The Turkish Toilet

The bathroom in the Refugio del Frey consists of a 3 inch diameter hole in the floor. Needless to say, you need the squat strength of Arnold and the aim of Tiger to sink the putt. Luckily, for the first 4 days up here our bodies were working at 100% efficiency. Our second trip up, we werent as efficient. As a result, misfires occured. The bathroom provides a slow stream of water in a feeble attempt to clean up these accidents but really doesnt do anything. On this second trip, one of us (we wont mention any names) needed a much stronger stream of water, for obvious reasons, and accidentally ripped the water line off the wall, flooding the entire restroom. The Refugio keepers were not happy. We should probably bring them another bottle of Fernet...

The last week has gone by in a blur. The weather turned for the best up in the Frey. In our hike back up we were surprised to find 2-4 feet of fresh snow settled in everywhere but also blue skies and warm temps. Somewhere along the way we met up with a guy from Colorado named Gill and an Australian named Carl. Jake and I quickly teamed up with the Coloradan to form "Team America" and made quick ascents of Aguja Frey, La Vieja, and Campanille Esloveno. Finally, were beginnning to get a grasp of what the climbing up here is really like...Bold, adventurous, and exciting. The rhythmn has become waking up at the crack of 9, choking down some crackers and dulce de leche, heading out for a long approach, climbing, then coming back for dinner. Right now, Im finishing up this post from El Bolson. Weve rented a car and spent the last 3 days in Piedra Parada and are on our way to Valle Encantado. Ill give an update no this past week after returning to Bariloche. Until then....Merry Christmas!