Expedition remembrance
Local climbers to tackle peak in Andes
"Her spirit will be with us." Kim
Nelan
By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer
Peak bagging is not the first thing that
comes to mind when one thinks of local skiing legend Muffy Ritz or
two-time Nordic skiing Olympian Laura Wilson Todd or marathoner Kim Nelan.
But along with Sarah Davis, from San Francisco, and guide Greg Wilson,
they will be tackling Argentina’s Cerro Aconcagua to kick off the new
millennium.
Soon-to-be Climbers on Aconcagua in
Argentina, are from left to right: Greg Wilson, Muffy Ritz, Kim Nelan and
Laura Wilson Todd.
At 22,841 feet, Aconcagua is the tallest
mountain in the Americas. It’s located along the Chilean/Argentinean
border, and the ascent to the summit offers stunning views of the rugged
Andes.
The team leaves for Argentina Dec 30. They
plan to summit Jan. 17, if all goes according to schedule.
After the climb they will rent a bungalow
on a beach west of Santiago, Chile, where they plan to drink Chilean wine
and hang out before heading back to the states on Jan 29.
Ritz, 43, was a five-year member of the
U.S. Nordic Ski Team. She has been coaching Nordic skiing for the past 15
years, and now coaches the Sun Valley girl’s team. She finished second
in the Race Across America bike race all three times she entered and
competed in the Eco-Challenge and a few other adventure races.
"I’m really looking forward to the
Aconcagua climb because it’s a whole different type of
athleticism," Ritz said.
Ritz was 16 when she saw a book about
Everest.
"I’m going to do that," she
remembers saying.
"Aconcagua always interested me. It’s
a big mountain and it’s well known."
She climbed the Matterhorn in Switzerland
in 1987, an experience, she said, that "still, to this day, is the
best day of my life."
Laura Wilson Todd, 31, is a four-time NCAA
cross-country skiing champion, and two-time Nordic Olympian. Ritz was one
of her coaches.
"It’s an amazing feeling when you’re
sitting on top of a mountain. Sometimes I feel that on Baldy, sometimes
out in the Boulders, sometimes it’s just a personal mountain you need to
climb in your own life."
Kim Nelan, 44, has run five marathons,
finishing 13th among American woman in the 1984 New York City marathon.
She has trekked in Nepal and "fallen down a crevice and
survived," she said with a laugh.
"I’ve always had a love for the
mountains, always been fascinated by Everest. When Muffy said ‘Let’s
climb Aconcagua,’ I said ‘Sounds good to me.’ It’s a challenge. I’m
nervous and excited, which is an appropriate feeling to have."
The other member of the expedition is Sarah
Davies, 36, director of development for Ecotrust in San Francisco, and has
back-country skied for years.
Guiding these women will be Greg Wilson,
who owns Horizons Mountaineering Trekking in Ketchum. He is a veteran of
100 international climbing expeditions, including 18 to Aconcagua, and has
summited Everest once.
Besides training by hiking Baldy with 25 to
30 pounds in their packs, they have practiced walking while tied to each
other and learned to stop themselves in a slide with an ice ax.
Wilson said that because the four women are
so goal oriented and come from a competitive background, they’ll be
"really bored" walking at the slow pace Wilson plans to set.
"We’ve gone over this a million times--feel good about feeling
good."
The body is actually building red blood
cells as one ascend the mountain, Wilson said.
"You have to sneak up on the mountain.
You have to have enough energy to walk out the 36 miles.
"The idea is to get to high camp at
19,000 feet in good shape—well rested, well-hydrated, with enough energy
for 10 hours to the summit and five back down [to base camp], and still be
able to get up and walk back down the mountain."
The women will be applying their
athleticism in a new venue, Wilson said.
The approach to the summit of Aconcagua is
reached via a series of progressively higher camps, which Wilson calls
expedition-style climbing. Their itinerary calls for extra days for rest,
acclimatization and inclement weather.
"That way we can enjoy it as opposed
to endure it," Nelan pointed out.
During the three-day trek to base camp at
14,000 feet, mules carry the gear. After that, the climbers will spend
approximately a week carrying 35- to 50-pound packs.
"It’s all geared around how well we
acclimate," Wilson said.
In that sense, it’s not a technical
climb, it’s about endurance, health and weather. Despite the exceptional
fitness of Wilson’s clients, there are some concerns. Both Ritz and
Nelan tore their ACLs this year skiing.
"Kim was a good girl, Muffy was a bad
girl," said Ritz, who admitted she abused her tender knee too soon.
Subsequently, she had a second surgery six weeks ago, from which she’s
still recovering.
A particularly poignant aspect to this
climb for Nelan was her association with Laura Evans, who recently died.
Evans brought worldwide attention to breast cancer and raised more than $2
million by forming the Expedition Inspiration Fund for Breast Cancer
Research, and during her 1995 climb on Aconcagua.
Her book, Climb for My Life, told of
her recovery and the Aconcagua climb, made with other cancer survivors.
"Laura has brought a whole special
meaning to the climb, in that part of this climb is a tribute to
Laura," Nelan said. "I got to know her through Hospice. She was
a patient of mine."
Early in the summer, Nelan had tried to get
together with Evans. But they had never been able to hook up due to
scheduling. Hospice called her this fall to work with Evans during her
final months.
"I got to know her and [it was a]
really special connection. At her service I talked to [Expedition]
Inspiration members."
The members designed a flag for Nelan to
take to the top of Aconcagua. Evans’ husband, Roger Evans, also gave her
his wife’s crampons, duffel bag, a hat and some pants.
"Her spirit will be with us,"
Nelan said.
