the attempt to scale mount teide on 2 & 3 of april 2013 …€¦ · the attempt to scale mount...

THE ATTEMPT TO SCALE MOUNT TEIDE ON 2nd

& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

Having informed you before that back in the 1990’s, I had scaled the Four Peaks of

the UK and Ireland and had always wanted to scale Mount Teide – Spains’s highest

mountain. Also, as I had said before, over 16 years later and at the age of 61, I finally

had the opportunity to attempt it. I had already booked to go to Tenerife for Easter

2013, and started to add Mount Teide to my itinerary.

But before continuing, I want to thank everyone for their support in this venture of

mine. The support has been overwhelming, and the jokes and fun that has been

created has been great – funny comments by my great friend, Chris Hodder and all

others in theTerrace; our Installation Manager, Adrian Brown, who has made so funny

jokes about this, but was always helpful; Paula Gladders, who used to be our

receptionist at Cardiff Lift Company, and who about I once told Lynda, that I loved to

her to bits, but not in a sexual or sensual way, but because she was so funny and

always picked me up when I was down; and to everyone-else – please do not think

you have been left out if you have not been mentioned by name.

What follows is the story of my attempt, but here’s a picture of Teide from my sister’s

apartment balcony on a clear day -


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

Having flown out on Good Friday, 29th

March, I firstly had a couple of quiet days, but

maybe too much Dorada(Spanish lager). On Tuesday, 2nd

April, I got up at 6:30am,

would up like the spring of a clock. Having showered and dressed, my first problem,

apart from not being able to have anything more for breakfast than a cup of tea, began

– couldn’t getting everything in the rusksack. Then, when I put it on the one strap

ripped off my watch strap – ain’t it great that mobile phones now show the time. Had

to meet my lift to Los Cristianos, as my sister had wound me up to high heaven about

the bus connection times. I was in Los Cristianos nearly an hour before the bus up to

the Teide National Park was due. Bus arrived – glad I sat on the left-hand side, as you

can’t see the drops. Now had to ensure I sat on the left-hand side coming down and

hope and pray the bus had good brakes.This journey is like a plane take-off – my ears

popped so many times. However, you pass through some of the best scenic views, I

have ever seen. Well, I get off at the Parador de La Canades, having travelled in

height nearly 7000 feet – I am already more than 2000 feet higher than Ben Nevis!

I get myself a cappuccino and sit outside and this is the view in front of me –


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

I re-check, almost repack my rucksack, discovering I have lost 2 bottles of water and

my sunglasses- great we’ve hardly started. But off I start. Now the T72 road is a

busy main raid with no pavements and here is the picture in front of me –

The picture above does not show any vehicles, but please believe me, this road can be

very busy, especially with tourist buses. Well, I am told that from the Parador to the

Entrantada Monta Blanc, from which, I have to start my assault on Mount Teide is

about 3km – less than 2 miles. Ha,Ha,Ha – it was more like 5 miles – I know I can

walk at 4mph and this took me over one hour and a quarter

Along route, I do take a photo to prove the altitude – 2250m – that is 7385 ft.


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

I finally reach my destination – naturally want a little rest & ring my lovely son,

Christian, who is naturally so concerned about me. Great – can’t get a signal.

So managed to get a photo of myself taken before I start – wish it had been 36 years

ago when I looked so much better and younger – it’s a terrible thing what the addition

of years does to us –


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

I wish I looked like I did on my wedding day – ain’t it surprising what joining up with

a lovely pretty lady can do. Look at me 36 years ago –


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

Anyway, I prepare myself for the start and it’s now half an hour later than I wanted to

be, and guess what Adrian, my one trekking pole won’t lock in place. So, to those of

you that have not got a clue, what I am talking about, may I explain. I had bought

myself this pair of trekking poles at the Mountain Warehouse some weeks

beforehand. I could never set them up & Adrian helped me so much & the week

before I departed, I practised this & thought I was OK – No, should have tested again

in Tenerife, but didn’t. So had to start with only ONE POLE.


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

The start is like walking on a dirt track road, but is approximately 4 miles and is

somewhat peculiar. You set off in a T-shirt and if there is no wind , this is fine, but

turn a bend and the wind blows against you, you get cold. However you can at this

point walk at a fair pace to keep warm. This is where you see the ‘Eggs of Teide’

Maybe not the best picture, but shows the clouds below.


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

At the end of this dirt-track road, you come to a point, which I think is called the

Remblatta – a sight like which I have never seen in my life. I have to admit that at

this point – the thought of turning back crossed my mind many times. What lay

ahead, was certainly no journey for the faint-hearted – all one could see was

something that looked like a 70 to 80 degree incline – the first part looking like grass,

the second like mud, which actually was lava flow from the volcano. At this point I

rested and thoughts like this flashed through my mind –

“you can’t do this – it will kill you” ; “you came here to do this-you’ve got to do it”

“No, you can’t do it” and so on and so on …………..

Eventually the words of Rocky flashed in my mind - “It ain’t about hard you hit – its

about hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and

keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.”

Now I knew I had to go on, so got up off my backside, put on extra clothing layers

and my rucksack and said to myself “you have got to get to the Refugio Altavista”

this evening. I started off and and soon realised why the sight in front of me had been

so daunting, it was to be the most knackering, lung busting experience of my life.

There is a path that winds round and around to cut out the gradient, but it is still hard

and to a person like myself that smokes and drinks too much and has had a heart

attack, I was certainly thinking I should never have tried this. I had also now run out

of water – it was getting harder and harder. By now I had also had my first sight of

snow and as I will tell you later – this ain’t the sort of snow you can play snowballs

with – it is rock hard white ice,

At this point I encountered a really nice young (how do I say it & be ethically

correct), but may I say an Afro man, who offered me water. Let me tell you, he was

like Jesus to Ben-Hur in the film. Finally, just after 6pm, I reached the Refugio

Altavista – 10695 ft above sea level – whatever, I had today scaled the equivalent of

any of the 4 Peaks, except Ben Nevis.


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

The picture above was taken from, I would say only 25% up this bit and certainly

does not do justice to both the scenery or magnitude of this climb, but believe me at

this point, taking photos was not the most important thing on my mind.


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

Above is not a picture of the Refugio that I took, but one I pulled off their web-site.

This is definitely the highest ‘Fawlty Towers’ on earth. I stay outside for a while,

both to catch my breath and look back at what I have just endured. I feel like it’s one

of those rugby international Saturdays, when you’ve already drunk too much beer in

the afternoon and the evening is just one big haze. But, I am stone cold sober and this

is reality. Maybe, that’s why I like a drink – reality is a frightening sight!

I enter the Refugio, which is already quite full with people, most of whom were

young enough to be one of my children. Having spoke to some of them, I would have

been proud to have been their father. They were talented, multi-lingual, but most of

all displayed an air of modesty and friendliness that would be difficult to match. In

particular, I spoke to a young German girl and boy, who were absolutely lovely. I

told them my reasons for doing this, but also that I was a smoker, liked my beer and

had also had a heart attack about 8 years earlier – they either thought I was Superman

or mad!

There is only one member of staff at this establishment – the warden, who I can only

describe as “a stroppy little Spaniard, who can only speak his own language”. Have

to admit that I cannot speak other languages, but considering the number of

nationalities that pass through this place, one would think that they would pick some-

one a bit more multi-lingual for the job. Having said that, I think you would have to

have hermit-like tendencies to even want the job and am sure that daily commuting

could be somewhat of a problem!

Anyway, he shows me to my room – (sorry, have to pause and chuckle). Remember

the film – Mama Mia, where she hides the 3 fellas in an attic room. This was it!


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

Access to this room is only by a vertical wooden ladder through a hatch. In it are 5

bunk beds, so sleeping 10 in all and gender has no consequence here – there are both

males and females here. I go back down to get my gear and ascend the ladder. Now

when you do this, you have to ensure your head is exactly aligned with the hatch –

mine wasn’t – BANG. Oh, and it’s like a roughly artexed ceiling and being bald it

bloody hurt! I go back downstairs and a kind young lad gave me a glass of boiling

water, with which I use to make one of my pot noodles. This is the first and only

thing I have eaten all day, and it was awful. I try to get a bottle of water out the

machine and get no water or my money – speak to the warden, whose basic attitude is

tough. I do manage to get a hot chocolate and then decide to retire. Just kick off my

boots and lay on my bottom bunk. Here, you don’t sleep – you just “shut-eye”, but at

some point in the night, I thought I was having a naughty dream. I could hear noises

from above and could see a light shining; then I could see a bare pair of legs coming

down the bunk ladder, and let me tell you – these were definitely not the legs of a

fella. Then these hips in scanty knickers came into sight, followed by the shape of

breasts in a bolero top. No, this was not a naughty dream, but reality – it was the

young German girl I had spoken to earlier, and I hadn’t even known she was above

me.

Everyone here is up about 5am and and personal hygiene is of no consequence – a

wash here is stick your hands under the tap and splash your face. There’s no

opportunity for anything more – for gents, there are two toilets and two wash-basins

and that’s it.

Many people set off early in the dark with head-torches and yes, possibly I could have

joined them, but I knew I had to go at my pace and wouldn’t have wanted to hold

them up. I tried twice to set off with my head-torch, but each time turned back,

feeling it was too dangerous on my own. I therefore decided to wait until it got light.

Here is the picture of the sun-rise at about 7:45am, to which my photographic ability

does not do justice, but if for nothing-else, this sight made the whole trip worth it.


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

I had had a text from my absolutely fantastic son, Christian, which read as follows:-

“Well done for making it so far! I’m really proud of you. I know it’ll be difficult but

if you can manage it I really think you should go for the summit. You’ll never get the

chance again. Having said that, don’t push yourself too hard- you’ve done brilliant to

get so far and the last thing I want is for you to hurt yourself by going too far. No

matter what, you’ve done really well. Text or ring me when you get the chance.

Good luck! Christian & Emily.”

Christian, you sure know how to put pressure on your old man!

So I set off and it’s extremely hard going and my stops for breath are getting more

and more – it’s very slow progress. I meet a young Spanish lad to whom I had spoken

to the night before. He had left earlier and had made it to the top, but told me

conditions were bad. I carried on, met another young lad who told me the same, but

also the cable car would not be running because of the wind. Now I was worried, but

carried on a bit more until the summit of Teide came into sight.


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

The above picture does not tell the true story. The wind and windchill were

horrendous, and the white stuff you can see is not the sort of snow you play snowballs

with – it’s rock hard ice! This was a tough decision – do I carry on or turn around?

My progress was now very slow and there was even the possibility that my permit

time may run out and if the cable car was not running, I would have to descend the

way I came and that would be time-consuming – I might miss the bus back to Los

Cristianos – there was no accommodation and no overnight camping out is allowed in

the Teide National Park, and the last thing I now wanted was any altercations with

Spanish police. This is not a lame excuse – common sense had to prevail. I would

rather be able to tell my story of failure, than tell no story at all – I had to turn around.

I headed back to the Refugio, where I paused briefly, then made my way down that

horrible incline. My descent was a lot quicker than my ascent, as I didn’t have to

keep stopping for breath, but I can assure this is one hell of a thigh-wrenching

experience.


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

I got to the bottom, rested a while, and then set off on the dirt-track road, which

feeling somewhat deflated with myself, certainly became boring. I was also now

going to be a few hours early for the bus, and although the bus will stop at the

Entrantada Monta Blanca, I was neither looking forward to sitting on a car park wall

for a few hours, or the 5 mile walk to the Parador along the busy T72. Then

unbeknown to me luck struck. I could see in the distance in front of me two


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

gentlemen heading in the same direction as me. Now I can walk quite fast and arrived

at the end of the trail at the same time as them. I sat on the wall and watched them put

some rubbish in the bin, but then watched them walk towards a car in the car park. I

said to the one “Excuse me, do you speak English”, he replied “yes, I do” – I said

“can I be really cheeky – are you going anywhere near the Parador” – his reply “don’t

know – I’ll have to check the map”. I thought – very polite refusal, and sat back on

the wall, even more dejected. I watched them pull out of their parking spot, but then

they pulled up by me – “we are going by the Parador – hop in”. Did I smile – strange

how sometimes the tiniest little favours can make you so happy. They could have

dropped me at the roadside, but no took me right to the main entrance. I offered to

buy them a beer, but they declined and went on their way.

I got myself a beer, and sat down and starting phoning and texting.

Here are the texts between Adrian and myself

“This was the picture in front of me at 8:45 this morning. The wind & windchill were

bad. It was very icey underfoot & were I to have carried on, I could have had more

problems. Am naturally disappointed, but not ashamed. I had the bollocks to try it &

the bollocks & more importantly the sense to admit defeat.”

His reply

“Listen Hugh, you had more bollocks than anyone I know in the first palace to even

try this, don’t put yourself down! Everyone here is really proud of you and you should

be immensely proud of yourself !!! Get back down safely and have a beer on me.”

Adrian, you brought tears to my eyes with those words.

My reply

“Thanks mate but wasn’t putting myself down. Am having a beer now. That was

another achievement yesterday – NO BEER.”

His reply

“Now that is a bigger achievement than any other thing you’ve ever done !!!. …”

Whilst waiting for the bus, I saw a man, who I would say was early thirties and had

seen at the Refugio. He had been with a group who were still at the Refugio, when I

had left in the morning. They all had looked so fit and organised and like they did a

lot of this. I asked him him if he had made to to the top, to which he replied “No – the

wind was too bad and we all had to turn around”. Whilst I take no pleasure in

someone-else’s failure, it was some consolation to me that I had taken the right

decision to turn around.

To conclude, I am naturally disappointed that I did not get to the top, but not ashamed

– I did not score 100%, but certainly think I passed with honours. This was an

experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I have tried something I have

wanted to do for over 16 years and more I met some lovely young people, who


& 3rd

OF APRIL 2013

BY HUGH MORGAN

demonstrated to me that there is a hell of a lot of good in this world and friendship

and kindness knows no barriers.

And, finally – the words in the text from Pam, who works at the surgery, where Lynda

did – “Well done Hugh. You should be proud. I know Lynda would have been very

proud of you.”

P.S – my new nickname in my local - “HALF-TIDY”

the attempt to scale mount teide on 2 & 3 of april 2013 …€¦ · the attempt to scale mount...

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