Monte Darwin: El Desquite Shipton
The landing was made at the fabulous Pia Glacier, one of the few who is not in decline. The silence was only broken from time to time by the thunder of one piece of ice falling from above. Stood behind the ghostly glacier Mount Darwin. All my followers of the ship were aware of the history of his name.
In the summer of 1834 part of the crew of Beagle embarked in three boats to explore the area. They entered the canal stopping here and there to make their topographic measurements. They decided to camp in a small bay under the wind. A large glacier bay shared with them. They made a fire and began to set up the tents when a great noise made them look to the mass of ice. A large iceberg broke off and fell hard to the waters, a wonderful show. Only one of the explorers noticed that the fall had made a huge wave coming towards the boats that were, without tying, stranded on the beach. The girl ran and had to go in the water just in time to take out a tip that he was being dragged offshore. Fitz Roy congratulated the young as if it were not for its speed and daring would have been no possibility of returning to the Beagle, I was more than fifty miles away. As a reward promised to baptize the highest mountain in the area with your name. So he Charles Darwin, that was the young, mountain had its own long before he became famous for his theory of evolution.
After a walk around my group sat on some rocks off the ice mass, entranced by the beauty and solitude of the place. We remain silent until asked a Colombian: "Someone must have gone up there?”. Mount protruding from the mountain range that crosses the region. I said yes, that was a long history that began in the distant Himalayas. "Perfect. We have time. "Enthused.
Thus it was that Charles Darwin, that was the young, mountain had its own long before he became famous for his theory of evolution.
In the decade of 30 the British Eric Shipton organized several expeditions aimed at finding the route of ascent to the roof of the world, Mount Everest. Shipton became "the man who will conquer the Everest" but the war put a stop to his explorations. Only in the year 51 England could again put the focus on this objective. England was commissioned to Shipton, then with forty-four years, once again organized a team to determine the attack path would take the last and final expedition to conquer the glory. English, formed a small team along with his trusted, Nepalese Tenzing Sherpa and determined the way up. England hesitated. The following year a Swiss expedition, with the help of Tenzing reached the top few meters. England trembled, almost robbed "his" mountain. They quickly sought to organize an expedition that will not fail. Shipton, obvious leader, explained his plan: a small and agile could conquer Everest. England did not want to risk, Shipton had several years and was very stubborn, not want to risk everything to a small group. Preferred to leave the organization of a great expedition into the hands of Major John Hunt. This did not include Shipton but two of his disciples, el sherpa Tenzing and New Zealand Edmund Hillary. They conquered the Everest.
"But as the story goes here? To Tierra del Fuego?"He asked impatiently, of Colombian women.
Shipton fell into a deep depression over losing the mountain to which he had prepared all his life. After some time he decided to devote himself to be the person who had conquered mountains, the largest number 1 history.
There were many virgin peaks in the northern hemisphere, so set his sights on South America. He traveled to the ice fields between Argentina and Chile, there were dozens of unexplored mountains. His connection to the world was through the radio's English settler Estancia Cristina, Percival Masters, that my readers know of an earlier entry in my blog .
Shipton won all peaks in that area and looked for new challenges in Tierra del Fuego. So in 1962, with and fifty-five years, Eric Shipton conquered the summit of the highest peak in Tierra del Fuego.
Shipton fell into a deep depression over losing the mountain to which he had prepared all his life. After some time he decided to devote himself to be the person who had conquered mountains.
"To the boats!"We called. Started to run a chill wind. We ship and dodging icebergs and zodiac, followed by petrels, took us back to Australis expected anchored half a mile. From the boat last look at Mount Darwin. "I can imagine Eric Shipton up there," said the Colombian. "It would have been impossible," I replied mysteriously.
Back in the boat and life jackets returned and sat at the bar with a scotch and ice of the glacier. Then I told the third story of Mount Darwin.
And 1970 a group of New Zealand organized an expedition to explore the ice fields atop the Cordillera Darwin, where the namesake hill. With more equipment and better maps Shipton, found that what the English had mounted was actually the highest point of the area but this was not the Mount Darwin. Fitz Roy was wrong, had a peak not visible from the waters, higher than the one he named Mount Darwin. In the heights, Shipton could not recognize the mountains and climbed the highest peak was convinced that Darwin but it was one that had no name. So he, as Everest, Mount Darwin also escaped into English. But without knowing he won another thing ... The Kiwis named the unnamed peak as Monte Shipton which, by forty meters is the roof of Tierra del Fuego.
Australis in the bar made a toast to the memory of Eric Shipton. Cheers!
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Gerardo Bartolomé traveler and writer is. To learn more about him and his work go to www.GerardoBartolome.com
