I wrote back in March about a climbing trip I had scheduled for June. My main subject was human error and how my partners and I were lining ourselves up for problems in the beginning, but our previous experiences were starting to help us get a grip on reality.

Peru is a land of contrasts. From busy, impoverished big cities to prospering (by South American standards) small towns. From the coastal desert wasteland to the Andes mountain range that tops out at over 22,000 feet.

We were successful as a 4-person team in that we summited 3 peaks. My rope partner was only successful in climbing the first peak at 18,000 + due to an illness he caught on the trip down. I got 2 peaks in with the second one being just short of 20,000 feet. After that I got a throat infection which required a trip to the local emergency room to get antibiotics.

While in our base town of Huaraz we celebrated our success and rested up for the final objective which topped out at nearly 21,000 feet. I was most of the way through my antibiotics when we left for the peak…

Summit fever (otherwise know as personal drive) is something most people discount and they figure it can be controlled. Whether on or off the job we succumb to that basic human factor probably everyday. Most of the time it does not get us into trouble, combine it with other decision making barriers (stress, distractions, etc.) and all bets are off. Establishing operational trigger points and then communicating those helps to keep us from the point of no return.

The next evening we arrived at a camp at 16,000 feet. My rope partner and I were feeling pretty rough. A plan was agreed upon to make our summit bid from that camp, knowing that we lacked the energy to carry our bivouac gear higher. We cat napped and left camp at 11pm navigating the glacier by headlamp, all four of us on one rope. This is standard procedure as you want to be safely through those highly dangerous areas before the sun loosens things up.

Sometime around 4am while resting I realized how cold it was. Most of us were wearing everything we had brought, lack of sleep, illness and high altitude were taking a toll on us. We discussed leaving behind the second rope I was carrying. I reminded the group that Dave and I would need it if we turned around before the summit. Dave and I knew if the difficulties increased we would have to turn around, the trigger point.

Around 7am at nearly 19,500 the difficulties increased. We stopped at the second belay and I realized we had met our trigger point, Dave and I uncoiled the second rope and began descending. Our Peru trip was done. Of course the good happy ending is that we made it down!

Every time I go on a adventure (fire or for fun) I realize how much control I really have over the situation. But it comes at a cost. Planning takes time and effort.