Collect Experiences. Not Things. :')

December 31, 2012

Plaza De Mulas (Rest Day) (4,370m./14,337ft.)


Mules carried the majority of our gear to Base Camp (Plaza De Mulas).  Definitely, would have taken us a lot longer if we had to carry our gear ourself.


Our dinning and hang out pavilion.


New Year's Eve 2013 at Base Camp (Plaza De Mulas). Second time I spend New Years in South America in the last 5 years. This time it was a bit more sedate. We didn't have much alcohol, plus we had to hike the next day.  Previous New Year's Eve 2008 here.

December 30, 2012

To Plaza De Mulas (4,370m./14,337ft.)


A bowl of Locro ;  at traditional dish of Argentina.


When I left home these boots were perfectly fine. I wore them to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2001, and I even wore them on weekends leading up to this trip. I'm guessing they dry rotted over the years, but it manifest until I started to ascend Mt. Aconcagua.


Approaching Plaza De Mulas.  We spent the next six nights at this camp "acclimatizing".


Guides assisting me doctor my hiking boots, before they completely deteriorated and fell apart. To descend the mountain, I rented a pair of boot from one of the staff members. 

December 29, 2012

Plaza Francia (4,200m./13,780ft.)


Early on, resting during on the hike.

Pendar in front of the south face of Aconcagua.

Resting later during the hike.

Again the South Face of Aconcagua behind us. 

December 28, 2012

Camp Confluencia (3,390m./8,940ft.)


Our guide company. Would definitely recommend them to others interested in hiking Mt. Aconcagua.


Signage.

Kitchen Pavilion.

Path to Confluencia.

View of Confluencia from above.

Pendar and I.

December 26, 2012

December 16, 2012

National Geographic Live! - Walking with Giants: How the Easter Island M...

Supposedly the new theory has falsified the oral history of the Napa Rui people and has caused some animosity towards National Geographic by the Napa Rui people.

December 13, 2012

This will be me in 1.5 weeks! Aconagua



Found this on YouTube. Aconcagua Climb January 2011 - "Highest and coldest climb!" :-( Why? Right?

December 10, 2012

December 09, 2012

The Inner Monologue of Many a Minority

  • white person: did you see this thing that happened?
  • elie: yeah, that’s racist.
  • white person: whaaaa???!!!!
  • elie (inside): jesus freaking christ.
  • elie (outside): yeah, it’s pretty obvious.
  • white person: well, how do you know? can you prove it? what’s your evidence?
  • elie (inside): who in the f**k elected your translucent ass to be president of whether or not i think something is racist? why don’t you go back to telling me how some white woman who has an ass as flat as a desktop but gets fat injections in her lips is the epitome of beauty?
  • elie (outside): i really don’t have time to explain how 400 years of cultural stereotypes, oppression, and unequal opportunities led, inexorably, to this moment.
  • white person: try me, i’m pretty smart.
  • elie (inside): actually you’re incredibly stupid, but what bothers me is that you are being willfully ignorant of the racial implications here because it might make you uncomfortable and have to (gasp) examine your own motives. you don’t see it because you are closing your eyes, and then you have the gall to stand there and ask me to show you something? i need to end this conversation before things get out of hand.
  • elie (outside): look, in my opinion this is racist, we’ll have to agree to disagree.
  • white person: i just don’t think it’s right to play the “race card” when you can’t actually back it up.
  • elie (inside): no. playing the race card would involve murdering you where you stand and then saying, “sorry officer, this dumb white person needed to be ended, and i was just too black to resist.”
  • elie (outside): go f*** yourself.