Chirripo - Costa Rica's Roof

A windproof parka covers a warm pullover and thick wool gloves cover my hands; thousands of stars sparkle above me, it’s three o’clock in the morning and the temperature lies about five degrees Celsius. Are we really here in Costa Rica? Yes, and at a 3300 meter height.  From the hut it’s still five kilometers to the peak of Chirripó.

 

Helped by a headlamp, I stroll comfortably through the high plateau called “Paramo” that, principally, just consists of man high grasses. This last leg is just 500 meters high, however, the thin air up here can really be felt. Again and again I just stand, breathe deeply and drink. To the left and right of a anticline above me, two mountain peaks loom – which one’s the crest ? Exhausted, I reach the anticline but, there is neither a path to the left or right. It goes quite further on.

 

Far away on the horizon, the dawning of the day starts it's glowing red. A pyramid rises steeply before it into the sky – the last ridge to the crest. I want to experience the sunrise from the peak – chasing it, I storm off. I often have to use my arms; for the last  meters, the mountain again demands courage and the last energies from its climber. A short view upwards – what’s fluttering there? Costa Rica’s flag. Not even ten meters above me – in one minute the peak’s reached. Chirripó – 3820 meters. I stand on Costa Rica’s summit, am impressed by nature's beauty and happy that I can be here. Thoughts ramble back to the tour's beginning – yesterday, when I started the long ascent to the hut.

 

I start on the 1500-meter-high, idyllically situated Casa Mariposa on the brink of a little town San Gerado, the starting point to the ascent of Costa Rica’s highest peak. The first leg of the 15-kilometer-long climb to the hut takes around seven hours. The path is clearly visible, that’s why I start at night – the temperatures are then still pleasantly cool. Every kilometer is marked: At the start there’s a sign showing Kilometer zero and the name “Temperature”. Here, one can easily test one’s ability on how much the temperature rises on the first kilometer.

 

Kilometer one’s called “Los Monos” – the apes. They’re all probably still sleeping. I hear nothing from them. At the start, the path leads steeply up through a dense forest, partially installed with natural steps made from tree trunks. After seven kilometers,we come upon an ideal resting place with fresh water from a spring and a wooden bench in front  of a hut.

 

The climb continues to be steep as  it goes up to kilometer 10, which crosses over the 3000-meter ridge line and the path then becomes flatter. The forest now thins out and the sun burns mercilessly on me. Meanwhile, just a few charred stumps witness the previous brush fires. A completely different vegetation greets me here: colorful flowers, many grasses and dense low bushes.

 

This final third part of the path offers fascinating outlooks on the untypical Costa Rica  high mountain landscape. I’ve now reached 3300 meters. The hut’s just a few hundred meters away. Arriving exhausted, like most of the other mountain climbers, I lay down to sleep quite early.


After awakening, my expectations as to what I would see are met:  the sunrise on the peak is like a dream. Heaven’s colors change in minute intervals: black, dark-blue, light blue, dark red, light red, orange, yellow, white. A dozen smaller lakes lie below me and, across the way, the Cerro Ventisquero towers, just eight meters lower but still classified as the second highest . There I see the Cerro Uran and, on the other side, the Crestones crags soar up. The coastline to the Pacific becomes clearer, the Gulf of Nicoya presents itself and the Osa Peninsula can be easily seen. On the other side, the Caribbean coast blurs in the haze and countless mountain chains line up to the horizon. Costa Rica in 360 degrees – what could be nicer?

 

More photos and practical Information for Chirripó Climbing: Costa Rica Spirits Magazin 3/2009