Dispatch: Turns on Toqllaraju
Base Camp - Monday, July 3, 2000

DISPATCHES

Fox	Hazen	McKoy	Norton	Patterson
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Everything went perfectly. Everybody had challenges the whole day to overcome, and nobody gave up, everybody stuck with it and it was really an amazing day for everybody. We're all happy now and safe at Base Camp. We're about to have a huge feast at the Refuge here at Base Camp at about 14,000 feet, still.

I want to say a quick thanks to our sponsors for this trip. MountainZone.com, which made these really fun phone calls possible. Jake and I called Domino's two nights ago — sorry Michelle [laughter] — the Colorado Springs Domino's is a little disoriented right now. Anyway, and also thank Powder Magazine, which started this whole expedition, and you can check out the story on this trip this winter. And finally Mountain Hardwear, which not only supplied us with some funds to do this trip, but also some really great gear that held up in really adverse conditions, and that always makes a trip that much more possible. So, thanks very much to them in allowing us to bring this story to you.

So, we're going to pass you around now. Everyone's going to give just a couple minutes on the trip and that's it. Take care. Here's Wade McKoy.

Wade McKoy
Howdy Mountain Zone, this is Wade McKoy. Want to invite everybody to tune in, in a couple of weeks, for some of the photos that we took on this trip, to be seen on the Mountain Zone site and also in Powder Magazine, story and photos coming out this winter in a few months.

The wildflowers on the way up were incredible and the mountain was beautiful — big challenge to all of us — and never forget...I never remember, that is, how hard these high-altitude peaks are. And I want to thank Jake Norton for carrying a couple of lenses for me at about...when was that? At about 18.5, I pretty much bonked and said, "This pack is too heavy, I can't go any further," and Jake said, "Why don't you drop your skis and give me some of your heavy lenses."

He encouraged me to get to the summit and that's probably the only reason I got to the summit because I had a little encouragement. It's a good feeling to be having gotten it done and witnessed all the beauty and drama of being up there, and I'm really happy. Okay, here's Jake.

Jake Norton
Hey Mountain Zone, this is Jake Norton. Yeah, we're winding things up here, having a good time in the Refuge and I just wanted to say we had a great trip here. We really, I felt, came together as a team up in the mountains, climbed a peak that was none too easy. This was a big step for a lot of these guys, having new altitudes and new climbing stuff.

A pretty interesting route up high, some steep terrain, and these guys all rallied. Everyone did great. Everyone got up to the top, through a lot of difficulties, and they did great. It was a fun time, and especially fun for me, to watch these guys ski and to watch Wade take shots and everything come together well — can't wait to see the finished product.

I'd like to put on now an old friend of mine, Tarivio Vargas, who is 55 years old, and he has been with me now three times to the Cordillera Blanca. He works as a porter. He is the mayor of this town and does a lot of great things, so I'll put Tarivio on now to say a quick hello, and thanks again to all our sponsors.

Tarivio and Manuel
Hola...[transmission in Spanish].

Bissell Hazen
That was Manuel. Those were our porters. They did a great, great job. They helped us out immensely. I can't thank them enough. My name's Bissell Hazen, by the way. Yeah, great trip: really great skiing, beautiful mountains. I'm definitely exhausted. I'm definitely psyched to get back to civilization, to see these pretty Peruvian girls and just get some rest, really. Oh yeah, great trip. It was really fun having Moss around. He is young and it was a good vibe having everyone here. But yeah, great trip. Alright, here's Moss.

Moss Patterson
Thank you, Bissell. Hello Mountain Zone, this is Moss Patterson. Guess just to give a quick little update, we're just having some beers at the Refugio, a beautiful, beautiful structure built by the Peruvian missionaries here. Lot of help, lot of work, it's a wonderful place to spend some time. It's nice and warm, you can get away from your tent. Basically, yeah, it's been an awesome trip, as Bissell said. Ski conditions were pretty big mountains, they were pretty rock-solid. Not a lot of great powder to be had, but still wonderful turns, high elevation.

Definitely a new step to be on a mountain so big and high up. The highest I'd been before this trip was like 10,500 feet, so I accomplished almost 9,000 feet higher than I'd ever been before, which was cool, and I definitely appreciated it. Yeah, everybody here worked well; it is a good team. I'd never met any of these guys before I got here, but they're all wicked. Definitely an easy group to get along with. We worked well, and we accomplished our goals and had a great time doing it, and we were safe and technical and it was rad, had a great time.

As much as I love being in the mountains and being in a far off place, I'm definitely looking forward to getting home and seeing my friends and family and getting back to work. As harsh as it sounds, but I'm looking forward to going and planting some trees for the next couple of months. But that's about it. Hopefully see all you guys soon and definitely check out MountainZone.com and Powder Magazine this winter, to check out the updated photos and story, and here's Porter Fox again with the final round-up.

Porter Fox
Alright, this is Porter. What do I say now? Anyway, I just wanted to say one big thanks to Jake Norton. The trip wouldn't have happened without him. His expertise in the mountains and incredible skill up high and strength was pretty amazing. As he's sitting here, I'm trying to get him to buy me the next round of beers here. No, but seriously, he's incredibly strong and when anybody started to fall, he picked them up and that made this trip possible. This was a huge undertaking, and I think even a little bigger than any of us expected, and Jake made it possible.

One more cheers goes out to Wade McKoy, who is the senior member of the trip. Took a nasty fall on our first day up in Huaraz and persevered every day in the mountains, cleaning his bandages and building boot-fitting things to make his shin not throb when he was hiking and skiing and really just humbled all of us, and if we can do what he's doing at his age, then we'll all be pretty psyched. So, Wade's the man, and thanks to the whole team. Everybody did a great job on their own part, and thanks Mountain Zone, we'll be in touch, bye.

— Porter Fox, Senior Editor for Powder Magazine; Jake Norton, Mountain Link Guide; Wade McKoy; Jake Norton; Bissell Hazen and Moss Patterson; MountainZone.com Correspondents

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