About two months ago my friend and I started talking about this crazy idea of going climbing Mount Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in all of the Americas and also the tallest mountain outside of Himalayas. Looking back, I have to just laugh how from a simple talk, perhaps dreaming became a desire and how we managed to push this challenge to the starting line.
I had heard of Aconcagua before I came to South America. I didn’t really start to consider climbing it until after I reached the top of Chimborazo Volcano in Ecuador, which I climbed with the company of an experienced guide from a local tour agency, Ecuador Eco Adventures. I can highly recommend this agency for the professional and very friendly attitude! It was a little bit different story with Aconcagua. With this peak, I didn‘t want to be accompanied by a guide, who might know every little detail about the beast itself, but nothing about myself. I knew I would try only if someone who I know well would come and help. Who I could share this unbelievable experience with. I immediately thought of my good friend from university Tomas Bula and another great friend Jirka Dolinsky, who unfortunately couldn’t come because of his studying responsibilities. I knew Tom is crazy enough and has enough will power to prepare himself physically. After a couple of comments like: “This is not a walk to Spilberg (a small hill in Tom’s hometown), we’ll need really good sneakers for this“ he said YES. This was just the beginning… Two young, blinded with the challenge, fools with a dream to go and climb one of the tallest mountains in the world.
After the first estimation of expenses, we knew this whole idea would not be possible without, at least, material support. We also couldn’t have relied on Santa Claus. The only solution was to get some sponsors. Together with Tom, we have been participating in activities of student organization BEST Brno (Board of European Students of Technology Brno) where we came across fund-raising and therefore it didn’t take us long and we’re trying to come up with a concept for the expedition, designing promotional materials, etc. Fully equipped with the enthusiasm we set off for hunting. It’s important to mention that I wasn’t much participating in this fund-raising process and Tom took charge of the whole thing. He called dozens of companies, threw behind his back countless rejections and didn’t get himself discouraged with the failure. I’d like to thank and applaud him for all of this. Everyone has been given different skills or gifts if you prefer and Tom has been given astonishing communication features which he is not afraid to use. I also call him a salesman (not of vacuum cleaners, but of ideas).
We wanted to keep our feet on the ground and didn’t want to promise anything to ourselves. It all was about trying our luck and if it wasn’t working we would have known that we did our best and are not prepared for it or there was something wrong about the plan. To our surprise, our potential partners were very interested in our idea and every single one wanted to know more about the project. This had given us more confidence and faith in success.
The experiment had ended up very well, we‘ve got 5 partners. Husky, Asolo, Pinguin, Fenix, Aktin (viz. T-shirt above) from which two of them showed an interest in longterm cooperation which we appreciate a lot and put a very high value to it. Also, we would like to thank all of them for their faith in us and that they have given us the green light and enabled us to realize this expedition.
Someone may have asked why we‘re doing all this? Why we’re risking so much? Why don‘t we sit on our butts back home where nothing bad, like my parents say, can happen. Both of us believe that it’s very important for all of us, not only young, to take the biggest challenges that are somehow placed by life in front of us because those are the moments when we really grow and when we’re pushed forward. After all, it’s always profitable! Even though one may face a failure, one will always gain something! This is also the attitude that we’re going into this challenge with. Are we going to succeed? Who knows, but what I know is that we have done our best so far and will continue in it. We have walked a long way, made some mistakes and gained lots of valuable experiences. Lastly, when I called home couple weeks ago to tell my parents we’d obtained partners, my Mom said: “I’m not surprised at all Simon, fools like you are very difficult to find.“ I, on the contrary, believe that this is what it is all about. Sometimes it’s important to think crazy and risk a little bit and see where that can lead you! Don’t forget to be, at least sometimes, crazy a little bit and let your imagination run wild. Many times, it’s not going to work out the way you wish, but one day it, for sure, will!
-Simon
