Between Adventures

What happens when we’re not off the beaten path? Between every adventure, big or small, we need time to reset for the next one. The amount of downtime needed is highly dependent on the nature of our previous and upcoming adventure. It’s not overly complicated but let me outline our four-phased process. In reality the process is not that strictly segregated. The different steps naturally overlap with each other.

Recovery

This starts the moment we finish an adventure. A warm shower, a solid meal and a long night's sleep are essential for kickstarting the body’s recovery process. The length of this phase is highly dependent on how physically strenuous our previous adventure was but usually we bounce back within 24-48 hours.

Rebuild

Before we can start a new adventure we need to rebuild. We wash clothes, repair rips and tears and fix any broken gear. If needed, we will replace items that are too broken to be repaired. Depending on our location, finding replacements can be a small adventure in itself. We need to ensure that our equipment is fully functional. The success of our next adventure could depend on it.

Prepare

This is the most time and effort consuming phase. We finalise our plan, gather supplies, secure necessary permits and organise needed logistics.

We usually have a rough plan for what we want to do in an area before we arrive. Once we’re there, we need to solidify the plan. This means extensive research - especially if we’re going alpine climbing. We consult guidebooks, countless websites, local information centres and, if possible, local climbers who know the area and have the latest information about the conditions on the mountain. This is valuable information that helps us work out our plan and identify risks that we need to mitigate.

Getting supplies is mostly a question of finding a local supermarket and stocking up on calorie-dense foods like oats, mashed potatoes, textured soy protein and nuts. We normally pack enough food for the time we’ll be away plus a day or two. We try to plan according to the weather forecast but it’s alway good to include a bit of flexibility. We want excellent weather when we climb. It’s more fun and a lot safer that way. With that in mind, we need food enough to get us through a day or two waiting for good weather.

Depending on the adventure, we might need to obtain a permit. In Chile and Argentina it is also common that you have to pay entrance fees for the national parks. This can mostly be done online. In order to leave the beaten path and move higher into the mountains, a special permit is also frequently required. Sometimes simple, sometimes less so.

Obtaining a climbing permit can be a complicated affair. The initial task of figuring out what is needed and how to obtain it, is the most time consuming task. Information often has to be pieced together from multiple sources as requirements change frequently. Internet, local contacts and official channels are the way forward. This is how we navigated the permits process for Cerro El Almirante Nieto:

After hours of internet research we had establish that the first step was to apply for a permit from The National Department of State Borders and Boundaries (La Dirección Nacional de Fronteras y Límites del Estado - DIFROL) which is an agency under the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This requirement only applies to foreign climbers. Once you figure out where to apply, the process is pretty straightforward. An online form with questions about who, when, what and how you wish to climb. The form has to be submitted at least 20 days in advance to allow coordination between government agencies. Depending on the nature of your climb they might want to take special precautions in case of an emergency. In our case it took less than 24 hours before it was processed and approved.

With the DIFROL-permit secured, we went to the national park information centre for some clarification. We had heard different things from different people and thought it best to go directly to the source. Here we got confirmation that we indeed need the DIFROL-permit plus a separate national park permit. This permit can only be issued by the national park superintendent. The big boss-signature I told about in the El Almirante Nieto-post. Additionally we were told that we would need three copies of both permits plus three copies of our passports. One set of permits for the administration office, one for the ranger station and one for ourselves. With all of this sorted it was just a matter of finding a print shop where we could get it all printed. With that out of the way, we had our permits ready.

Wait

If you’re lucky you can skip this phase entirely and get straight into your adventure but if the weather is not on your side, you might have to wait around until it clears up. Patagonia’s weather is notoriously unstable and the forecast changes almost as frequently as you update your preferred weather app. For the climb of El Almirante Nieto we needed a weather window of at least three days with no rain and at least 12 hours in the middle with no or very little wind. According to our plan, this should be enough time to make an attempt at summiting El Almirante Nieto. Because of a weather front circling around in the Pacific Ocean along the coast of Chile we ended up waiting more than a week before our weather window presented itself. In those moments you have to do your best not to get frustrated and end up with cabin fever. Waiting on weather windows is an integrated part of all mountain sports. Read a book, photograph the local wildlife, do the finances, play cards, plan ahead, go for a run, bake a cake. There are many options. The goal is to make the waiting time enjoyable. The earlier you accept that you can’t control the weather, the better. 

If you've recovered, rebuilt and prepared effectively, you’ll be able to move quickly when a weather window presents itself. It’s GO TIME!