Page 16 - 1998 AMA Summer

N ino” had deposited vast dumps of snow on the Andes chain. O ur M ilitary Survey forefathers had previously visit­ ed this remote and inhospitable area in 1902. They had under­ taken the massive task of delin­ eating the Chile / Argentine border which had been, and still is, disputed. Under inter­ national remit Maj Hills RE carried out the topographic sur­ vey work in this, the remotest part of the Andes chain.
We set about our own survey tasks immediately as a means of acclimatisation. Our aim was to earn’out geodetic GPS schemes to allow us to produce a recti­ fied image map of the area using SPOT imagery. Cpl John Leighton and the two Chileans, Victor and Orlando, supervised the survey work which allowed us to establish an exchange of working practices and tech­ niques with the Chileans. The small teams travelled far and wide across the desert whilst the leaders explored avenues of approach to Ojos only to be faced with 4/5 metre snowdrifts. Despite exploring every possi­ bility, with vehicles constantly being “bogged” in the snow, it became obvious that the team
would not reach Ojos. Throughout all this time, LCpl Dave Mothershaw (Digital Dave!) had been transmitting real time images and text onto our website. Our Expedition sponsors, Norsk Data of New­ bury, designed the internet site and acquired a British telecom “Mobiq” satellite phone which allowed our viewers and sup­
-•>
Surveying in the Atacama Desert.
porters to monitor our daily progress throughout.
famed for it’s inca remains and history of human sacrifices at it’s base. An exciting and nerve wracking battle against the
mountaineering albeit with it’s objective dangers of avalanche and rockfall. Two high camps were established at 4400m and 5000m and the 5 man summit team began their ascent on the 30 Aug 97 at 0500 hrs . They were battling against the dri­ ving Atacama winds in temper­ atures down to -25°C when the youngest soldier on the team had to be evacuated to the high camp because of the effects of hypotherm ia and frostbite. In true style, V ictor cancelled his summit bid to unselfishly assist him off the mountain. LCpl Carl Burkes, LCpl Dave M oth­ ershaw and John Miles reached the summit at 1450 hrs after a gruelling 10 hour climb. A GPS height survey was initiated and the team left the desert jubilant in achieving a great deal against all the odds.
The expedition was a huge suc­ cess and gave dram atic adven­ ture in one of the world’s most remote regions. The excellent relations developed with the Chilean Army, who offered im m ense help and assistance, gave us particular satisfaction. The bond developed with the Chileans has resulted in an invi­ tation to return to the Atacama in 1998 to finish off the busi­ ness with Ojos and to prove once and for all that it is the 2nd highest in the Americas. The team celebrated the 250th anniversary of pioneering sur­ vey exploration in true tradition and the benefits gained by the soldiers will be there for years to come. That was our Drama in the Atacama!
14
Army Mountaineer
The survey and exploration was
soon followed up by acclimati­ harsh terrain saw us drive to
sation climbs on the nearby
m ountains and the team
climbed three volcanoes in
superb winter surroundings. It
was a privilidge to be climbing
in one of the remotest of moun­
tain terrains with no one else in
hundreds of miles and right on
the Argentine border! The mid
winter of the southern hemi­ Summit Fever sphere, coupled with the extra­
ordinary weather of the time,
caused us to change our major
objective to the famous high
altitude volcano of Copiapo we would have to establish a peak (6, 100m) some 50 Km
away from our base at salar de la maricunga. This mountain was
number of camps on the hill from our base at 3800m. The mountain gave excellent winter
within 15km of the summit and the initial view was one of enor­ mity as we realised that this would be no easy ascent! “ It is a magnificent mountain draped in it’s full winter coat giving a sense of apprehension”
We only had 5 days in which to climb and survey the height of the peak and it was obvious that