Trident Nov 16 2009 - Tridentnews.ca

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TRIDENT, NOVEMBER 16, 2009
To the heights of a mountain in Bolivia
By Virginia Beaton
Trident staff
One of the plans 2Lt Benoit Godin made
when he graduated from Royal Military
College in the spring of 2009, was to go
mountain climbing in the Andes.
With his classmates, 2Lt Eve Boyce and
2Lt Samantha Laplante, 2Lt Godin went to
Bolivia during the last two weeks of August.
“We planned it together,” stated 2Lt Godin.
“Our dream was to climb two mountains
while we were there.”
They flew into La Paz, the country’s capital
city, which is 12,000 feet above sea level.
“We stayed there for a while to acclimatize.”
Then they were off to climb Huayna Potosi,
which is approximately 19,900 feet high.
“It was a really great trip,” stated 2Lt
Godin, adding that the scenery and the views
from the mountain were beautiful. Though he
described it as “not a tough technical climb,”
he and his companions wore crampons on
their footwear and were roped together.
“During that time, we were the only group on
the mountain who weren’t being guided.”
The climb took place in several stages,
with base camp at 15,000 feet.
During the days, the temperature would
rise to 25 or 30°C in the sunshine, according
to 2Lt Godin. The day they climbed to
The three Canadian officers were the only group on Huayna Pelosi that wasn’t being guided.
Huayana Potosi’s summit, the three officers
started very early in the morning and
after summiting, they descended with their
next goal being to climb Illimani, which at
21,200 feet high is the second highest peak
in Bolivia.
But regrettably, the trio could not complete
their route up Illimani. “Altitude sickness is
a big concern,” according to 2Lt Godin. 2Lt
Laplante had trouble with altitude sickness
and 2Lt Boyce has frostbitten toes, which was
a concern “because she’d had frostbite
already, two years earlier.” Faced with these
potential difficulties, they ended that climb
before completing it.
2Lt Godin said he plans to return and hopefully
climb Illimani again, this time to the
summit. “I’d like to go again soon but it
depends on my training and whether I can
get leave.”
An aspiring pilot with a degree in aeronautical
engineering, 2Lt Godin works hard on
his fitness with a routine that includes running
and cross fit training.
He started climbing several years ago,
while he was doing on the job training
at Comox.
A casual meeting with a SAR tech named
Cpl Mike Nielson got 2Lt Godin interested in
climbing. “We started talking and he asked me
if I climbed and I said yes. It’s been in the gym
climbing a few times but the next thing I knew,
we went on a few weekend trips and he’s been
my mentor ever since. He’s very knowledgeable
and very well informed about everything
to do with climbing.” 2Lt Godin currently
works at 12 Wing HQ in A3 Plans and Tasks.
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