Ida y Vuelta is an initiative by the NGO Afes Salud Mental where participants create handcrafted items as part of their rehabilitation journey. Throughout this process, which they refer to as their journey, they not only craft exquisite pieces but also experience and share moments that cannot easily be conveyed.
A similar sentiment is echoed by Josefa Hernández. Climbing up and down a mountain transcends a mere pastime and the challenge she sets for herself. It is challenging to articulate the emotions that wash over her upon reaching the summit. In that moment, all the effort expended, the physical agony endured, and the discomfort caused by the biting cold that occasionally numbs her hands and feet converge. “It feels like an overwhelming surge of energy accompanied by the thought, ‘I have made it.’ Tears stream down from the sheer emotion, your skin tingles, and the instinct to embrace those around you is irresistible. In an instant, memories flash through your mind of all the preparation and sacrifices made, alongside thoughts of family and loved ones who are no longer present. It is a crescendo of feelings that bursts forth,” she confides.
‘Fefi’, as her friends affectionately refer to her, asserts that mountains should not merely be ascended but also descended. To her, the downward trek is invariably more formidable “because you approach it with an entirely different mindset, filled with the satisfaction of having reached the peak, which inadvertently allows your body and mind to relax when the opposite is required.” In fact, most tragic accidents in mountaineering occur during descents. She realised that her dedication as a climber and her personal achievements could help highlight the “remarkable” work undertaken by AFES Salud Mental, prompting her to name her venture ‘Mountains of Round Trip’.
This 59-year-old resident, who serves as a technical architect at La Laguna City Council, has proudly hoisted the NGO’s flag on every mountain she has scaled over the last three years to increase visibility and awareness. Soon, she will undertake another expedition to the Himalayas, where she aims to conquer a dual challenge: the 6,091-metre Pisang Peak, followed by the Himlung Himal, a towering 7,126 metres that straddles the border between China and Nepal. She will embark on this journey alongside Antonio, her partner and fellow mountaineer, within an estimated timeframe of 37 days, commencing their adventure on Saturday. Additionally, they have taken on a philanthropic challenge by bringing along 22 kilos of school supplies, collected from family and friends, for a school in Nepal. “Let’s hope it goes well, so that it can be broadened in the future,” she asserts.
This resident of La Perdoma can proudly say she has scaled mountains across all five continents. Her journey began at Teide, a locale that has become her training ground, especially when she has a specific goal in sight. It was here that her passion for the “high mountains” was ignited back in 2005, starting in America, specifically within the Alps Mountain Range.
So far, fortune has favoured her, enabling her to ascend every peak she has set her eyes on, with the exception of one elusive target: Sajama Mountain in Bolivia, standing at 5,700 metres.
This occurred in 2012. Upon reaching the high camp the night before her summit bid, she found herself in her tent, grappling with knee pain from the previous day and an overall sense of unwellness. She contemplated her situation pragmatically; while her heart urged her to climb, her mind cautioned against it, and she ultimately decided not to proceed. “It is crucial to understand your limitations and recognise that your life holds the utmost importance,” she reflects.
Fefi is the sole woman from the Canary Islands who has scaled peaks exceeding seven thousand metres, and if she reaches the summit this time, it would mark her second achievement of this feat, thus making history for female mountaineering in the Archipelago.
