Lindor Montenegro loved mountaineering passionately . At 79, he had climbed all the 10,000-plus-feet snow caped mountains that surround Chile's wine-rich Aconcagua Valley. Although he has climbed several times Colunquen, a majestic 8,000-feet peak overlooking the city of San Felipe, what was different a warm September day was his climbing companion: his 15-year old grandson Felipe.
Driven by the opportunity to experience that special feeling of conquering a mountain that his grandfather often spoke about, Felipe accepted his grandfather challenge to top Colunquen. Six hours into the climbing, the metal cross crowning the mountain's summit was just a few feet away. Clearly effusive, Felipe claimed victory with a loud shout. Lindor turned around, looked at his grandson’s eyes and said: "Don't focus yourself on reaching the top. You can only enjoy your victory when you descend, look back at the mountain, close your eyes and think about what you have just accomplished."
Trying to understand his grandfather's advise, Felipe topped the mountain with refrained emotion. From the summit he could see the valley below and the jagged Andes cordillera. Right in the middle of this mountain range, Felipe made his first visual contact with the 23,000-feet high Mount Aconcagua. As grandson and grandfather began the descent, the teenage boy promised he would climb Aconcagua one day.
"Your effort and your desire to go higher are rewarded with a view that most people cannot even dream about," Lindor said. "That's what mountaineering is all about: A new perspective each time you reach a summit."
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