The neuquino who dreams of climbing on the roof of the planet

"Since I've been in Neuquén, I've always heard all the legends about Domuyo and my first intention was to make a peak in this volcano," explained the 52-year-old.

On February 14, 2005, he gave free rein to his pbadion for climbing with a simpler goal: he went to Zapala to climb the 2,500 meters of the hill of La Atravesada.

However, his tenacity led him on a vertiginous way to higher heights. "In less than a year, I had traveled all the main hills," he said. The Lanín, the Domuyo, the Tromen, the Perito Moreno, the Silver and the very roof of America: the Aconcagua, of about 7,000 meters.

Fourteen years have pbaded since this odyssey and two other peaks on the great hill of Mendocino, but Germán still remembers the sensations that have invaded him at the exact moment when he reached the summit of La Atravesada. "It is a satisfaction and an immense pleasure, after having competed with oneself, to overcome the difficulty, one connects with the mountain and one takes advantage of the landscape which surrounds it," he declared.

The excitement of the summit seems to be the fuel that motivates the Neuquino to an intense weekly routine, which includes up to four gym sessions to strengthen the legs and back, bike rides, 7-hour hikes through fences nearby and two exits per month on the hills to go up to 2500 meters. His intensive training is combined with his days of work in the municipality of Centenario and the freight service offered as an accessory to pay for his excursions in the mountains.

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"To equip it requires a significant investment, so we are already armed and there is only left to replace what is used," said Germán, who went to the municipality. , the deliberative council, the municipal union and the electric cooperative to pay its first approximation Everest. "For economic reasons, I only arrived at the base camp, but the excursions to the summit can go up to $ 35,000," he explained.

For the athlete, the grbadroots experience has been launching one of his goals, which will materialize in two years, when he will return to Nepal to get to the summit on the highest hill in the world. "It was eight and a half days we were walking with 14 other Argentines, we traveled 74 kilometers and when I arrived at the base, tears ran down my cheeks," he said.

His trip was an opportunity to train in high mountain sport, to learn inspiring stories from other mountaineers and to be a privileged witness to the local culture. "I could see how the Hindus and Sherpas lived, who cross you at 5,000 meters altitude, as if nothing," he said, stating that in the mountain villages crossed, all goods from the base are transported by pulling blood, in animals called jaks or behind the sherpas themselves.

The mountain experience does not boil down to the happiness of the summit. There are moments of uphill when the legs do not respond, the back folded by the 18 kilos of backpacks, and the storms of white winds hit like eyelashes on the eyes until the sight s & # 39; 39; canceled. When the sun goes down in Nepal, ten degrees below zero seem like twenty, and the risk of freezing your fingers until you lose them forever is a latent threat.

For those who want to climb, Germán recommends to train seriously in the gym. "If you are not trained, you will suffer on the mountain and you will not want to return," he said.

Enjoying the climb depends on the strength of the legs and self-confidence, which must support the fight, even in the most difficult moments.

The love he feels for the mountain seems contagious. Some of his fellow sportsmen accompany him on the easy ascents and his 22-year-old daughter Candelaria made her first summit a few weeks ago on a hill in El Bolsón, at an altitude of 2,500 meters. "My idea is that in the summer we organize our first summit together," he explained.

"To make a summit can involve about 15 days in secrecy and there are many risks," said Arias, adding that his family supported him in his activities, but always sent him out of fear. "But I never play my life for a summit, I spent five days in a shelter if the snow did not let me continue," he said, adding that the real summit was not high, but after the descent, on the way back, when we kiss with his family and feels, really, on the roof of the planet.

That's why Germán has no grief. This time, he could not reach the goal set 8848 meters, but he knows that the hills are still in the same place and he can go there in the future, when he will have more d & # 39; Arms to cope with the ascent.

Everest is the highest goal, but not the last. "My career as a mountaineer does not stop there," he said, saying that he wanted to climb Nevado Ojos del Salado, the highest volcano on the planet, which stands at 6893 meters above the ground of Catamarca. "There are beautiful mountains in Mexico, in Peru, and as long as health and physics accompany me, I will continue to progress," he said.

"Mountain tourism mixes with sport"

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The arrival of Germán Arias at the base of Everest has recently made the headlines of this mountain Asian, which explains the increase in the number of fatal victims on its slopes.

So far this year, at least 11 mountaineers have died in their attempt to reach the summit, and the death toll this decade is the highest in the history of promotions.

"I think that Everest badociates mountain tourism with mountain sports," Arias said. He said unscrupulous businesses are risking the lives of their customers for the sole purpose of earning money. "Some tours cost up to $ 100,000 and benefit from the freight service of several Sherpas, domes with rugs and a minibar to rest," he said. He added that many tourists with high purchasing power pay to climb to the top, but do not perform any prior training.

The tendency to reach this mountain has resulted in the saturation of certain areas of the mountain, which has injured many trained athletes who wanted to reach the summit. There are also those who intend to break impossible records and complicate the promotion for the rest.

"You must be prepared for lack of oxygen, extreme cold and at least have another promotion experience," said the athlete, stating that you can not consider Everest as a tourist walk.