#BIMONTHLY PROGRAM
#COUNCIL NOTES
#CLIMBER BEWARE
#An Expedition's
Experience with the Shining Path
On Monday, November 13, at 7 p.m. the next High Altitude Mountaineering
Section bimonthly meeting will present an exciting slide show by Roger Fuehrer,
leader of the recent CMC expedition to the mountain range immediately west of
Mount Everest in Nepal. All participants were CMC members. Several peaks were
climbed including Kanchung, a difficult ice climb just west of Everest. Roger
will also talk about the numerous changes and increasing difficulties facing
the Nepalese and trekkers going to Nepal. Don't miss this opportunity to learn
about organizing and leading trips to the Himalayas!
At its October meeting, the Denver Group Council took two actions affecting
the High Altitude Section. The Council approved the proposal for a High
Altitude Mountaineering School. This is tentatively scheduled for fall 1990,
with registration occurring next summer. Naturally, everyone is quite excited
about this. If you think you may be interested in being an instructor (and have
the necessary credentials!!), contact Terry Root. The Council also approved
creation of a restricted fund for the Section. This means that dues money
earned by the Section will stay with the Section at the end of the CMC fiscal
year (October 31) instead of reverting to the Denver Group general fund.
Deadline for receipt of material for the January issue will be December 10, 1989.
Containing some of the world's most strikingly beautiful peaks, Peru offers the mountaineer exacting challenges replete with fluted ridges, imposing icy faces and some of the highest summits in the western hemisphere. Now, with enormous foreign debt, hyperinflation running rampant, and foreign volunteers leaving in droves, Peru offers the alpinist another and perhaps more perilous challenge as well--the prospect of being accosted by the Maoist guerrilla insurgency--the Shining Path.
Foreign climbing expeditions are being increasingly threatened by attacks from the rebels who have declared all foreigners targets of the "third phase" of their insurgency. Acts of violence including abduction, robbery of equipment, food and medical supplies, and execution-style murders are becoming more and more commonplace.
The Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) is a 5,000-strong Maoist revolutionary group utilizing terrorist methods to overthrow the democratic government of President Alan Garcia. Since 1980, when the Shining Path began its insurgency campaign, over 15,000 people have been killed as a result of political violence. This translates to the tragic figure of six Peruvian's dying daily due to terrorist activities--a majority of them peas- ants caught in the cross fire. Since the early 80's, when the guerrillas fanned out from their original positions in the Ayacucho Department, they have constantly increased their control over the rural Peruvian countryside demonstrating a propensity for brutality that has "inspired comparisons with Cambodia's Pol Pot."
Today, the Shining Path controls at least one-third of the Peruvian countryside and intends to eventually take Lima (the capitol) by encircling it and cutting it off from the rest of the country. The soldiers and police of President Garcia rarely venture into the most heavily fortified guerrilla positions. So complete is rebel control in some rural areas, that hundreds of police officers and mayors have vacated their posts after receiving death threats from the rebels. And, although Shining Path leaders boast that total control of the country is imminent, the prevailing attitude is that the Shining Path seems at least several years away from seriously threatening to seize power. Nevertheless, its guerrilla's continue to advance steadily.
The Shining Path is not the only group for the climber to be concerned about. Before the Shining Path began to emerge, Colombian drug lords had already transformed large areas of Peru's rich coca-growing regions into vast areas of lawlessness and rampant killing. Thousands of drug traffickers who had proceeded the guerrillas are now forced to live in an uneasy alliance forged with the terrorists.
Nowadays, the Shining Path condones the coca-growing campesinos and excises taxes on shipments of coca paste. Near Huancayo, the capital of Junin, the Shining Path is battling for control with the Cuban-influenced M.R.T.A. rebels. This translates into the fact that traveling and climbing in certain areas of the Peruvian Andes can be extremely risky.
Embracing a" fanatical brand of Maoism, the leader of the Shining Path, a shadowy former professor named Abimael Guzman, indoctrinates new rebels (mostly males under 21) with political instruction. The Shining Path is striving to create a People's Republic of the New Democracy that would neither be allied with Washington or Moscow but would emerge as the "guiding beacon for other Maoists revolutions." In uniting the country, the Shining Path would completely eliminate the middle class and forbid the use of native language: Quechua-- allowing instead only Spanish to be spoken.
In spite of the real and constant insurgency threat, the deteriorating economy is the major concern of most Peruvians. With an inflation rate that topped 1,720 percent last year and is skyrocketing to an estimated 10,000 percent by the end of the year; an $18 billion foreign debt; and buying power dropping 50 percent, it indeed seems Peru is stumbling toward anarchy. Although there have been persistent rumors that the military may mount a coup, there has been hesitancy to end nine years of democratic rule.
By far, a majority of Peru's populace desires the government to initiate a national front against the Shining Path but very few have confidence that the government can eradicate the guerrillas before the economy completely collapses.
According to several climbing guides who've made trips to Peru this past summer, the media has had a tendency to make climbing in Peru seem more dangerous than it really is. For the most part, teams are on high, remote peaks at great altitude where guerrillas are seldom bothersome. Recently, I spoke with Javier Quiroga, a guide based in Lima. He noted that "The area around Cuzco including the Cordillera Villica- bamba, Urahamba and Villiconota are generally regarded as safe as well as any climbing in the southern part of the country." "However, the Cordillera Blanca and Huayhuash has seen a lot a police and guerrilla activity especially around Huascaran and I would not advise climbing in this region at this time." Indeed, in contacting several American-based guides it has been noted that several expeditions pulled out of the Cordillera Blanca and moved south to the relatively safe Cordillera Villaconata because of guerrilla activity.
The following is one expedition's experience with the Shining Path that contains several suggestions on not only having a safe climb, but a safe encounter with guerrillas if that should happen to transpire. Here's hoping that your path and the Shining Path never the twain shall meet.
An exploding grenade is not my idea of a wake-up call. It's also something you don't quite expect on a mountaineering' expedition in the Peruvian Andes. When I heard the blast about 5 a.m., July 29, 1988, I first thought a propane stove from one of several mountain climbing expeditions camped nearby had blown up.
Getting out of my tent, I could see in the moonlight, that Javier, a Peruvian climber who had joined our Canadian Expedition, was already up investigating the noise. I could also see a number of people, none of whom I recognized, standing around him. As I approached Javier called out to me in English, "Sendero Luminoso. They are the Shining Path...Guerrillas!"
Getting close to the group, I could see that six were armed with rifles and
pistols. Javier explained that the Shining Path guerrillas were after two
policemen who had come to this area with a group of guides. They were going to
ascend the mountain to recover a dead climber's body. The tossed grenade was a
lure for the policemen, as the guerrillas hoped they would be the first to
emerge from the tents.
The guerrillas began rounding up our Peruvian staff
and members of the body recovery team, forcing us to place our hands above our
heads. Slowly, a few of our team emerged from their tents. Their leader told us
to sit in a semi-circle then began walking up to each individual asking them if
they were a policeman.
When he came to one man, whom I did not recognize, the guerrilla got his answer. Using a pistol hidden beneath his poncho, the man fire point-blank at the guerrilla's crotch. The now revealed policeman then jumped up and turned running out of camp, at the same time firing behind towards the other guerrillas. Another police officer jumped up form our group in the semi-circle and ran into a tent. Emerging with his pistol he ran across the camp firing wildly towards the guerrillas, who began return gunfire in the moonlight. Caught in the middle, myself and the other climbers, and guides threw ourselves to the ground After about 15 shots, the policeman fled into the darkness. I picked myself up form the ground to .see the two guerrillas lay face down wounded. Their leader told me to place all members in one large tent. He then pointed to the wounded and ordered, "you help fix my men!"
I didn't need another invitation. With the lanterns on in the kitchen tent where we took the wounded men, I could see the guerrillas were armed with .303 Lee Earleld rifles. The guns were antiques compared to today's infantry weapons but nonetheless deadly. By Shaun Parent One of the Shining Path had what appeared to be a .38 caliber revolver and a walkie talkie. In the light I could see that one of our uninvited guests was a girl about 15.
With the aid of a guide I began to work on the wounded guerrillas. One man had been shot twice in the legs and in the stomach. The bullet had exited his back, near the kidney and it was obvious that he was in pretty bad shape. Another guerrilla had been shot through his knee, and upper leg and had been grazed in the chest and shoulder. The leader, who was shot at point-blank range by the policeman, dropped his pants to reveal the bullet had hit his testicles, passed within millimeters of his fernoral artery and exited his right buttock.
He stood in the tent applying first aid to himself without flinching or saying a word. Another three of the Shining Path guarded both tents and demanded two horses and one guide. After explaining rather quickly-that I needed help from one of our members, my guards, armed with rifles, followed me to the tent where our team was. Another team member and myself splinted the guerrilla's leg and applied a number of pressure dressings to try and stop the bleeding. Our expedition member then returned to the other tent, being followed by the guards.
In broken Spanish I told the leader that the guerrilla with the stomach wound would likely die if moved. But he said his group was going to try to get back to their allies in the insurgent-controlled Red Zone located on the east side of the Huayhuash Mountains. If they survived the 2-day ride they could get medical attention in the nearest village.
I did not know what they were going to do next and thought that maybe they would execute our Peruvian staff. I gave the guerrillas cigarettes and chocolate bars. Also included in our "gifts" were two timepieces collected from expedition members. The gesture was enough to ease the tension and the guerrillas thanked me profusely for the unsolicited gifts. As we discussed the two injured guerrillas' condition with the leader, in the background we would hear them vomiting and moaning which was a sure sign of their grave condition.
Out of curiosity, I asked the young girl what was in a pack-sack she guarded so closely. She smiled and opened it to reveal about 20 U.S.-style pineapple grenades. So much for the questions, I was beginning to be thankful we had made the offering of chocolate bars and watches.
About 7:00 a.m., the horse arrived but the guerrillas still demanded a guide. They wanted to take our cook Jorge, but Javier and I managed to persuade them that riding alone would be faster. Before leaving the guerrillas took all the Peruvians aside and warned them that if they ever saw them again with "Gringo-capitalists," they would execute them. In a frightening prediction the guerrillas' leader said that the Shining Path would win the war in the next year. With this they departed quickly towards the mountain pass.
Ten hours after the Guerrillas had left, a group of eight policemen armed with automatic weapons, rode into our camp. They were clad in an assortment of camouflage uniforms and black combat fatigues. Some work balaclavas and flak jackets. They began investigating the incident and said that tomorrow morning another ten police would arrive to search out the terrorists.
Early the next morning the others arrived and several then disappeared, searching for the guerrillas. Several hours later they returned with a body, covered by a poncho and draped over a horse. A policeman approached me, throwing a snow stake at my feet. He then motioned for me to follow him to where police were staring at the body. Instantly I knew the this was the guerrilla with the leg and chest wound. The police showed me the guerrillas identification. This part-time guerrilla was also a biology professor at the state university at Lima.
I asked the police if he had been found dead on the trail. My question was answered when one of the officers drew his pistol and put it to his own head making the remark, "Bang," This officer confessed to shooting execution-style the wounded guerrilla who had been abandoned by his comrades before they limped over the mountain pass.
Later that day as we departed basecamp with about 30 donkeys, the policemen were ordering several other expeditions out of this area. The reason, the possibility of a major guerrilla force passing through this area. Most of the team returned immediately to Canada. I stayed for another two weeks to continue climbing in a safer section of Peru. A week later in the gringo hangout called Tasco in Juarez I met a British group who had been hiking on the side of Huayhuash. On August 1, they had been held at gunpoint and robbed of food, money and medical supplies by four guerrillas. They reported, "One guy, the leader, had a strange limp, and the girl was wearing a western-style watch, while smoking Marlboroughs!"
Canadian government officials later told us they were surprised none of our party had been executed. Listening to that I could only think of the British group, and about what a difference a few cheap watches and cigarettes can make!