The North Face

Nov 19 | 37 Volcanoes in 10 Days: Official Time 8 Days & 11 Hours

By The North Face

^{(In English and Espanol)}

ENGLISH

THE ACOMPLISHMENT
Friday 20th of November; rarely in life something goes exactly according to planed; this was exactly the case, things went better than planed. The athletes finished the Challenge in 8 days and 11 hours.

Willie Benegas said “If we were to do it again today, with what we have learned we would probably do it in 6 days”. Juan Carlos Sagastume complemented saying “now we have to look forward, towards the future, and see what new challenges this brings us”

They climbed up 37 volcanoes, reached the summit, and then they climbed down.

Today we held a press conference inside the TNF store in Guatemala, we had media coverage from all over the country; TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, etc.

The Challenge was a success, the athletes finished with a few bumps and bruises, their legs cut up and their knees and feet swollen, but overall they are doing very well, they returned home safe and sound.

Tomorrow there is another conference planed inside the Oakland Mall, where anyone can attend. We are expecting about 400 listeners.

Hopefully we will have more images and video to send your way soon…

THE NORTH FACE GUATEMALA TEAM

__________________________________________ 
 
 
EN ESPAÑOL

EL LOGRO
Viernes 20 de noviembre; pocas veces en la vida cuando uno ejecuta un plan, este se lleva a cabo a la perfección; este fue exactamente el caso, las cosas salieron exactamente como se planearon. Los atletas terminaron el Desafío en tan solo 8 días y medio.

Willie dijo “Si lo volveríamos a hacer ahora que ya lo hicimos una vez, creo que lo podríamos sacar en 6 días”. Juan Carlos complemento diciendo que “ahora vienen otros retos, hay que ver hacia el futuro.”

Los atletas subieron a la cima de los 37 volcanes, y luego han bajado.

El día de hoy se ha llevado a cabo una conferencia de prensa dentro de la tienda TNF en Guatemala. Se presentaron medios de cada rincón del país; TV, radio, prensa, revistas, etc.

El Desafío ha sido un éxito, un gran logro, los atletas terminaron con unos cuantos golpes y moretes, las piernas cortadas y las rodillas y pies hinchados, pero se encuentran bien y han regresado sanos y salvos a la ciudad.

Mañana se tiene planeada otra conferencia dentro del centro comercial Oakland Mall, en la cual los atletas hablarán de su experiencia y el Desafío de los 37 volcanes. Esperamos alrededor de 400 personas.

Esperamos tener más imágenes y videos pronto para compartirlos con ustedes.

EQUIPO THE NORTH FACE GUATEMALA

Nov 19 | 37 Volcanoes in 10 Days: Near the Finish Line

By The North Face

^{(In English and Espanol)}

IN ENGLISH
Thursday November 19th; the athletes have reached the top of 33 volcanoes and are hoping to finish the Challenge today, sometime in the afternoon.

Right now they are near the top of the Ixtepeque volcano (34), in the Eastern region of the country.

After this they will take on these volcanoes:
35 Ipala
36 Monte Rico
37 Quezaltepeque

 

This is the fist time (or at least the first documented one) that some one has climbed the 37 volcanoes of Guatemala (These are all the volcanoes of the country) in less than 10 days; actually it will be in about 8 and a half days if they finish today in the afternoon. This is a one of a kind Challenge in the history of Guatemala.

We, at The North Face, feel very proud of both athletes and are looking forward to continue supporting these kind of Challenges and athletes; that change the world with their actions rather than their words; and they NEVER STOP EXPLORING.

THE NORTH FACE GUATEMALA TEAM

_________________________________________________

EN ESPAÑOL

CERCA DEL FINAL

Jueves 19 de noviembre, los atletas ya llevan 33 volcanes y esperan terminar con el Desafío hoy por la tarde.

En este momento están haciendo cumbre en el volcán Ixtepeque (34), en la zona Oriente del país.

Les quedan pendientes los siguientes volcanes:
35 Ipala
36 Monte Rico
37 Quezaltepeque

 

Es la primera vez documentada que alguien hace las 37 cumbres del Guatemala (Todos los volcanes del país) en menos de 10 días; según los atletas lo terminarán en 8 días y medio. Es una hazaña UNICA en la historia de Guatemala.

Nosotros en The North Face nos sentimos muy orgullosos de los 2 atletas y esperamos poder Sergui apoyando a personas como ellos, que cambian el mundo con sus acciones y no palabras y que Nunca Paran de Explorar.

EQUIPO THE NORTH FACE GUATEMALA

Nov 18 | 37 Volcanoes in 10 Days: Day 8 - 29 Tamed & 8 Left

By The North Face

^{(In English and Espanol)}

IN ENGLISH
DAY 8: The athletes are hurting; their feet have blisters, their knees and shins scraped and torn because of all the vegetation and rock that has brushed against them. Their metal sharpness is getting weaker and the physical strengths gauge is near empty.

We had a chance to talk to them today; “We hope to finish by noon tomorrow” said Juan Carlos. “We think this will be over in 8 days and a half”.

They are heading over to Tahual volcano right now.

We will keep you up to date in the afternoon,
THE NORTH FACE® GUATEMALA TEAM

_______________________________________________

EN ESPAÑOL
Día numero 8: del Desafío, se han superado 29 volcanes, faltan 8

Los atletas están dolidos; sus pies ampollados, sus rodillas y espinillas muy rasgadas y cortadas por toda la vegetación y rocas que se han frotado contra sus piernas subiendo los volcanes. Su agilidad mental se pone cada vez más lenta y les queda poca fuerza física.

Hoy tuvimos la oportunidad de hablar con los atletas; “Esperamos terminar mañana alrededor del medio día” dijo Juan Carlos. “Creemos que lo vamos a lograr en 8 días y medio”.

En este momento se dirigen al volcán Tahual.

Los mantendremos informados,
EQUIPO THE NORTH FACE® GUATEMALA

Nov 17 | 37 Volcanoes in 10 Days: Day 7 - 24 Down 13 To Go

By The North Face

^{(In English and Espanol)}

ENGLISH
Day 7 of the Challenge, 24 volcanoes down, 13 to go. Today, they will take on:
25. Las Flores
26. Culma
27. Vivoras
28. Chingo
29. Tahual

 
Last night on the volcano Tecuamburro Juan Carlos and Willie were vigorously tested; they got lost on their way down the volcano. This cost them about 6 hours. They will try to get this time back today.

Juan Carlos and Willie are in good physical and mental shape, they agree that the hardest challenges are behind them and are looking forward to putting Guatemala on the map for adventure travellers.

It’s very impressive to see the people in Guatemala getting involved with the challenge; people come by the RV and ask us if we need any help and how are we doing. The few seconds they have had on national TV has helped make this journey a country journey, instead of a 2 man journey. The whole country is supporting them.

We will keep you posted,
The North Face® Guatemala Team

____________________________________________

EN ESPAÑOL
Día 7 del desafío, 24 volcanes han sido conquistados, faltan 13. Hoy los atletas subirán los siguientes volcanes:
25. Las Flores
26. Culma
27. Vivoras
28. Chingo
29. Tahual

 
Anoche el volcán Tecuamburro puso a puso a prueba a Juan Carlos y Willie; se han perdido en el descenso y esto les ha costado alrededor de 6 horas. Tratarán de recuperarlas el día de hoy.

Juan Carlos y Willie se encuentran en buena condición física y mental, y acuerdan que la parte más difícil del desafío ya quedó detrás de ellos. Se encuentran con ganas y motivados para poner a Guatemala en el mapa y atraer a más aventureros como ellos.

Es muy impresionante ver a la gente de Guatemala involucrarse en una actividad como esta. La gente se acerca al Camper (RV) constantemente a preguntar cómo van los atletas y si pueden ayudar en algo. Los pocos segundos y reportajes que han salido en la televisión nacional han logrado que este desafío se convierta en un desafío nacional, en vez de solo de estos 2 atletas. Toda Guatemala esta pendiente y apoyándolos.

Los mantendremos informados,
Equipo The North Face® Guatemala

Nov 16 | Day Five.

By Willie Benegas

Half way thought the Challenge; five days have gone by and we find our athletes with over 15 volcanoes under their belt. The athletes had some minor setbacks time wise yesterday but they are making up ground today by taking on the Acatenango, Fuego and Agua volcanoes today.

So far they have climbed the following volcanoes:


1.    Tacana
2.    Tajumulco
3.    San Antonio
4.    Chicabal
5.    Siete Orejas
6.    Cerro Quemado

8.    Santiaguito
9.    Zunil
10.    Sto. Tomas
11.    Cuxliquel
12.    Pakisis
13.    San Pedro
14.    Toliman
15.    Atitlan

Today, Sunday 15th  of november, they will go for the:

16.    Acatenango
17.    Fuego
18.    Agua

Nov 13 | 37 Volcanoes in 10 Days: Day 3 - 8+3 Volcanoes

By The North Face

^{In English and Espanol}

(ENGLISH)
DAY THREE: Last night was a bit scary when Juan Carlos Sagastume started feeling a little shaky, maybe a cold coming on? Some virus?

Well the athletes slept and all was good in the morning, they both felt 100% and ready to tackle two more volcanoes:
9.   Zunil
10. Santo Tomas
Now they get ready to head up the:
11. Cuxliquel
 

The athletes have a GPS system with them, that they use to record their position every time they reach a summit. We will bring you this information in the next update.

Next they will drive near the Lake of Atitlan, and climb 4 more volcanoes.
12. Pakisis
13. San Pedro
14. Toliman
15. Atitlán

THE NORTH FACE® GUATEMALA TEAM

__________________________________________________________

(ESPAÑOL)
TERCER DÍA: Anoche el equipo se llevo un pequeño susto, cuando Juan Carlos comentó que no se sentía muy bien físicamente. ¿Un resfriado? ¿Algún virus?.

Luego de una buena cena, durmieron. Hoy en la mañana los atletas se levantaron sintiéndose al 100%, Juan Carlos ya sin ninguna molestia. Han desayunado y hecho cima en dos volcanes más:
9.   Zunil
10. Santo Tomas
Ahora se alistan para subir el:
11. Cuxliquel
  

Los atletas llevan consigo un sistema de GPS (Posicionamiento Global Satelital), el cual utilizan para grabar su ubicación cada vez que hacen cumbre. Trataremos de brindarles esta información en el próximo boletín de actualización.

Luego tendrán que dirigirse hacia Sololá a conquistar los volcanes:
16. Pakisis
17. San Pedro
18. Toliman
19. Atitlán

EQUIPO THE NORTH FACE® GUATEMALA

Nov 12 | 37 Volcanoes in 10 Days: Day 2 - 8 Volcanoes

By The North Face

^{In English and Espanol}

(ENGLISH)
Hello again:
Well the second day has arrived and while most of us where dreaming away in the confines and safety of our home, the 2 athletes have climbed 8 volcanoes, shaving over 2 hours and a half off their estimated time.

They just descended from Cerro Quemado volcano, around 11:30 am. They have blazed over volcanoes:
1. TACANA
2. TAJUMULCO
3. SAN ANTONIO

After finishing the San Antonio volcano, the athletes had to decide witch volcano they would climb next, this decision was based on the time of the day (or night) they descended from this last volcano; some volcanoes are not safe to climb at night because of their difficulty.

So the athletes continued on to:
4. CHICABAL
5. SIETE OREJAS
6. SANTIAGUITO
7. SANTA MARIA
8. CERRO QUEMADO

These amounts to 26,566 meters over sea level climbed, this is over a half a marathon climbed in one 24 period:
 
 
  
Next on their list are the volcanoes:
9.   ZUNIL
10. SANTO TOMAS
11. CUXLIQUEL

OTHER GOOD NEWS:
As you know, Guatemala has some dirt roads and trails that might have been trouble to the Camper (RV) the athletes are using as transportation to move from one place to another. But no difficulties have been encountered here.

The athletes have slept and eaten at the established times and are feeling very strong and healthy.

Willie said “The people of Guatemala have treated us great; they have welcomed our challenge from town to village, offering us food and shelter”.

The Tourism Police and the National Police have guided and helped the team along their journey, giving the athletes directions, safety tips, and shelter during the night.

We will keep you posted as soon as we can…
THE NORTH FACE® GUATEMALA TEAM
____________________________________________________

(EN ESPAÑOL)
Hola de nuevo:
Bueno, ha llegado el Segundo día y mientras mayoría de nosotros soñamos y dormimos dentro de la seguridad y confort de nuestros hogares, los 2 atletas han hecho cima en 8 volcanes, con un tiempo 2 horas y media menos de lo proyectado.

Han terminado de bajar el Cerro Quemado hoy a las 11:30am aproximadamente.

Han superado los siguientes volcanes:
1. TACANA
2. TAJUMULCO
3. SAN ANTONIO

Luego de haber descendido del volcán San Antonio, los atletas han tenido que decidir qué volcán sería el próximo. Esta decisión se basaba en la hora del día (o noche) en la que los atletas descienden del volcán anteriormente mencionado; algunos volcanes no son recomendados para escalar de noche por su nivel de dificultad.

Los atletas decidieron seguir con los siguientes volcanes:
4. CHICABAL
5. SIETE OREJAS
6. SANTIAGUITO
7. SANTA MARIA
8. CERRO QUEMADO

Estos 8 volcanes suman un total de 26,566 metros sobre el nivel del mar, escalados, ósea más de media maratón en ascenso de volcanes en un día:
 
 

Ahora procederán con los volcanes:
9.   ZUNIL
10. SANTO TOMAS
11. CUXLIQUEL

OTRAS BUENAS NOTICIAS:
Como ustedes saben, Guatemala posee unos caminos de tierra y veredas que pensamos podrían impedir o dificultar el traslado del vehiculo tipo Camper (RV) de un volcán a otro. Pero no ha existido ningún inconveniente en este aspecto.

Los atletas han comido y dormido en el tiempo previamente estipulado y se encuentran fuertes y sanos.

Willie Benegas dice “La gente en Guatemala nos ha tratado increíble, los pueblos y aldeas han recibido este desafío con los brazos abiertos, la gente ofrece ayudarnos de cualquier manera posible; nos ofrecen comida y techo.”

La Policía Nacional y la Policía de Turismo también han sido de gran ayuda; han proporcionado consejos, direcciones, seguridad y un lugar para pasar las noches.

Los mantendremos informados…
Equipo THE NORTH FACE® GUATEMALA

Nov 12 | Day One! The Fine Details.

By Willie Benegas

All is looking good so far. At 5am the alarm clock rang, and I was definitely not happy with the lack of sleep... after a reviving breakfast our adventure started at 6am and suddenly it all started to make sense why I am here: the weather was perfect, pleasant as temperatures go, and the fog rolling in over the hills, stunning views and exceptionally nice people made me feel almost like I’m in Nepal. Thick forest homing small farms and communities of farmers (somehow) living on the steepest hills (seemingly impossible), who were constantly offering us drinks and food, but most importantly of all their smiles. As we constantly need to ask for directions it is a fantastic feeling to have people smile at you. As for the climb, it's going well... in less than 12 hours we climbed three of the 37 volcanoes and are about 4 hours ahead of the schedule .

Tacana  (4090m)  1,56” hrs to top, 1hr down; 1200m elevation gain.
Tajamulco (at 4220m the roof of Central America) 1,13” hrs to top, 0.42” down; 800m elevation gain.
San Antonio (2514m) 20”  to top, 10” down; 200m elevation gain.
The 12 hour total includes transfer times totaling 6 hours.
  


Our next climb: 

Chitabal  (2500m) and Siete Orejas  (3770m), which need to be done before 6am.... 

 

Nov 12 | First Day

By Willie Benegas

Hi:

Here goes the first update…

Well, today is the big day. At approximately 6 in the morning the 2 athletes began their challenge in the Eastern part of the country.

They started with these volcanoes:

1. Tacaná 

2. Tajumulco

3. San Antonio

According to one of our collaborators they reached the summit of Tacaná at around 9:00 in the morning; about 4,092 meters above sea level.

We will be posting more updates as fast as we can. 

Nov 11 | Day One! Anything can happen.

By Willie Benegas

One of the many things that I have learned on all of my travels, is that you can make millions of plans before starting your trip and feel that everything is totally under control. The reality is, however, that things change constantly...but in the end it will always work out one way or the other.

This morning, at around 6am, I woke up in Guatemala City after a well deserved 3 hour nap, and we started organizing our things, gear to pack and so on, picked up our pristine motor home (3 beds and shower!) - a mini apartment on wheels which has been purchased and brought down from the USA and never used before (probably like my brain). Our 9am departure of course turned into 2pm (that's Latin time for you!).  Traveling on Guatemalan roads can stress you out to the point of a nice ulcer! ...huge kudos to Bernier our driver; as for me and Juan Carlos, we were just trying to relax, but as I started to drift off we started to notice a strong smell of burning, and our front brakes were smoking :-( .

We managed to stop at a gas station with alas not a mechanic in sight. All "experts" on the case, we discover that the truth is we have no idea what's wrong... I only knew that the brakes where red hot. Running across the road in search of a cricket (jack) since ours is missing, I encountered a group of young teenagers working on a truck to replace a tire. They look at me with strange faces as I ask for their tools, but a smile and 20 pesos later I walk back with all the tools necessary for the job. After lifting one of the wheels we discover that the brakes pads where stuck against the disk. The "experts" come with the wise decision to find a mechanic, and few miles walk later (with classic directions ..."oh yes from the tree make a right turn and from that cow make a left..." I found a nice guy covered from head to toe with grease. Without any question he offered to help us and we climb into in his fully pimp-style car.  Back at the gas station he took one look at the brakes, grabbed the biggest hammer he had and after few whacks all was fixed... I loved it!!! Explanation? After a year half the brakes on this vehicle get sticky.

So for the moment everything is going well... I am enjoying a wonderful time with the team. We have been driving for many hours, are almost there (about 3 more hours to go), and will enjoy another night with sleep. At 6am we start our challenge beginning with the with the two highest volcanoes: Tacana (4093m) and Tajumulco (4220m). At the end of the day we will be backtracking 3 hours to climb San Antonio (2750m).

It's going to be fun!!!
Willie Benegas