Page 9 - 2013 AMA Winter

The first week was primarily focussed on allowing our bodies to acclimatise and conducting some of the popular mid-level trek- king routes. We topped out on one day trek at 4910m and even managed an open water swim, or ‘Quality Mountain Dip’, in Lake Churup, much to the shock of other trekking groups. The effects of altitude claimed two victims in this period as two of us suffered symptoms of AMS and had to take the remaining acclimatisation phase a bit steadier, but soon caught up with the help of some good medication!
After our first four day trip out under canvas with Alfredo and his team, it was clear we weren’t going to be roughing it as we were perhaps expecting. Benjimin, our cook was incredible and every day we were blown away with the standard of food he and his son, Raol, were able to turn out at altitude with very little infrastructure. Equally we were spoilt in the Peruvian way, with the provision of donkeys, or ‘burros’, to assist in moving our kit up to base camps.
Back in Huaraz, we had two days to conduct some much needed administration ahead of pushing back out onto the mountain to attempt our first assault on the Cordillera Blanca, specifically,
ARMY MOUNTAINEER 7