I left Monterrey on May 24th on a solo flight, via CDMX, where I would meet the rest of the group (I hadn't had the opportunity to go to training in the volcanoes of Mexico because of my classes at TEC).
So it was, while we were documenting the suitcases at the CDMX airport I quickly noticed that there were other people with expedition backpacks, I went over to greet them and they were all very kind to me, of course, I realized that we would have very good chemistry with each other. The trajectory was Monterrey - CDMX - Colombia - La PAZ.
We were in La Paz for two full days to be able to acclimatize properly, it is a city that has an average altitude of 3,600 masl (meters above sea level), where we did our equipment review and went sightseeing to know the surroundings, we had the opportunity to go to the archaeological zone of Tiwuanacu and Lake Titikaka, the highest navigable lake in the world.
For this expedition we have 4 Mexican guides: Daniel Araiza, Ricardo Lugo, Alfredo Perea and Héctor Ponce de León and additionally a certified Bolivian guide: Marcelo Sainz.
On May 27 we moved to the Tuni dam (4,400 meters above sea level) for an hour and a half on the way and we did a 10 km walk. to the base camp of Alpamayo to sleep in the tents.
Hello Marcela! Today will be your first night at camp. The previous two days of acclimatization in La Paz were very beautiful, you learned a lot about the spirit of the Andes in Tihuanacu, with your guide Rosa María, Now you are in your tent, alone, with a lot of space for you, enjoy it! Since Aconcagua you didn't sleep in a tent, nor did you use your equipment! you're finally here You look full of emotion. The Mother gave you beautiful landscapes in today's trekking, she even gave you a climate that never occurs, water-snow fell. It allowed you to take incredible photos, so much so that you even think it's the best you've ever taken. It is!… Remember to enjoy and LIVE this path that is just beginning.
Thank you.
Day 5. May 28. Pico Austria Summit (5,300 masl). Elevation: 700mts
I felt great! Last night at the camp, Hector, our guide, measured our oxygen saturation and I saturated 92% with 92 BPM (beats per minute). We are at 4,400 meters above sea level (meters above sea level) and I have slept very richly, so much so that I even woke up thinking I was at home.
I never got up to pee and I feel very well hydrated. It was very cloudy today, the day of the first summit, but I was able to take some good photos, I hope the other days clear up. This day I had a great learning thanks to the weather, it was hot and cold at the same time.
When we started the ascent I couldn't help but sweat intensely all over the place, the sun and its reflection on the snow made us die of heat. "What doesn't kill you makes you strong," Hector told me, making me understand that I hadn't made a mistake in the way I chose my layers of clothing, he told me that this is always the case when the sun is very strong and there is snow. He spoke that this is the way it is on Everest and that if one day I want to go, this type of situation prepares me for what is experienced thereafter passing one of the most difficult areas, the Khumbu Icefall, where people have to wear underwear white color and cross the entire part of the glacier in underwear since the reflection of the sun on the snow is so strong that it has killed people with heatstroke.
It was about five and a half hours, we started at 9:30 am and returned at 3:15 pm to the camp, the weather that was in these days here was really strange, we had to use our high mountain boots and crampons when it is usually a mountain that is climbed in trekking shoes.
