Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/293070
32 | Overdrive | April 2014 Twin challenges za they were supposed to be on. They missed the departure by minutes as they tried to work out details for the trip into Argentina. Using what little Spanish the two of them knew, they "talked to this guy who runs the bus station, who then finds a way to call Mendoza and have them hold our bags." After a seven-hour bus ride, they caught up with their bags. Hopkins and friend joined a Greek climber and another from India. Hop- kins calls the climb up to Aconcagua "a long slog – like hiking through a desert '40 days and 40 nights,' " he says, "a lot of nights sitting in the tent, eating really bad food … totally draining." Mountaineers who live at lower ele- vations commonly spend time at higher elevations before a high-altitude ascent in order to allow their bodies to adjust to the reduced oxygen levels. Hopkins' party didn't have that time to spare. With winter approaching, they were on a tight schedule to get to the top and back. After 12 days of hiking, Hopkins and his party were within 2,800 vertical feet of the summit, at 20,000 feet. "Think of it as 12 days to walk five miles," he says. "You're going up, and your body's not wanting to go up be- cause you can't breathe. Living at 5,000 feet as I do now [in Montana], I didn't feel the altitude change until 17,000 feet – for a lot of people, at 14 to 16,000 it starts to hit home, and for those not really used to the climbing, 10,000 can shake them up really bad." He was getting cold in odd places – his arms, his head. "And while my body was slowly getting used to it," it wasn't hap- pening fast enough. "I thought I might get up there [to the summit], but I might be dead." Hopkins and another climber turned back. His traveling companion from the States, however, went on to summit and rejoin the party later. "I would have 'summit-ed' with better food and better sleep and maybe one more day of acclimatizing," Hop- kins says. People who live and work around Aconcagua "don't talk about how many people have died on the mountain. From what we can tell, it's claimed five to seven lives in the last few months. It takes you by surprise because it seems easier than it really is." Hopkins hopes to continue mountain- eering – likewise his advocacy efforts for TAT and/or other organizations. He's pondering a climb of North America's highest peak – Denali in Alaska. "I want to keep trucking and climbing for a cause," he says. Denali (also known as Mt. McKinley), at 20,322 feet, might be right within Hopkins' sweet spot, considering the altitude he reached on Aconcagua. On the fund-raising/promotional side, "I hope to do this again and go bigger," he says. "I hope TAT flies. I told them 'Hustle me out, use me however you want to.' If it helps get people to pay attention, that's what I want." –Tara Bullock contributed to this report. Passion for the extreme Matt Hopkins wasn't always a bull hauler, mountaineer or ice climber. He grew up in part on a farm and has tried to live life with a side of adrenaline. As a kid, "BMX bikes turned into motocross, skateboarding turned into snowboarding." Working with horses led him to the rodeo. "I started out with bareback horses and switched to bulls." After he snapped his femur riding one in 2008 at a Florida rodeo, "as I was recuperating, it got to the point where I couldn't bring myself to find the money to really compete and come out safe on a horse, or go the cheaper route and ride bulls and get hurt." Since he was living in Montana, "I thought maybe I'd try sport climbing and track climbing and the whole works. One thing led to another, and being in the mountains helped." He commonly competes in the annual Bozeman Ice Fest as an ice climber, among other events. Trucking livestock-style came naturally out of a life spent around farm animals. Hopkins has his own authority, hauling as Hayhook Livestock out of Dillon, Mont. In the niche, he finds camaraderie with shippers and receivers "with big dreams and big minds" – many of them young men close to his own age, 27, who "push me to do more." Matt Hopkins hauls in a 1999 Peterbilt 379 powered by a Caterpillar 3406E rated at 600 hp and a 15-speed Eaton transmission, but he takes more pride in his trailer. The 53-foot Wilson 406 livestock trailer is a 2004 model on spread tandems. "They call it the 'hog combo' – I can put sheep or pigs on it, and all the gates work like I want them to, just how I like it. … I spend as much time with the animals as I do with the truck." Courtesy of Matt Hopkins Matt Hopkins at Camp 2 up the mountain from Acon- cagua Base Camp on the morning of Feb. 10. Camp 2 is at 17,000 feet elevation. For more scenes from the climb, search "Aconcagua" at OverdriveOnline.com. TAT_CoverStory_0414.indd 32 4/1/14 8:17 AM