a donc planté au sommet... dans la neige et le brouillard !!!
Alors on a souffert et surtout on a un peu paniqué.
Trois jours pour descendre 800 mètres de dénivelé alors que l'on pensait le faire en quelques heures.
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| Il faut imaginer le bruit des éboulements permanents |
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| Bivouac à 4 400 m d'Alt. |
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| On vient de là haut ! |
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| Et on se demande toujours par où on est passé. |
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| Et parfois par où on va passer. |
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| Ah oui, par là ! Deux heures pour faires trois cents mètres sur une corniche très étroite. |
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| C'est promis juré, je ne le ferai plus jamais ! |
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| Cordillera Blanca : Puertachelo Honda (2) (17-19/09/2013 ) |
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| The next morning at 5am Esteban was present with his donkeys. Only the luggage could be attached, so we had to carry our bikes ourselves. |
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| We had to climb an 800m higher to get to the other side... We climb higher and higher, which gave spectacular views of the quebrada. |
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| Only... It seemed that Esteban didn't know exactly the right direction... it seemed he took some shortcut... Actually we didn't follow any road, but just climbed the mountain 'straightforward'... After some time we start to get in trouble : On the picture: Enzo struggeling to get his bike through the bushes = There he said 'We have to return and go back down again, as this is not the right road !', but (stuborn as I am) I said 'No, we have to continue!' |
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| Also some nice moments : A beautiful rainbow crossing the quebrada We also saw a condor. |
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| The first estimation was that it would take us 3 hours to reach the top... These 3 hours became 5 (nearly 6) hours... The climbing becomes steeper & steeper, Estaban goes always faster & faster (=as he has to get back down, to feed his sheep), and we suffer more & more from the altitude... |
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| Once, finally reached the top, Estaban leaves us with our bikes & our 40-50kgs of luggage... But... on the other side we're captured by a snowstorm, it is completely misty (=we don't see anything), it is very cold & wet... but worste of all... there is 'no' road (to go down)... You can say that we were 'in trouble'...
We don't have any picture of that afternoon: Not only because of the snow, but also because we were quiet stressed about the situation : We had to get down asap !
On two occasions Enzo suggests to leave the bikes behind... (for probably never finding them back afterwards). (Luckily we twice went back up to go and get them anyway...) |
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| We camped at about 4400m = Our clothes and camping-gear was all completely wet and we passed what you can call a 'bad night' = Still worried of not knowing which direction exaclty to go the next day... There is still nothing that looks like a road in view = We are still 'lost' in the mountains... |
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| Euphorically we find some kind of road (yes, saved !),.... but... after 300m there is again no more road... |
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| ...and it is again searching for the least steep way down... (=Going down and more or less to the north-east = that's all we can do, hoping there will not be cliff or some other point of 'no-return'...)... |
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| Worried about 'When we'll find that road ?'... 'Will we have to camp many nights more, before having a sign of civilisation again?' Also starting to get really tired of carrying all the luggage... (always some 50mts further, going back up again to get the rest of the luggage, etc... = very slow and very tiring...) |
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| That evening a nice full-moon shines over our tent
During these days, the balance between fear/pain & beauty is sharp... |
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| The night (not at 4000m) was again quiet cold and wet, and the next morning the mountains are covered with snow, also on the lower altitudes.... |
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| Upper-pic: 'Is this the road maybe?' Lower-pic: 'Probably (again) not...'
Still lost... and nobody knowing that we are here... Water there is plenty = We can't die of deshydration here, but Enzo already mentionned something of 'How to kill a calf' (=as we start to get out of food and there are some cows running, here & there)...) |
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| Continuing our way... passing rivers, crossing the least steap passages... Also Enzo starts to look very very exhausted...
We had already more or less similar kind of experience in Patagonia (=while passing the Paso-Mayer : see ????), but compaired to this, the Paso-Mayer was peanuts (=not in high-altitude-mountains). |
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| Luckily we didn't end-up like this one... |
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| Finally, exhausted, after 3 days we seem to have found 'the' route ! |
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| And some kms further we see the first man again !!!! What a relief ! (=I could have embrassed him !) |
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| The gate to get out ! (=Is it the door to heaven or to hell = A little bit of both)... (=The panel mentions that you actually need some special permit to pass there)... |
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| Back down (safely) in the valley... (=Sometimes I love the valley !) |
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| And back again in a comfortable hostal in the pretty village of Chacas (=with view on the beautiful, but dangerous glaciares)... |
