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Posts for Aconcagua from 02/2012

Aconcagua Expedition: Celebration in Mendoza

Posted by: Billy Nugent | February 17, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua

Great news everybody!

We are back in Mendoza after an arduous 3 days walking off the dreaded beast that is Aconcagua. Sunburned, dehydrated, exhausted, all of the fun stuff about mountain climbing had finally caught up with us and the team was really feeling it by the time we hit the trailhead at Punta de Vacas. But all of that was nothing a cheeseburger couldn’t fix… and after a great lunch with a few beers in Penitentes we shuttled back to Mendoza and checked in to our hotel. Showers and aggressive cleanup are definitely in order before we head out tonight for a celebratory steak dinner! Thanks to everyone who followed along for the duration of the expedition. We had tons of fun and appreciate all the support from back home.

Until next time,

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Aconcagua Expedition:  Summit!

Posted by: Leon Davis, Billy Nugent | February 14, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 22,841'

Well, despite Mother Nature’s best efforts 100% of our team stood on the summit of Aconcagua, South America’s highest point, at approximately 1:00 pm local time. We were accosted by moderate winds and cold temps most of the evening at Camp Colera so we decided to push back our departure to 5:30 a.m. We were hoping to avoid subjecting the team to too much cold. Well, despite our best efforts to mitigate the weather, we were thoroughly brutalized by wind and cold for the entire climb except for the last 2 stretches of the descent. Our climbers all did a terrific job taking care of themselves and preventing cold injuries. They climbed so efficiently that what is normally a 12 hour summit day we accomplished in 10! Maybe it was the short/lack of breaks, maybe they all possess mutant strength…

Regardless, we’re heading for Aconcagua Basecamp tomorrow!

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Aconcagua Expedition: Team Moves to High Camp

Posted by: Billy Nugent | February 13, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 19,600'

Greetings from the beautiful (albeit a little smelly) Plaza Colera, our high camp at 19,600’! We endured a very cold night last night at Camp 2 but awoke to clear skies yet again so we got ourselves in gear and broke camp. Three relatively pleasant stretches later the team arrived at Colera and quickly set up shop. Right now everybody’s chilling in their tents, resting up. Hopefully, we won’t be here more than a couple of nights as we intend to set out very early tomorrow morning for the summit! Much love to our friends and family following along back home…

RMI Guides Billy Nugent, Leon Davis and Team

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Aconcagua Expedition:  Rest Day At Camp 2

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Leon Davis | February 12, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'

Hello from Aconcagua,

We are sitting here at Camp 2 with intermittent snow falling. Another scheduled rest day but luckily this one coincides with our first lousy patch of weather. We ate cheerios with craisins for breakfast! Exciting, I know… Maybe tomorrow we’ll have some news that’s a bit more breathtaking, like “we just moved to high camp 2,” or something like that.

That’s about it,

RMI Guides Billy, Leon, and the gang.

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Aconcagua Expedition:  Team Moves to Camp 2

Posted by: Billy Nugent | February 11, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'

Hola amigos de Guanacos Camp (Camp 2)! We awoke to perfectly clear, blue skies so we took advantage by breaking down camp early and ascending up to Camp 2 where we are currently well established. However, this morning’s blue skies have given way to some clouds and flurries. Seems like we’ve timed tomorrow’s rest day perfectly with some crappy weather. Right now there’s an ominous lenticular cloud engulfing the summit but the team remains optimistic because there should be a break in the weather beginning Monday evening. We are all feeling great and climbing exceptionally well. Tonight is also Michael’s birthday and we intend to do our best to celebrate it at well over 18,000’.

Ciao,

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Aconcagua Expedition: Rest Day at Camp 1

Posted by: Billy Nugent | February 10, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'

Not much to report from Camp 1, which is to be expected on a rest day. The good weather continues to hold and the team seems rested and eager for tomorrow’s move up to Camp 2. We’ve been passing the time catching rays (Mark—shirtless!), jamming our iPods, and of course good old fashioned reading. A full day in the tent can inspire some serious restlessness, which we hope will propel us upward tomorrow.

Signing off,

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Aconcagua Expedition: Carry to Camp 2

Posted by: Billy Nugent | February 09, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'

Another day of near perfect weather! So, we took advantage by bringing another load of supplies further up the mountain to our Camp 2 or Chopper Camp. There used to pieces of a wrecked helicopter strewn about camp but today’s visit confirmed the fact that most of the wreckage has been removed. All of the guys on the team performed extremely well on our first mission above 18,000’.  Upon returning to camp it seems that several teams moved up today so there’s lots of room in Camp 1. Right now we’re laying around after the day’s work contemplating our next move…

All for now,

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Aconcagua Expedition: The Team Moves to Camp 1

Posted by: Billy Nugent | February 08, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'

Today we made our first big move up the mountain as we left basecamp and have settled in atAconagua’s Camp 1. Despite a couple hiccups (negotiating with some Russians over tent platforms, some minor blisters, and acquainting ourselves with the bio-bag human waste system) today’s move was the smoothest I’ve seen. The guys are all in great spirits after having a great meal and a hot drink before crawling in for the night. We hope to take advantage of more good weather forecasted for tomorrow by pushing another carry up to our Camp 2, also know as Chopper Camp.

We’ll check in again tomorrow evening,

RMI Guides Billy Nugent & Leon Davis

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Aconcagua Expedition: Rest Day at Base Camp

Posted by: Billy Nugent | February 07, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'

Not a lot to report on our last rest day at Base Camp. The crew has been keeping busy reading, jamming tunes, tanning, etc. RMI Guide Leon Davis lead the guys through a knot and anchor session that everyone found interesting. Other than that we’ve just been chilling, trying not to be anxious about the big day tomorrow on our move to Camp 1. We’ll check in from over 16k tomorrow!

All for now,

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

P.S. William would also like to wish his son John a very happy birthday! He wishes he could be there to share it with you.

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Aconcagua Expedition: Carry to Camp 1

Posted by: Billy Nugent | February 06, 2012
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'

Today’s plans called for our first foray onto the mountain above basecamp. After a quick breakfast the crew got busy organizing loads of both personal and group gear, food for nearly 12 days, and a couple of gallons of fuel. We then set out for Camp 1 climbing along a lateral moraine, crossing a glacial remnant, and finally ascending a long scree slope (brutally loose) into the camp at over 16,000’.  We put a cache together, took a nap in the sun, and then cruised back down to Plaza Argentina. All in all, we spent a little less than 7 hours in the field and the team performed exceptionally well. The guys were really excited to finally get down to the nitty gritty of climbing this thing.

Tired but happy in Plaza Argentina,

RMI Guides Billy Nugent, Leon Davis, and the gang.

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