I then plan to do a 3 day, 2 night camping expedition from Adeje near the coast, at 200M above sea level, eventually up to the Volcano, Mount Teide at 3714 (the highest mountain in Spain), and then make the return trip. I have applied for, and received a 'summit permit', allowing me to go to the very peak of the volcano. Such permits are tightly controlled, limited to a certain amount per day and you must show your passport as well as the pass. Most make the initial 3550M of the ascent (the last 160M is on foot) by the cable car of course.
I have heavily researched as much of the route as I can, but there are a lot of unknown factors. The temperature on the coast will be probably mid 20's in the day, but on the crater plateau at 2000M above sea level (where I will camp), the daytime temperature will be at best 15C (probably less) and about 5C at night. If that wasn't bad enough, the temperature on top of Mount Teide will be around -20 with wind chill. So, I am looking at a massive temperature range to deal with and pack for.
The best maps that exist are 50,000k, so they are not very detailed. Practically no footpaths have signs, and you pick your way through the terrain, occasionally happening upon a chalked arrow or a little pile of stacked rocks (cairn) to indicate the path, but more often that not there is very little to help guide you. You are simply following a faint trail. It's easy to go wrong and I did frequently on my last trip there in March. Last time I stuck to established routes that were still hard to follow. This time I am making my own paths in some sections; completely cross country, hopefully guided by sat nav or compass as a backup.
On day 1 I will start from Adeje and ascend on a path that I used during my last visit. About 5 miles into the route I will then strike due north following no path, until I hit a road about 5 miles later. That first leg of day 1 sounds straightforward doesn't it? Well, in those first 10 miles I gain 2000M (6500ft) in elevation. That should lead me to a recreation area where I hope to top up my water before heading East, gaining a further 500M and walking the ridgeline of a spectacular range of mountains called Las Canadas (actually an ancient volcano crater rim)for about 3 miles.
This is a shot of Las Canadas, in the background.
http://flickr.com/photos/curreyuk/1798518603/
I will be walking along the very top, left to right. I'm more than a little apprehensive about this ridge walk. It does appear on maps, but this is an extract from one author's guidebook about the scariest section of the route.
"David suffers a little vertigo moment. To reach the waymark involves lowering yourself onto a narrow rock shelf than overhangs the drop into the crater, edging across the shelf and then backup up onto the rim. We look at it, then pick our way amongst boulders trying to find an easier way, which there isn't. The thought of giving up and returning is only marginally less appealing than dangling over a thousand foot drop." -Taken from Walk Tenerife by Ros and David Brawn.
Now, I'm not good with heights at all. I'm the kind of person who would edge to a cliff on their stomach if forced to look over. I would then descend to sea level and hug the ground. Why on earth I have picked this route I don't know. Well, I do know, it's all about facing your fears, but travelling alone I wonder if I may be biting off more than I can chew with that section. All I can do is take a look and if I don't fancy it, backtrack and take an extended detour (big mileage). The weather could also decide it, if there is a significant wind. However, I'm not quitting without looking because I don't like failing at anything.
Here's a Google earth shot of the ridgeline you can click to enlarge, which obviously does it no justice in terms of scale. Use it in conjunction with that web link above and imagine high and steep.
Assume I manage to traverse the ridgeline I then cut south and join a well established path called the Lunar Passage due to the nature of the geology. If you have never been you'll love the photo's I promise you. I then head north a few more miles and make camp anywhere I deem suitable for the night. I should cover about 20 miles. An easy distance in the UK, but factor in over 3000M of ascent and it should have me on my knees by the end of the day.
I should mention also that the sun rises about 7am and sets at 5pm, so I don't have a lot of daylight to play with. I will realistically need to be making camp at 4pm. Only 9 hours each day and at times I know I will average less than 1mph due to the steepness of the climbs. I hope I can pick up the pace when on the flat.
I will set off at dawn on Day 2. I would love to set off before dawn but it is just too dangerous. I first head north again, over the Las Canadas ridge at 2500M and straight down following a very steep zigzag path to the crater plateau at 2200M. From there I head along an established path in the direction of Teide itself. I will stop off at the cable car station and refill my water, before then heading to the East of the Volcano and join the path to the summit. I made an attempt at the summit with my father in March , but lack of time and snow meant we called a halt at the mountain refuge hut at 3250M, rested, then returned. The route goes up the east side of the mountain past a smaller mountain called Montagne Blanca before suddenly becomming very steep on the approach to (and beyond) the mountain refuge. This section will be very slow indeed.
I didn't suffer from any altitude sickness last time, up to 3250M; in fact I can’t say I even noticed the difference in the oxygen level. This time however, I will be going all the way to the cable car station around 3550M then using my Summit pass and walking up the final 160M to the very top. Here the oxygen level is 50% of sea level and it will be very cold indeed, so I won't stay long. By this stage I will have travelled around 14 miles and gained around 2000M in total. By summit pass is from valid from 1pm to 3pm, but I must try and arrive much earlier and hope they allow me through. After the summit I then plan to descent by the West slope, past the Veijo volcano crater which is supposed to be better than Teide's, but little visited. This descent is another real unknown for me. I have no idea how long it will take me to descend the 7 miles to the plateau, and then onwards a further 4 miles to my Camp 2 (an actual campsite). You are not allowed to camp on the Volcano, and who would be stupid enough to anyway? It's -20 and there are sulphurous gasses seeping out all over the place. So, I must hope to make the summit before midday I guess, then make the next 11 miles in descent in 4 hours in time before darkness.
That day is my most ambitious. Hikers usually take the cable car up and walk down via the refuge, or walk up and cable car down. I may be being foolish to think I can cover 24 miles including the 3700M summit and descent in a single day. I can only play it by ear. If the ascent takes longer that expected with no possibility of me making a decent in daylight I would have to ride the cable car down and probably make a random camp for the night somewhere.
Assuming day 2 goes to plan, I will be at a campsite with water and set off at dawn for a 20 mile return route to Adeje. The final sting in the tail is a part of the route which the authors title "Wow Spectacular to Adeje". The route is down a narrow donkey trail that borders Barranca Del Inferno and Barranca Del Fuente, two very deep ravines. I happened upon one by taking a wrong turn in March. You can see from this youtube video I took that I'm not keen on heights. It's a 1000ft down off that edge. This time I will be on the opposite side of the ravine, on a path that no longer exists. The original path has fallen away. All maps have removed the route, but the authors of this book I have say that it is possible to pass using a "section of the narrow old canal where a protruding rock threatens to tip you over the abyss". The more I read that, the less I like the sounds of it. They go on to say "We quite understand if you turn back at this point", and suggest returning by what would have been my starting route on day 1 of this trip. Here is another Google Earth shot of that small section. The ravines shown are 1000ft deep and the blue line is my GPS plotted route.
So, I do have a get-out, but it would mean more mileage on top of the 20 planned for day 3. It is all descent that day of course, so this could be a tough day on my legs as well. That tricky section is but a few miles off the finish, so if I am tired or the light is failing then it may not be worth the risk. But you know I will have a look don't you?
Assuming that’s all a success I am back to sleeping in the apartment. I will take the next day off, and then do a 20 mile session along those similar Adeje Mountain trails the day after. The final day, 23rd December, will be spent Christmas shopping. Apparently people still expect presents off me, despite this MDS training schedule? I think everyone might be getting volcanic rock for Christmas this year.
I arrive home just after midnight on Christmas Eve. I'm giving myself Christmas Eve off, but treating myself to a Christmas Day run, because would you believe it the gym is closed ;-) ?
I hope to live blog my trip, but I can't promise it because I'm not sure if the mobile phone network will support what I need it to, or indeed if I will get any signal in some of these areas. I know you can't get a signal climbing Teide; I remember from last time. I will try and post an update via my mobile to let you know I am alive and well. If I do get the live tracking up and running I will only set it to update my location every now and again (hourly perhaps, if I get a signal) because Vodafone tell me GPRS use there is £10 a megabyte!
My pack is going to be n0 less than 10kg incidentally, including tent and water etc. I have a feeling, given the climbing, I will be doing a lot of walking and not so much running. That said with 9 hours of available daylight I will have to be moving quite fast.
I will post up my story over the Christmas period. I’m looking forward to this, but nervous at the same time.
EDIT: I'll try and post up before I go away (Saturday more than likely) with a few details from this week, and hopefully a live-blog link for the trip.
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