Chatted to Ray in the wee hours after he arrived back at Base Camp. So good to hear his voice. The climb up to Nido de Condores was hard and exhausting, he struggled with the altitude at around 5000m experiencing a severe headache and confusion. Therefore he has made the decision to not go for the summit - the altitude has taken its toll on him. Unfortunately altitude sickness is a dangerous part of mountain climbing. Its too risky to take the chance - not knowing when to take water or when to apply sunblock or if you cold because your brain is confused from lack of oxygen. I know this is a huge disappointment for him as he has trained extremely hard and spent many weekends away from family in training to achieve this dream. We are very proud of all he has achieved and his attitude to this mammoth climb. If I think of all he has come through over the past 10 years....How far he has come and fought to be alive. Everything he has gotten through.... all the mornings he couldn't even get out of bed no matter how hard he tried. All the times it would of been easier to give up but he didn't.
If I know something about Ray he truly believes that your dreams don't have an expiry date. Take a deep breath and try again. Never give up on your dreams always push to live large. I'm very sure he will be back at the drawing board coming up with a new hair brained idea of an adventure so watch this space. "Success is not final, Failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." Winston Churchill
The rest of Team Explore (Lauren, Marius and Alex) will continue onward and upwards and we will be following them with eagerness to see them stand on the top of Aconcagua. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they climb higher. 
Well done Ray!!
ReplyDelete