Aconcagua Climb Dispatches

Summit Day!

Billy Nugent, Lead Guide, January 17 - February 7, 2009

February 2, 2009:
Well gang,
Here we are chilling in beautiful Mendoza! Obviously, after a long, dusty, and somewhat brutal walk out from Plaza Argentina through the Vacas Valley. On our final night in the backcountry we rolled in to Pampa de Lenas where our mule drivers had prepared a delicious asada to greet us. We dined on juicy steaks, chicken, salad, and of course plenty of wine around an open fire that had been used to prepare the food. These guys know how to live! Eat, drink, be merry, and then go to sleep under the stars high in the Andes. Needless to say, our crew was a bit of a sorry sight in the morning. By the time we rubbed the sleep out of our eyes and ate some quick breakfast it was 9 or so in the morning. Oops. We still had about 4 hours of walking until we hit the road. But we cruised on and ended up timing our arrival perfectly with the arrival of our baggage with the mules. After a couple hours of working with and cleaning up the group gear we hit the road to Mendoza. What were we looking forward to? The Super Bowl! After a shower and a quick nap we all went out to the pub and watched the Super Bowl over dinner and a few beers. Tonight's the night of our real celebration. We all plan to cap off our day of sitting poolside with a celebratory dinner at Francis Mallman 1884. This is truly one of the world's finest restaurants, and it shouldn't be too out of hand because of the wonderfull exchange rate!
Thanks to everyone who has been following along and supporting the members of our team from home. We miss you all and will see you soon!
Billy, Jake, and the team.

January 31, 2009:
Hey gang this is Billy calling from Basecamp. We rolled in yesterday evening. Everyone is really tired and a little banged up. Just letting you know that we are all good. We are walking out to Papa de Lenas today. And hopefully we will check in with a dispatch later this evening or tomorrow when we hit the road.
See you soon.

January 29, 2009 SUMMIT DAY!:
Hello!
The group is safely back at Camp 3 (high camp) after a successful summit attempt today. The weather was clear and overall they had a good, albeit long, day. They will spend tonight at Camp 3 and start their descent to Basecamp tomorrow after a good night's rest.
The team

January 28, 2009:
Hello all!
We made the move today to Camp 3 and everyone is doing well. We have adjusted our schedule due to some weather that is expected to move in this weekend and are going to take advantage of these clear days. Our plan is to make the summit attempt tonight. Send us your good thoughts! We will check in tomorrow when we are back at camp.
Billy and Jake.

January 27, 2009:
Well,
Here we are, situated nicely at Camp 2 (19,200 ft) after a long move from Camp 1. Tomorrow will be another rest day that should allow our bodies to make some final adjustments before we take a crack at the summit. The team is in good spirits and is looking forward for our chance to stand on top!
Should be soon!
Billy and Jake.

January 26, 2009:
Howdy all,
Saying hello from our final day at Camp 1. Currently we're resting up for a big push up to Camp 2 tomorrow. The team is acclimatizing well and getting stronger by the day. We're really starting to feel like we're getting up there. Wish us luck as we push higher and begin staging for our summit bid later this week!
Billy and Jake.

January 24, 2009:
Hello everybody!
Billy and Jake here with a dispatch from lovely Camp 1 on Aconcagua. Last night we were visited in camp by both a hawk and a fox; hopefully these are good omens for the rest of our climb. We spent most of today lounging around camp enjoying the sunshine. Tomorrow's plans call for a carry up to Camp 2 up above 19,000'! Should be a tough day but we expect everyone to do well. Thanks to all the friends and family who've been following along.
Billy, Jake, and the crew.

January 22, 2009:
Hello!
Our group is back at Basecamp after a carry to Camp 1 today where we cached some gear. We enjoyed a rest day yesterday after arriving at Basecamp (13,800'). Everyone is doing well and using this time to acclimate, rest and prepare for our move to Camp 1 (16,200') tomorrow. We will check in again soon.
Billy, Jake and the team

January 20, 2009:
Hey gang!
Billy and Jake here checking in from the beautiful but dusty Aconcagua basecamp. Our crew rolled in today; climbing strong and feeling great. On our way up today we bumped into the other descending RMI crew and it was good to see some familiar (if not famous) faces. Our walk in from the road has been a long and hot one but the team is in great spirits nonetheless. Tomorrow's plans call for a well deserved rest day.
Everyone on the team would like to send their love to friends and family!
Peace,
Billy and Jake

January 18, 2009:
Hey, just dropping a line really quickly.
We have been running around like crazy here in Los Penitentes getting all of our things ready for the big trip ahead. Needless to say it was a bit of a late night last night but we seem to be caught up with everything. The effects of the airline delays and the late arrival of our baggage have put us behind schedule but I think we are about to leave the hustle and bustle behind. We plan on finishing up the last of the packing this morning and hitting the trail for the mountain sometime around noon today. Everybody in the group is really excited about the journey ahead, if not a bit anxious. We will check in via sat phone sometime tonight from our first camp on the approach, Pampa de Lenas.
Wish us luck
Billy, Jake, and the team.

January 17, 2009:
Howdy all!
Billy and Jake here checking in on the team's first night in Argentina together. Most of the crew is a little travel weary but full of enthusiasm about the upcoming adventure. After a general team meeting and a round of introductions we spent most of the afternoon with a thorough gear check. Later this evening the team dined at a new parilla in town, enjoying delicious salads, Argentine beef, and vino tinto. The weather here in Mendoza is beautiful: clear, sunny, and warm during the day and cool at night. Perfect for growing grapes, or just living! I am pretty sure none of us are missing the North American winter. Anyways, we're resting up from those several days of traveling and gearing up for a super busy day tomorrow. Lots of loose ends to tie together before we split town for the mountains and Los Penitentes!
Have a good night, and we'll check back in tomorrow!
Billy, Jake, and crew

---

Peter Whittaker, Lead Guide, January 4 - 25, 2009

Click here for more photos

RMI Guides at Camp 1

Day 13, Casa de Piedra, January 20, 2009:
Peter Whittaker reporting.
After our celebration dinner and a good night’s sleep, we were ready to hit the trail early this morning. We had such a great day yesterday and our energy was still super upbeat today. We made good time getting into Casa de Piedra despite a few sore legs!
The high desert surrounding Aconcagua felt great after the bitter cold on summit day, but more than anything, we are just excited to have had such a great trip.
Our plan is to head into Los Penitentes tomorrow and then onto Mendoza and then onto home! For all who have taken this journey with us, thanks for your support. I promise we can look forward to seeing some of these guides on our Everest expedition coming up soon!
Hasta luego,
Peter

Day 12, SUMMIT DAY, January 19, 2009:
Dave Hahn reporting.
Last night at high camp, it just didn't seem like we would get a chance to make the top of Aconcagua... it was snowing and socked in when I sent yesterday's dispatch. But then, just before darkness came on, the snow stopped and the clouds dropped. During the night there were occasional waves of intense wind that could be heard coming from miles away, but these were short bursts and sure enough, at 4 AM the stars were out and the wind was gone. Our stoves were cooking by 4:15 and we were walking out of camp by headlamp at around 5:15 AM, bound for the summit.
We had crampons on all the way and were lucky to be on snow for about 95% of our journey. Peter mentioned that he'd done the same climb without once touching snow, just loose rock, so we were happy with the conditions. It wasn't terribly cold and once we found sunshine things were quite pleasant. We lost that sunshine when we began the long, long traverse to the base of the Canaleta. There were perhaps a hundred other climbers going for the top today, but we ended up nearly in the lead by half-way up the steep and direct Canaleta. This broad gulley is about 800 vertical feet... easy at sea level, I'm sure, but beginning at 22,000 ft makes it somewhat challenging. We were challenged, but all did well, the extra nights at high camp had worked in our favor for acclimatization.
We popped out on the summit at noon and enjoyed a sunny and wonderful hour up there. We were victorious and thrilled with the new views... but several of us cried like babies as we remembered our friend Fede and his tragic passing on the summit of Aconcagua all too recently. We left the top at 1 PM and walked quickly into a snowstorm. Not a vicious snowstorm, there was little wind, but a socked-in, steady snowfall. It only took us two hours to make it back to high camp and so we knocked the tents down and set out walking for basecamp. We were anxious to get down and rejoin the rest of our team who'd descended yesterday.
In Basecamp by about 6:30, we had a fine reunion dinner and made plans for our walk down-valley begining tomorrow.
An improbable summit became a treasured moment with great friends close to 23,000 ft above sea level. All are safe, all are down the hard part of the mountain.
Dave

Day 11, High Camp, 19,200 ft, January 18, 2009:
Dave Hahn reporting.
Not too many of us got good sleep last night. Waves of wind rolled through, driving snow and rattling nerves. The alarm clocks went off at 4:30 AM but the wind hadn't let up by that point. It did eventually calm down with daybreak... just a little too late for us to go for Aconcagua's summit. We all crawled out for breakfast and to dry out and stare at the storm's leavings. There was still some sign of wind up high, but all-in-all, we enjoyed a calm morning. The decision was made for part of the team to descend and wait things out at Basecamp while the rest of us tried for one more lucky day. All were sorry to see Melissa, Gerry, Rachel and Kelly walk out under big packs a little after mid-day. The clouds were already building by then for the next storm and sure enough, by mid-afternoon it was snowing and we were resting quietly in our tents... waiting patiently for another chance. Dinner was in steadily falling snow, but at least there wasn't a puff of wind to mess with the team's enjoyment of their mac-and-cheese-supreme. We'll hope that the snow quits and that the stars come out at some point tonight... we turn in ready to jump all over a summit bid tomorrow.
Stay tuned.
Dave

Day 10, High Camp - 19,200 ft, January 17, 2009:
Dave Hahn reporting.
Up at 2:30 AM this morning to start the stoves and go for a climb. It had been a still and calm night until around midnight when a wind began, but it wasn't a very strong wind and we considered ourselves quite lucky as we set out around 4 AM under starry and clear skies. The team wore crampons from the outset as our "trail" was packed snow on a long traverse to a camp called "Black Rock" on the normal Aconcagua route. We have been climbing the "False Polish" route and this is where it joins the Routa Normal. Everybody was climbing well, the production teams got their sunrise shots (sunrise on the rest of the planet, we were in shadow) and we were making good progress. It seemed just a matter of time until the whole team stood on the summit, but as we reached 21,400 ft we saw the first signs of wind-driven clouds ripping from the summit ridge and the odd sheet of low cloud scudding over the summits far below us. We began the traverse to the Canaleta, the key gulley giving access to the summit ridge, but we were turned back by wind and cold. Peter made the decision to wait for sun in a sheltered spot at around 21,300 ft where the team could recharge and get ready for either a brutal push up into the wind or a quick descent should conditions deteriorate. Conditions worsened before our eyes as a cloud cap built and lowered on the mountain. The smart and easy call to head for high camp was made and we were easily in camp again by 9:15 AM. The snow started at around 10:30 AM and we climbed into our tents to rest and relax. Our hope, of course, is that today's foray, a record breaker in altitude terms for some of the team, will turn into the perfect rehearsal for our successful summit bid... maybe tomorrow. For now, we are safe and sound and warm... the winds seem to be calming and although it is still snowing, there is plenty of reason for optimism.
-Dave

Day 9, High Camp - 19,200 ft, January 16, 2009:
Dave Hahn reporting.
After that slight worry that the weather was going to fall apart on us yesterday, we experienced our calmest and warmest night of the trip so far. Followed by a perfect and cloudless morning at Camp One while we knocked the tents down and loaded up for the move to high camp. The route is now familiar and we chugged along with very few other climbers in our vicinity. First to the pass between Aconcagua and its neighbor, Ameghino, and then up a broad shoulder until we traversed slightly to the North and made our way into high camp in virtually windless conditions. We got our tents up, tried to drink a bunch of water and did some easy review of the climbing techniques we'll rely on for our ascent tomorrow. We sat out in the strong sun for dinner with the Aconcagua veterans on the team explaining that they'd rarely experienced such perfect summer weather so high on the hill. The views are tremendous from this camp, and the remaining slopes of Aconcagua are formidable- towering steeply above us, but the team did great moving up today and everybody seems primed for an alpine start and a chance at the summit tomorrow.
Fingers Crossed, Dave

Day 8, Camp One - 16,600 ft, January 15, 2009:
Dave Hahn reporting.
The sun hit our tents just after 7 AM and we got out fast for our carry to high camp. There was a distinct change in the weather as we saw a wind sculpted cloud cap hovering above the mountain's summit for much of the day. We were walking by 8:30 AM in any case, fully prepared for big winds to begin... but they never really did. It was novel to have the trail to ourselves as most other groups seemed to be on a slightly later schedule. As usual, our production teams were leapfrogging and ambushing all the way, but we made fine time anyway. The goal was to carry gear and food to our intended high camp, but also to get in a day of exercise at altitude... mission accomplished. Along the way, we enjoyed views of a few other Andean giants and some new valleys below. The sky grew progressively more cloudy, but we retained our great views of Aconcagua's formidable summit pyramid. We'd reached 19,200 ft by mid-day and all seemed reasonably comfortable with the altitude. It didn't take long to cache the gear and head back down the crushed lava and pumice trail to low camp where we relaxed through an easy afternoon in the tents. Resting up for our big move tomorrow... weather permitting.
-Dave

Day 7, Rest Day at Camp One -16,600 ft, January 14, 2009:
Dave Hahn reporting.
Not so much to report today. An easy day for all as the weather was perfect and the schedule was delightfully uncluttered. The production teams got some shots of camp life, most went for short walks. Myself and Ed Viesturs carried gear to 19,200 ft, previewing the route to Camp II which we will retrace with the whole gang tomorrow. Dave

Day 6, Camp One -16,600 ft, January 13, 2009:
Dave Hahn reporting.
No big parties last night, all was quiet at Basecamp until the morning helicopter began what seems to be its morning workout at 7AM, just before the sun hit. We were all up and half-packed by our 8 AM breakfast. Everybody had lots of details to chase down and loads to figure out before our 9:30 AM departure. The production teams used their scouting of the previous day to figure out some nice shots as the guides and climbers chugged higher over now-familiar terrain. We took four hours to make it into our new camp, a bit higher than we'd cached yesterday... concensus seems to put us at around 16,500 ft. We found a place of our own up here, which is actually quite nice. This is a busy mountain in its prime climbing season, so there are almost always other teams around us, coming and going. At our Camp One, though, we've carved out a little privacy by virtue of walking a little farther than most choose to. We had clear skies today and strong sunshine, but we have all transitioned from the cotton clothes, shorts and t-shirts that we wore during the trek in. Now we are in mountain climbing clothing and gaurding against the cold. Even so, the afternoon was very warm and comfortable as we napped in the tents. We did dinner over by Melissa's tent, sitting on our sleeping pads in the pumice and gravel with puffy coats on. The light is just getting good now at 7:30 PM, we are in shadow, but we are high enough now that we can see out of the surrounding valleys and watch the sun set on South America.
Rest/Acclimatization day tomorrow... maybe a carry or two for the guides and some production work for the artistically inclined photographers and filmers, but basically tomorrow will be a day designed to allow our bodies to catch up with our rate of ascent.
-Dave

Day 5, Carry to Camp One,January 12, 2009: Dave Hahn reporting.
The clouds cleared with sunset last night, but enough of them stuck around to make the moonrise spectacular through bright pillows of distant cumulus with lightning bolts adding to the show. It was an easy night at basecamp although it was somewhat curious -so far up a mountain- to be serenaded by latin hip-hop and rap tunes well into the evening as a dance party -presumably held for some returning and victorious summit climbers- went on for hours, long after we'd all climbed into our sleeping bags and clicked off the headlights. This didn't seem to adversly effect anyone's mood in the morning though. All seemed to have gotten the neccessary rest. We were excited for the day's climbing. Heavy loads were shouldered after a great breakfast. We hit the trail in bright sunshine at around 9 AM and made steady progress up on narrow trails of broken rock and volcanic dirt. Without much trouble at all, we crossed the "East Glacier" on piles of rocky rubble and enjoyed some great views of the Polish Glacier above. We'd prepared ourselves for six hours of uphill toil if that was what it would take to get food, fuel and gear to our planned site for Camp One, but in the end, we did it in much less time as all were feeling good and enjoying the exercise. Peter, Ed and Melissa, our veterans of previous Aconcagua climbs, were each happy to see that a good portion of our route today was snow covered. Our photographers and videographers were charmed with the nature of that snow cover since we walked for some time up a steep track through neve-penitente. Intense sunlight on the snow surface, with the addition of a little dirt blown onto that snow from surrounding ridges had formed its surface into a series of eight-foot high pinnacles. Artistically wonderful, such snow formations would be tough to travel through without the established track. Jake Norton could often be spied wedged between pinnacles with his camera pointed through the jagged openings onto the trail. Kent Harvey, Thom Pollard and Gerry Moffat set up ambush after ambush to capture images of our climbers, seemingly climbing the back of a great white porcupine. Rachel broke her altitude record as she came smiling into the site of our intended gear dump at 16,304 ft. Ever gracious, she thanked Chad and Seth for their guidance and hints while Tim, Andrew, Clark and Kelly were doing high fives and fist bumps with the rest of the guide team. We were already caching the gear at 1 PM and enjoying a look at the route ahead. Peter scouted a bit higher to find the perfect place for our tents following tomorrow's move. Melissa pointed out the ever-so-close sites for Camps II and III (those sites are not far distance-wise, but each represents a significant gain in altitude and so we all know that we'll be taking our time to get up to what we can now easily see... acclimatization is a slow but essential process to avoid altitude illness) We eventually left a gear cache and beat feet down the path and penitentes. We passed dozens of slowly trudging heavily laden upward-bound climbers... perhaps they were attendees of last night's dance party and thus on a late schedule for rising and seizing the day. Our work was all done by 3:30 PM as we pulled off boots back in basecamp and enjoyed the afternoon sun.
Tomorrow, if all goes well, we'll report in from Camp One. -Dave

Day 4 Aconcagua Basecamp; 13,800 ft., January 11, 2009: Dave Hahn reporting from Today was our planned rest day. All is well and all are feeling good. We enjoyed a calm night with a huge moon that kept Jake Norton out snapping pictures until quite late. There were a few minor headaches reported and some of the normal insomnia that comes with a first night at real altitude, but for the most part our team was bright-eyed and ready for action today. That action consisted of a relaxed breakfast and then a few sessions of organizing gear and supplies for going higher. The event of the morning was Seth Waterfall's arrival with the last of our cargo. Production people dove into cases full of new gadgets and guides sorted a few more bags of upper-mountain gear and all were happy to see Seth who'd come in at an accelerated pace to catch up with us.

Basecamp is a fairly elaborate village of tents with a few semi-permanent structures thrown in for park and medical personnel. There are about five outfitters here with independent "kitchens" and communications set-ups along with dining tents and latrines for their customers and staff. We set up the RMI tents within a stone's throw of our own outfitter -Grajales Expeditions, and they've been taking great care of us. Peter, Ed and Chad worked today to help our climbers choose what to carry higher while Melissa made contact with the park rangers and finalized the permitting process.
We became aware of an intense and sad story which had played out high on Aconcagua during the days of our trek in. A team of five had apparently been caught out in the open near the summit and had needed to endure several days of extremly bad weather before a rescue party could reach them. From what we are hearing, the rescue effort was massive, with perhaps fifty people trying to get to the stranded team from both sides of the mountain. Ultimately, there were three survivors and tragically, two deaths. Our entire team was saddened and sobered by this news, but our guide team was particularly saddened to learn that we'd lost a friend and colleague in the accident. Federico Campanini guided his own programs internationally, but on Mount Rainier he'd become one of RMI's hardest working and most dependable guides over the past three summers. We have each spent the past days and nights thinking of his skill, strength and competence as a guide... but also of his unfailing good humor and friendly nature. He will be missed. Our best wishes go to his family.
Our plan for tomorrow is to carry loads to 16,000 ft and to then return for a final night at basecamp before moving up. We'll hope the weather improves some as today finished with a fair bit of cloud and and some light snow on Basecamp. All for now, we'll let you know how things go tomorrow... new heights and new sights. -Dave

January 9, 2009: We had a little weather last night with snow a few thousand feet above us. It was a pleasant suprise this morning as we woke up to clear and beautiful skies. This is my eighth trip on Aconcagua and we had the fastest trek that I have ever experienced. This was quite impressive since we were taking the time to take video and photos on the way to Trek Camp Two. This evening everyone is doing very well as we have finished dinner and are settled in for the night. We are heading to the Basecamp tomorrow, which is located at 13,800 ft. Good night from all of us.
-Peter

January 8, 2009:

Greetings from the Relincho Valley, Camp One on the trail into Aconcagua. This is the January Rainier Mountaineering Inc. expedition attempting to climb the "False Polish Glacier". We converged on this mountain by way of Santiago and Buenos Aeries, with the whole team meeting for the first time in Mendoza. Peter Whittaker, Ed Viesturs and Melissa Arnot guide the clients on our team along with me -Dave Hahn, I'm guiding... but I am the rookie on this climb having never been to Aconcagua before and am wide-eyed and excited to see a new place. So to are our four climbers: Clark Vautier, Tim Sohn, Kelley Maybo and Andrew Turner. Additionally we have a camera team and still photography team attempting to capture quality footage and images for RMI. The videographers are Gerry Moffet and Kent Harvey, along with Thom Pollard. Jake Norton is shooting digital stills and Rachel Rosengarten is overseeing the collection of both video and stills. Seth Waterfall and Chad Peele are guiding the production team. Poor Seth is still back in Mendoza as of tonight, waiting for slow luggage to fly in on a fast plane. He'll catch up with us in no time flat when the gear arrives.
Last night we stayed in Penitentes... a small settlement built around a ski area high in the Andes, perhaps 12 miles from the Argentine border with Chile. We were at 9000 ft above sea level, but passed the night in relative comfort with steak dinners and comfy beds. Fernando Grajales Expeditions of Mendoza is our capable outfitter, and this morning they organized our loads onto 20 mule backs and got us to our trailhead for a journey into the Vacas Valley. We started walking at around 10:40 AM under blue skies and bright sunshine. The mules carry up to 60 kilos each... we carried slightly less for what will be a three-day trek into basecamp. The Vacas River was churning along in a series of rapids next to the trail and we gained altitude slowly on easy terrain. The terrain is stark and bare, with towering cliffs and scree slopes limiting the views. At first we had a few trees along the path, but before long, we were down to small shrubs, grass and the odd flower patch. Most wore shorts and T-shirts for the first few hours, but as afternoon came on the sky filled with clouds and we endured brief showers from time to time. We did pass over a couple of old and dirty snowbanks that had obviously become the final remnants of great avalanche debris piles that were deposited during the last Austral Winter. Peter -a veteran of 7 previous Aconcagua expeditions- views such evidence of a heavy winter positively, pointing out that our climb to the summit will be easier if there is more snow and less dirt and rock up high. Our camp tonight at Las Lenas is situated at 9400 ft. The gang put down a big pot of Chad's famous spiral pasta with red sauce and chicken chucked in for dinner. The clouds are now clearing, the sun is down and the light is fading. We can see new snow left by the afternoon showers on the high rock slopes above us. We'll call it a day for now... the first of potentially 18 on the mountain.
-Dave Hahn

---

Corey Raivio, Lead Guide, December 16, 2008 - January 11, 2009

Summit of Aconcagua!

January 3, 2009: