Expeditions and eight-thousanders: what is life like at base camp? How are high camps organized? What are the logistical measures to manage a successful expedition? And how do mountaineers spend their lives at camp, while they prepare for the summit attack and for acclimatization rotations?
Our Alex Txikon, recently returned from his attempt to climb Annapurna in winter, tells us about it, and the beautiful shots of Andres Navamuel, the photographer who accompanied Alex on his recent adventure, show us.
Alex, how do they spend their days in a base camp, especially during a winter expedition?
“If the weather is bad, life in a base camp in winter is really complicated! If, however, the weather conditions are good and there is not much wind, everything is much simpler. Then there is the altitude that has an impact: if the camp is at 4000 meters, the metabolism adapts more easily. Already at 5000 meters you feel tired, even in the simplest daily actions. In winter, then there is often the problem of water: it is one thing to be able to get supplies from the streams that flow on the glacier, another is to melt the snow and ice every time. These are the main problems of life in a base camp in winter, but the most important thing is that when we are there, in winter and with all these problems, we are happy to be there, to spend that time up there that seems endless and those days that in the end are very short, because, one commitment after another, one problem after another, you wake up in the morning and, almost without realizing it, it is already evening and you are stuffing yourself in your sack barefoot!”.
What are the logistical measures to organize a successful expedition?
“Expeditions, or at least my expeditions, are born when I feel butterflies in my stomach, when I really want to go! I decide to go to the mountains when I really want to. It's an irrational thing. It's a love. It's the desire for something "other". To go up, to be there. So the first piece of advice I can give is that you have to have a restlessness inside yourself. You have to have the desire, the passion to go there. The logistical organization comes later, but it has to be done well, to be able to transform that desire that made you leave into reality. You can't think of leaving with little, with just enough. You need the right material and equipment, you have to carefully plan the financial sustainability. It's true that in mountaineering a lot is based on improvisation, but if in life and in mountaineering you always improvise, I don't think it's a good thing...”.
What about advanced camps? How do you choose the right places to pitch your tents?
"When choosing the location of the camps, you need to have an overall vision of the mountain and the distances to cover. You need to work out a route and understand what altitude to start from for the final attempt at the summit and how to be ready to do it, then how to move around the mountain little by little along the route and complete the necessary acclimatization. It's all quite complex: while you equip the route, you have to calculate the time and energy you need to set up the next camp and, each time, you ask yourself if maybe you couldn't put that camp a little higher up. But you also have to be careful, because, for example, if you place Camp 2 at too high an altitude, then in the subsequent climbs, you won't have the strength to get from Base Camp to Camp 2 in one go. This process is different for each mountain and, on the same mountain, things change from one season to another: it's one thing to equip and set up the position of the camps on Annapurna in summer, it's another thing in winter... Then, from my point of view, there's a fundamental rule to always respect, which is that to place the camps in a safe position, sheltered from objective dangers”.
How do you spend your time at high camps when the weather conditions are bad?
“How do we spend our time up there when the weather is bad? In the least uncomfortable way possible! If the weather is bad, our world is reduced to the narrow space of the tent: we have to spend all day and night there. We have to cook, melt snow to hydrate, arrange the equipment, etc. This is why it is essential to have reliable and well-structured tents like those from Ferrino, which offer the best possible shelter”.
Are there any “secrets” to resisting in those conditions, not only physically but also mentally?
“Of course physical conditions are important, but the psychological aspect is fundamental! There are 8 billion people on this planet and among these 8 billion, how many men and women are physically stronger than me? I believe that what makes the difference and what has allowed me to complete my climbs is above all the preparation and psychological predisposition that I have managed to build over time. When you are on an expedition, the important thing is not to neglect anything. The key to an expedition, especially in winter, is managing emotions. You have to be able to resist, to constantly do your best, with maximum concentration, but without pressure! Pressure is not good, but the tension to always do things as best as possible, that is essential. You have to be able to isolate yourself and focus on what you are doing and on the final goal. This is the only way to go beyond fatigue and fear. Fear is the best companion of prudence, it is true, but it is also true that it is extremely important to be concentrated, motivated, to be present with a smile, with passion, because we really want to be where we are”.
