Cristian Gorbea, the runner who survived 42 hours lost in the mountains of Argentina

It was 2010 and at the age of 50, Cristian Gorbea participated in the Half Mision ultramarathon: an 80-kilometer race through the rugged mountains of Córdoba, Argentina. An error along the way caused the runner to end up hanging from a 100-meter cliff. Here his story.

Of the 350 participants, he was the only one who did not cross the finish line. That September 11 will be remembered by Gorbea for all his life. That night, in the absence of 20 kilometers Upon arrival, at 2,000 meters above sea level, in the middle of the Champaquí hill, he took the wrong path and ended up hanging from a 100-meter precipice.

“My friend […] He told me about this race […], I had never run it. We came with training, but never this distance”Gorbea told the newspaper La Nación. The former manager of human resources at Banco Hipotecario thus began the adventure of participating in one of the toughest careers of its kind.

The longest night of your life

Gorbea started the race at noon with the idea of, after climbing several slopes, arrive at the summit of Cerro Champaquí at 9:00 pm However, after starting with a bright sun and a warm climate, he never thought that at that time the worst night of his life would begin, including a plummeting temperature drop.

“Luckily, it was the only serious accident I had and I hope it never happens again”recalls Gorbea, who was ranked 33 just at the time when he took the wrong way and got lost. Little did he care about the partial location he had after getting lost and being alone in the middle of nowhere.

“I did not want to be there, I immediately regretted it, my mind was blocked until I began to accept the situation. I bundled up with the survival blanket and I spent the longest night of my life “, He told about his experience of being lost for 42 hours in the middle of the night in the Sierra de Córdoba.

Location and rescue

Gorbea did not see any checkpoint to assist him. As if that were not enough, after making a mistake in taking the road, slipped and fell off a 25-meter cliff unable to ask for help or move.

“In those two days [perdido] everything went through my mind. You think that you are going to leave and vice versa, you try to conserve as much energy as possibleHope is falling because you are losing it with the passing of the hours, but you will cling to the chance that someone passes by and listens to you “He told La Nación.

After being lost for about 42 hours, the dog of a local named Felipe located him thanks to his cries for help and whistle. Gorbea had some minor leg injuries and he survived thanks to a canteen, chocolates and fruits from his backpack. Within hours he was rescued with the help of a rope.