Four Maltese mountaineers have gotten used to puzzled, late-night looks as they prepare to scale the highest peak in the Americas next month. Weighed down with heavy backpacks, they can regularly be glimpsed traversing the steep roads and steps of St Julian’s and Msida in training for their toughest challenge to date.
The team from the Mountaineering Section of the Malta Climbing Club will depart for Argentina on December 15. If all goes to plan, Josef Grech, Mark Gladwish, David Gladwish and Giovanni Camilleri will reach the summit of the 6,962-metre Aconcagua around New Year. A fifth team member, Fabrizio Valente, will offer ground logistics support.
Along the way they will probably have to contend with altitude sickness, howling winds and night-time temperatures of around -20°C.
Preparations for the Andean climb have been going on for the past year. The team has followed a rigorous fitness training programme and planned the logistics down to the smallest detail.
Although much of their training has taken place in Malta, the climbers are no strangers to arduous expeditions.
Collectively they have successfully climbed Mt Etna, Sicily (3,329 metres), Mt Toubkal, Morocco (4167 metres) and Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (5895 metres).
“I have a 100 per cent success rate so far,” said a grinning Mr Grech, who only took up climbing in 2009.
His dream is to summit the highest peaks on all seven continents but he knows this might not be possible from a financial perspective.
The pharmaceutical company brand manager estimates that the Aconcagua challenge alone will cost him €5,000, not including the cost of the equipment he already owns.
Despite the large outlay, there is no doubt in Mr Grech’s mind that his hobby is worth the sacrifice.
“To be able to climb for long periods in the wilderness; to set yourself a challenge which will test you in every way; and to drive yourself to achieve the objective leaves you with a sense of personal achievement and inner strength which is difficult to describe and impossible to compare,” he said.
“As expedition leader, the satisfaction is even greater if all the efforts and preparations culminate in a successful expedition.”
Although initially organised purely as a mountaineering challenge, the climbers will also raise money for the Community Chest Fund.
“We thought it would be a great idea to use the publicity of the climb to raise money for the fund, in view of its sterling work within the community,” Mr Grech said.
A fundraising dinner will take place at the Radisson Blu in St Julian’s on November 29 at 8.30pm. Seats can be reserved by calling 9999 2229 or by e-mailing josefngrech@gmail.com.