Story 16/21: Winds ripping high altitude tent
| Tale group: | 1st 21 stories |
| Class: | Stories by continents |
| Themes: | Mountaineering, storms |
| Books: | Corto Maltese, In Patagonia, guide books |
| Continent: | South America |
| Location: | Plaza de Mulas, Aconcagua |
| Time: | November, 2009 |
Winds of Aconcagua
Story 16/21: Winds ripping high altitude tent
November, 2009
Some repeated rustle is slowly emerging my consciousness. As I reluctantly lift my heavy eyelids, too bright light forces me to squint. While my pupils are adjusting to the overwhelming shine, my slumbering brains start to realize, that I have overslept and sun is already high. The second notion is, that somebody is shaking the tent canvas.
I start to dig myself from the depths of a warm down sleeping bag and say: “Hi. What’s up?” Through the red fabric I hear: “Hi, it’s Patrick. I just came down from 2nd camp. Shit, I had rough night. Winds were really high. Twice I went out to fix the ropes and rocks, but still – around 2AM one of the poles just snapped. I tried to fix it, but in the storm it was impossible. At some point the whole tent just collapsed and all I could do was to lay low and just pray of not to be flown away… horrible night!”
“Oh jeez. I’m sorry – glad you made it back! But how can aluminum pole just crack? You have TNF 25, right? It’s a bomb shelter! Crazy! Are you OK?”
“It’s OK now, thanks. But hell, what a night! I just wanted to tell you right away. Didn’t you haul some gear up yesterday?”
“Yap. Bit below Nido de Cóndores. I sure put some stones on the duffel. I hope they still are there, if it was that heavy up there last night… Listen. I have some water in thermos I boiled in the evening. Do you want some?”
“Nah. Thanks, I will go sort my gear and make some breakfast. But if you go up today, go check my tent. It is in Camp Canada. I loaded it with stones, so it would stay. I just needed to get low after those horrible hours being practically buried alive into a beating mass of a flapping tent…”
“Man – I’m sorry for that. Hey, if I feel OK, I might go up in the afternoon to acclimatize. I could easily bring down your tent.”
“Don’t bother. I have another down here. I’ll stay here today and figure out what to do.”
“OK. I’ll come by once I get up. Take care!”
“You too. It is a lovely day now. Not a bad idea to haul your lazy as up, huh.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Winds were waking me up last night here, too. And I guess I pay some toll on the yesterday’s ascent. I was sleeping like a baby, when you came.”
“OK. See you!”
“Bis dann!”
I leaned back to reason what I just heard. TN 25 to snap in a storm. I did not make sense…
I had to unzip my sleeping bag. Sun was high and it was getting hot in the tent. High time to start making some breakfast.
Some background data – on climate:
Droughts:
Chilean climates: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Chile
Dry Chile: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drought_in_Chile
Storms and mountains:
Wind and nature: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind#In_the_natural_world
Mountain climate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_climate
Andean climate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes#Climate_and_hydrology
Oceans:
Warming oceans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_heat_content
Southern Ocean current: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_Circumpolar_Current#Studies
Questions – see links above, books, Internet or digital media for answers:
1. Storms. The Andes is the longest mountain range on dry land, running through South America. At the Chilean and Argentinian end part of the storms are getting their power from the Antarctic, over the cold sea. I was told 2009 by mountain instructors having served on many seasons at Aconcagua, that they considered the storms having become more aggressive over past years, with higher winds and colder extreme temperatures in the summit.
I was there at the very beginning of the climbing season and I can recall a day, when the summit temperature calculated with the wind effect was lower than -90O Celsius. At the same time average temperatures at sea level have risen. As winds are born from the temperature differences between neighbouring land, water or air masses, bigger differences in temperatures mean higher winds.
When and how could this be beneficial? How could it be harmful? Consider storms in nature and in manmade surroundings. Erosion, pollination, wind energy, animal migration, etc.
2. Draughts and fires. Chile has suffered from drought since 2010. Currently (January, 2024) due to el Niño there are forest fires in Chile – largest in the known history. Forest fires are fatal for people and nature. Chile is also known of its wines.
Think, what kind of damage have draught that has lasted over a decade in Chile caused. Look for answers from Internet, Apps and other media.
3. Oceans. Oceans cover just over 70 % of Earth surface. Water is also in constant motion, so it absorbs for both reasons largest part of the manmade global warming. In different layers of oceans there is water movement due to waves and currents. They interact with climate and participate in weather formation.
Warm Gulf Stream brings warmth of the Caribbean to Northern Europe and cold, nutritious currents bring fish to coasts of South America and Japan. Ocean currents also move nutrition, help in marine animal migration, seafaring. Ocean currents also interact with each other and with the rotation of the Earth. Areal temperature differences also play part in the creation of these “underwater winds”.
What kind of effect could there be, if the ocean currents would somehow be altered? Think on possible changes in the sea, on land and on weather and climate.
4. Discuss. Your view: What thoughts did rise in your mind having read the story, browsing through the background material and answering to the three questions above? Can you see links between the three topics handled in questions above? Discuss with your pair.
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