So between the holiday and my 9-80 schedule, I just had a five-day weekend. The first thing I did on that "weekend", which started on Wednesday, was to climb Pajarito (see previous post). Once I had done that, I started feeling like I had a head cold. By Wednesday night it was a severe head cold and I continued to be sick until Sunday afternoon. I successfully did pretty much nothing for the entire 5 days. Nina came up so that we could cook a thanksgiving feast and I managed to get her sick, so the two of us sat around the house watching movies and drinking tea. This would normally have been very pleasant, but with all of the sneezing and headaches, it was sub-optimal. The food we made for thanksgiving was good, though after about 4 meals of it in a row, we had had enough and started venturing elsewhere.

Anwyay, we did start feeling better on Sunday and managed to leave the house and go on a short hike up in the Valle Grande. The weather was perfect throughout my time off, which made it all the more frustrating to be trapped inside being sick. It was good to finally get out.

Today, my cold having been reduced to an occasional light cough, I determined that I was well enough to resume the Pajarito training climbs. After work, it came as no surprise when I emerged from my (4 stories underground) office to find that the mountain was completely enshrouded in a snow storm. I couldn't even see the mountain itself; just a big grey cloud. And because it's almost December, it gets dark right around when I leave work. But I was determined to get another climb in today, so I went home, geared up, and drove up to the ski lodge. The road near the top was coated in snow and I actually had to turn on the 4WD to keep from sliding around. There was no one up there.

The temperature was not so bad, about -1°C, and the snow was only a centimeter or two deep, so heavy gear was not required. I started up the mountain in the blizzard, in the dark.

Typical of weather in this area, the snowstorm was gone quickly. After about 10 minutes of the climb I was looking at stars and the light of a half moon kept my headlamp in my pocket. I was surprised to find that I was feeling reasonably strong on the slopes, and didn't have to stop at the third chair lift tower for an initial rest like I did the last time. I estimated that my total time spent resting was less than 5 minutes. When I got to the top, I found that I had ascended from the bottom in only 45 minutes and 15 seconds, an ascent rate of 530.4m per hour—well above my rate goal. Somehow, despite my sickness for the last five days, I managed to shave over six minutes from my ascent time. Forty minutes later I was back in my truck and heading home for hot tea and dinner.

Like the first training climb, this one was done with a 7.1kg pack. Next time, I'll be hauling up more.