Backcountry Explorer

Embedded into the backcountry areas of Zion National Park, the Sierra Nevada, Death Valley National Park, and the Mojave Desert, Courtney Purcell's ramblings have also taken him all across the country and the world. From hiking, climbing and peakbagging in the Rockies, the Andes, the high volcanoes of Washington and Mexico, into the depths explored in spelunking, and the canyoneering of the Colorado Plateau, here you'll find trip reports, route beta and "stuff" relevant to the world of...

Bonete (16,605 feet)

Where: Aconcagua group, Argentine Andes
When: January 2007
Partners: Mike Cressman, Rick Kent & Scooter from Jackson, WY

Scooter heading up as Cerro Catedral looms
My first summit of 2007 was the 16,605-foot Bonete, tucked away in the Argentine Andes right across the Horcones Valley from Aconcagua. Typically regarding as a warm-up peak by those intent on climbing the highest mountain in the world outside of Asia, Bonete is a fine peak that offers truly stunning views of the region.

Cerro Catedral
Myself, Rick, Scooter and Mike started out from our basecamp at Plaza de Mulas one morning, passed by the Refugio, and followed the worn trail up toward the mountain. Mike and I grouped together ahead of the others and enjoy eachother's company and conversation for the better part of the hike.

Views from below the summit of Bonete
As one reaches the northern ridgeline of the mountain, views to the wide, glaciated valley to the west open up and it becomes obvious that you are on a big mountain in a region of bigger mountains. Giants, all around.

Mike, CP and Scooter on Bonete's summit
Reaching the summit, we found a small team of Swiss gentlemen enjoying the light breeze and the cool air amidst the expansive views. Mercedario, a 21,982-foot monster of a mountain, was calm and clear across the way in the distance.

In the distance, Mercedario (21,982 feet)
*Photos courtesy of Rick Kent

...those moments when time stands still. The catalysts are as varied as the individuals who pursue this path: a meteor shower; a night sky so star-filled that it snatches your breath; another rise of the sun over distant mountains vast and untouchable; dodging a rock careening crazily down a gully; a desperate icy struggle through whiteout and ground blizzard down to the safety of camp after an unsuccessful summit attempt; standing atop a mountain with a friend, the whole world at your feet, a blinding sun blazing out of a flawless sky, taking the time to watch that sun dip below the horizon even though camp is still many miles and many thousands of feet distant; stumbling over boulders and through brush in the darkness; watching the starlight and the storm wrest for possession of the night sky, seated on a narrow ledge beside your rope-mate with only the clothes on your back for shelter, shivering the night away, knowing that, sometime in a distant place you cannot now touch, the world will once again grow bright, the sun will rise, and you will look out on the infant day with new eyes.

-Bruce Binder

One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast....a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.

-Edward Abbey