The North Face

Alpinist | Willie Benegas

Born and raised in the wild heart of Patagonia, Guillermo "Willie" Benegas has pursued a long apprenticeship in the mountains. His passion for climbing and exploration has taken him in search of adventure worldwide, from the big walls of Yosemite to the airy summits of South America and the loftiest peaks of the Himalaya.

Learn more about Willie Benegas.

Feb 06 | Back in Base Camp

By Willie Benegas

4 nights on the mountain with winds increasing daily, we made our retreat yesterday.  we are back at basecamp and the winds are even howling down here.  after sitting at 18,000 ft temperatures with temperatures dropping to -20F and winds hitting a steady 50-60 miles per hour, reports only call for increasing failing weather for the next few days.  it was hard to pack up the tents to head downhill.  but, the good news is, it looks like a great day for monday, very cold temperatures but winds are expected to drop to almost nothing.  so we spend two days in camp, eating, resting, washing, and plan to head back onto the mountain tomorrow. 

our team is fabulously united.  the discussion on the mountain was to maybe make a big push from camp 2 and try to beat the storm but all decided that we would rather try and get up as many as possible to the summit - thus the return to basecamp to wait for more favorable conditions that would give all much better chances.  logistically trickier, but a tender team effort.  everyone is lining up at the $2 per minute phone to try and change tickets and call their work and honeys at home to beg a few more days of hall passes. 

diane and willie made a solo training mission to 20,000 feet yesterday, as we packed camp to head down, before the winds chased them down behind us.  i have not been in the andes in 5 years and forgot how formidable and intimidating the weather is here. 

so, the new plan stands as this...saturday morning, head back up to camp two, sunday morning, camp three and monday...oh so cold and early...we hope mother nature  will be calm and sweet and we can bring as many of our team together to the summit.  besides lots of gnarly stomach crud everyone is amazingly happy and healthy - like i have never seen in such cold, dry, and communal living.  i feel we have been very lucky at every turn. 


we will be back we hope monday night!  thanks to all!   thanks scott mcguire and tnf and meredith for sending robert fry!!




diane sends love to all and is learning an entirely different set of skills from flight series!!!!

Jan 31 | Last day in Base Camp

By Willie Benegas

we brought a load of hard gear, food and some tents to camp one yesterday, just over 16,000 feet.  our group of 22 represents el salvador, argentina, chile, the us, uk, and venezuela so at this point many of the group are at a new high point with each step - for many their first real climb of a mountain.  it brings a sweet freshness to our climb. 
we have moved into a high pressure weather system with the full moon but with this comes evidence of winds up high. last night we were treated to a ridiculous sunset and then full moon rise over the ridge of aconcagua.
diane and willlie strike out ahead of the group each day and were headed out again early this morning while the rest of us sorted gear and rested at camp. on their accelerated acclimitazation program they went to over 18,000 ft today.  kasha has held full yoga classes each afternoon with the the peak on one side and the crashing of seracs on the other - breathtaking surroundings in which to practice.  damian is madly keeping things organized and flowing smoothly for our giant group with such mixed experience and objectives,
we will run through another set of tests with the mayo doctors this afternoon.
and tomorrow we head up the mountain.  our plan will be to set three camps on the mountain over 4 days and then head for the summit.  with good luck and weather we hope to summit on on the 5th and be back in basecamp maybe that night or the next day.  no dispatches while we are on the mountain but we will take heaps of pictures to share.  

we are headed out!  the winds of yesterday turned most people off the summit but look like they have settled down a wee bit.  wish us luck!

Jan 30 | Plaza De Mulas

By Willie Benegas

as we bathe in the alpenglow of this evening we forget the storms of the last few nights.  we are all at plaza de mulas, our basecamp, and feeling well.  the weather has been predictably unstable - sunny and clear in the mornings but by mid day clouds building with electricity and rain.  we had one clear night where we were able to identify the southern cross and watch a magical moonrise, but the last couple nights have been rain down lower and snow higher, mixed with gropple and hail.  the infamous andean winds have luckily not hit us yet.
willie arrived this morning after running in from the highway in 3 hours - a journey that took us two days.  we were starting to worry he might have to winter over in antarctica.  he arrived feeling fresh, before those of us languishing on a rest day had even begun breakfast.  he brings the news that weather should improve for at least the next 4 days giving us time to establish ourselves higher on the mountain.
in the meantime we eat and drink and rest.  acclimitization and hydration are such critical pieces for success higher on the mountain.  monitored by our mayo clinic doctors we have all become compulsively interested in our heart rates and blood/oxygen saturation.  today we all weighed in and each have lost between 2-5 pounds and we have not even really started the climb.  we have been going through a series of resting and step tests to see how our bodies react and recover
we are a formidable group - 22 now with willie, but moving together with an amazing efficiency that can only be attained with each member being highly conscious of working as a group.  it is impressive to be with such skilled and professional individuals, each adding their unique perspective and experience.
tomorrow we take a load to camp one, a steep scree climb, and then come back to basecamp for one more night.
being here with diane and her team of doctors/scientists is such a great honor.  watching diane pace herself and the focus of the team is a treat and an inspiration!

kasha

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 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
 

Nov 10 | My First Day In Guatemala

By Willie Benegas

Is on in the morning , starting feeling my Fly from USA   lest said that since Sunday morning to Monday night I sleep  around two hrs, uff!
I;m amaze about the enormous amount of logistic that this trip is entail from transportation to have the right person waiting for us in the middle of nowhere to guide us or show us the way, some of the routes in this volcanoes follow almost impossible jungles with not proper trail.  This evening we have a invitation with the mountain Club where we done a talk about our project, about my toughs about our the need of the new generation to be more involve with the outdoors, how we all need to help them with this, I was so grateful  to receive a honor diploma from the club for my merit on the sport and my passion on helping others, yet the most amassing gif for me this evening was not this , was the chance to meet some amassing an inspiring people  like  Mckenzy   who as climb one of the Volcanoes  a total of 1200 times, or other who as meet and spend time with Edmund Hillary on Everest Base Camp.  Yes this trip so far started with the most developing to be fantastic!