Aconcagua Expedition: Wedel & Team Carry gear to Camp 1
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 10:23 PM PT
Today was a carry high, sleep low kind of day.
We hauled big loads up to Camp 1 at 16,400 ft. The winds were a little spicy, and combined with heavy packs it made for a hard push. Slow steps. Focused breathing. Lots of internal pep talks.
But wow. The views.
The colors up there are unreal — reds and oranges — like someone dropped us on Mars. It’s wild how brutal and beautiful can coexist so loudly.
We stayed up high for about an hour and a half to cache our gear and give our bodies time to adapt. Eat. Drink. Breathe.
Then we turned around and sailed back down to base camp. We don’t use the f-word on this mountain — fast. But we did move very, very efficiently. Skiing down the scree with light packs.
And waiting for us when we got back?
Our local team, Grajales, welcoming us with an incredible recepción: fresh fruit, cheese, meats, crackers, and endless cups of jugo. Truly elite hospitality.
Right on cue, the clouds started building — and almost the second we made it back to camp, the snow arrived. A quick squall of wind and snow blew through, reminding us who’s in charge up here. Luckily, we were already in our warm dome tent, listening to the wind do its thing outside while we stayed cozy inside.
It’s been an unpredictable weather year on the mountain, so we’re watching the forecast closely and hoping those bigger winds ease up soon.
The good news?
We’ve earned another rest day tomorrow.
More mountain soon,
RMI Guide Jess Wedel & the Aconcagua team
Comments (1)
Have a great rest day!!! Excited for the good progress!
Posted by: Erika on