Tropical Alpine Survival Trip (Part Two)

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The plan for the day was to push on to the top. The second half of this climb is very steep, no trail and the mountain was like a sponge. We repacked with only the essentials to wait out a storm and get back down in the dark if necessary. Valcione and Renato both had small daypacks inside their larger packs. I had to improvise one with paracord and a drybag. Instead of stones in the ends I used a Trioxene bar on one end and a block of raw sugar on the other, both items from my belt pouch PSK. I carried the 12 inch Tramontina this time as there just isn’t much stuff to hack at up there but I do end up digging every time. The 12 inch is easier to manage in the rocks.

Just as we were getting set to head upslope the rain started up in force and we decided to wait for a while under Valcione’s rock overhang. We discovered that the inner bark from one of his shelter poles was really good stuff for making cordage so we sat and rolled a few meters as there was no sense in getting washed of the mountain.

I don’t have any decent photos of the climb up as I was pretty busy climbing and the rain was pouring down. When we got on top it was very foggy, windy, and the rain was driving hard. We had about 25 meters of visibility so we started off navigating with the compass following a cattle trail. The cattle like to eat young plants and if they get out they will head right up the mountain. You find dead cattle bones all over the slope from beef that met its end falling off cliffs.

Just under the top

 

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After a while we found a place to shelter out of the wind and wait to see if it would clear any. At 6000 feet we were in the bottoms of the cloud cover so sometimes it would suddenly clear and we could see, then it would close up again.

The clouds finally parted and we got a good view of the wilderness on the far side of the ridge. People get lost in the fog out there all the time. Once you go below the ridge you have no cell phone signal and the land is very confusing. If you have to be rescued, you also have to foot the bill.

The top of the mountain looks simple enough but you have to hit the exact spot, about 20 meters wide, on the ridge to get back off. Trying to get down in any other place will only lead to sheer cliffs. In clear weather it is very easy. In dense fog it is very easy to miss the mark and go wandering up and down the ridge looking for a way down again. Depending on the wind one minute it would be clear like this and the next a white-out.

We only spent about three hours on top, enough to get some rewarding views and a real appreciation for some of the worst summer weather Brazil can dish out. We were prepared to weather a storm or two (which we did) or to spend a miserable night huddled in bivys in the rocks with a meager fire (which we did not). On top we also practiced fire lighting with the contents of the FAK (gauze and triple anti-biotic ointment), searched out shelter options, did some compass navigation. It was a good challenge. Mac

 

[cz75b]

Mac,

Very nice to see, you're taknig youngster into the wilderness, and teach them the good stuff.

Appreciate your photo's of the country!

CZ

 

[mmmotorcycle]

Very nice adventure! Thanks for the photos!

 

[alco141]

sounds like a good trip mac, nice to see you out there passing skills to the next generation.

alex