www.arareko.net

"The difference between climbers and normal workers is that climbers are glad of the Mondays, so they can rest."

- Guillaume Dargaud

Archive for July, 2009

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Moving fast

I made another really fast speed solo ascent of Iztaccíhuatl via Ayoloco glacier on Saturday morning.

Once again I wanted to do 2 summit attacks on a single day, however, the weather was really bad so I decided to call it a day and stick with a single lap.

Despite of that, I was able to shave 2 1/2 minutes off from my previous April record, logging a great time of 3:31:07, from car to summit! Seems like training has been going really well during the last months

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Running and climbing in Bernal

Sunday was another fun & crazy day. Sergio, Odi and I went to Bernal, where around 9:30 a.m. Sergio and I participated at the 1er Circuito Peña de Bernal, a 15 km race organized by the Solo Para Salvajes running circuit.

The race became a little bit of a disaster, most of the runners ran only 7 km of the 2-loop course due to bad marking of the route. Nevertheless, the challenge was good enough and we had tons of fun as always

We had a good breakfast after the race and headed to the monolith, we wanted to do a multi-pitch climb of it. Bernalina (5.8, 5 pitches) was totally crowded so we opted to go for Filo Sureste, which is a little bit harder (5.10a, 4 pitches) but good enough to pass the crowds and get to the summit before the day ended.

This was Odi’s 2nd climb in Bernal but the 1st time she got to the summit. She did an excellent job following every pitch with Sergio by her side, we used half-ropes so they could climb together. After 2 and a half hours we reached the summit, everyone was happy, the weather had been really good despite the clouds. After fooling around and shooting some pics, we rappelled off the cliff and went back to the car.

We met Gil, Caro and the kids at the parking lot, then headed downtown to celebrate with the traditional giant micheladas. After the beers, we drove back to Tequisquiapan to have dinner in the street market at the central plaza. We had lots of food and fun before coming back to the city. It was another great Sunday in the countryside

Rest of the photos can be seen here.

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

Spitzer Winner Completes Stunning Baffin Solo

Dave Turner, winner of a 2009 Lyman Spitzer Cutting-Edge Award from the AAC, soloed a major new route in Baffin Island during a 65-day expedition this spring. Turner climbed the 1,400-meter north arête and face of Broad Peak (ca 1,800m) in a remarkable lightweight, single-push effort…

Inclined: Spitzer Winner Completes Stunning Baffin Solo

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

Feels like home

Heard this at My Sister’s Keeper movie last night. A beautiful song that says it all…

edwina hayes – feels like home

somethin’ in your eyes, makes me wanna lose myself
makes me wanna lose myself, in your arms
there’s somethin’ in your voice, makes my heart beat fast
hope this feeling lasts, the rest of my life

if you knew how lonely my life has been
and how long i’ve been so alone
and if you knew how i wanted someone to come along
and change my life the way you’ve done

it feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
it feels like i’m all the way back where i come from
it feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
it feels like i’m all the way back where i belong

a window breaks, down a long, dark street
and a siren wails in the night
but i’m alright, ’cause i have you here with me
and i can almost see, through the dark there is light

well, if you knew how much this moment means to me
and how long i’ve waited for your touch
and if you knew how happy you are making me
i never thought that i’d love anyone so much

it feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
it feels like i’m all the way the back where i come from
it feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
it feels like i’m all the way back where i belong
it feels like i’m all the way back where i belong…

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Intense weekend

Saturday was a beautiful day, in which we enjoyed a crystal-clear sky above Mexico City. We could see every mountain in its surroundings as well as my beloved volcanoes. Odi and I went for 2 hours of climbing at the University wall. It was her first time there and she enjoyed it a lot.

By the very first hours of Sunday, Luis, Edith and I started an un-assisted, self-supported run of the Prueba de los 3 días 2009 116 km course.

After a bit more than 5 hours of running and despite the heavy mist in the Ajusco area, we made very good progress and arrived to El Zarco by 8:30 a.m. We refilled our water bladders at La Marquesa and continued towards Presa Iturbide.

10 kilometers after that, I developed a strong pain on the right side of my chest, apparently due to a floating rib that I got injured some years ago. We made another stop when we arrived to La Glorieta (near Villa Alpina), so I could have some rest and to see if the pain would cease. It didn’t happen, so we opted to bail from the run, after 56 kilometers.

We rode a bus back to the city but promised to come back another weekend to finish the run (after me going to the doctor). In spite of that, we had an amazing time running together from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Once in the city, we celebrated life and friendship with some well-deserved beers and tacos, then each of us went home. I had a shower at my parents place and went to see Odi, we had a very important talk pending…

Around 8 p.m. and under a bright and almost full moon we decided to finally become a couple, after 3 beautiful months of dating. It was definitely the best finish for such an intense weekend! <3