SA jealousy post #54846

[alto]

The top of La Campana in Chile's Cordillera Central. On a clear day you can see the summit of Aconcogua to the East and the Pacific to the West, but all we saw was this:

[wicked_sick]

That is an amazing picture.

[homerjay]

giggity giggity!

[squirrelmurphy]

On a clear day you can see the summit of Aconcogua to the East and the Pacific to the West, but all we saw was this

a worthy trade
beautiful

[Baconzoo]

EPIC

[/bigass font]

Skiing brings you closer to God
or to the heavens
or nearer creation
or to the little green men.

Scenes like this do not make you feel evil or damned or closer to death.
You Sir, are blessed.

[LaramieSkiBum]

The top of La Campana in Chile's Cordillera Central. On a clear day you can see the summit of Aconcogua to the East and the Pacific to the West, but all we saw was this:

too bad about the art work on the rock. sweet pic still

[alto]

Scenes like this do not make you feel evil or damned or closer to death.
You Sir, are blessed.

Funny you should say that Baconzoo. I felt like shit all the way up La Campana. We walked for miles up through that cloud layer that we finally got on top of. I felt trembly at first, but nothing more than a hangover resulting from the first weekend out dancing in Chile. And then I got REALLY trembly.

All I had read about this hike prior to our acent was that in the 1970's some climbers died when an earthquake unleashed a rockslide on their heads. So there we are, in a steep and rock strewn gully when the earth starts to tremble. There was a steady building of energy beneath our feet like someone was drumrolling on a symbol harder and faster, and the mountain rumbled like thunder. And then "BOOM!" The grinding fault line slipped all together and sent a huge percussion of a climax through the earth's crust. The first earthquake I'd ever felt!

No fatal rockslides, but my stomach felt even weirder.

Higher, higher we went. Our large group of gringos dwindled from 7 to 5 to 4, and then there were just 3 of us still climbing up through the seemingly interminable mist. I started to feel so awful. I felt like I was wading through the deepest depths of the worst hangover I had ever had. I was out of balance while walking, my head pounded, I feared losing my bowels. I considered turning back, which was strange for me. At 20 years of age I don't normally turn back on just a standard day hike. I pushed on through though, thanks to my buddies L and J encouraging me. Finally we reached the top.

I felt so strange. I knew something was wrong with my body, but the view totally overwhelmed my mind of the sense of any actual pain or discomfort. I may as well have been losing my virginity with a bullet wound in my thigh.

We would have liked to stay on top for longer, but we knew we would be decending the last couple miles in the dark so we got going and jogged most of the way down. I felt truly exhausted and swore I would return to my home 2 hours down the road and rest all night and the next day, but when I returned to our group, I was convinced otherwise. Something about "c'mon man there's two girls and me in this huge empty hotel room, you GOTTA stay..." So I did.

3 weeks later after having run 3 different antibiotics, I was still shitting liquid. I lost 15 pounds in those 3 weeks. I finally started to improve after about 4 weeks, and a couple months later I can attest to the joy of solid bowel movements.

So actually, Baconzoo, I did feel damned, evil, and close to death. But blessed at the same time.

[Baconzoo]

Sounds like you're purging the evil from within you.

Thanks for sharing such a great vision....and story!

PS Moist tissues like the aloe kind for babies might help