Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Just as we hoped, we awoke to a beautiful morning here at high camp. After a quick breakfast we started climbing just after 4am. The waning moon cast enough of a glow we could follow the trail without lights for certain portions and the southern cross hung above
Aconcagua's summit pyramid. We climbed well through the darkness, reaching ~20,500' just as the glow in the eastern sky finally erupted into sunrise. The brief sun was welcome as we passed into the shadows on the western side of the summit massif. Daybreak also brought some consistent winds which chilled us to the bone, despite the multiple layers of down and gore tex we wore while climbed.
We soon passed the forsaken Independencia Hut, now not much more that a few 2x4s echoing the shape of an A frame and crested the aptly named Windy Ridge at 21,000'. From here we began traversing the giant scree slope with bowling ball sized rocks sitting right at the angle of repose known as the Gran Acarero. The path started gently but soon began climbing steeply through the loose stones, occasionally covered in stretches of icy snow that required crampons to cross. The climbing became very challenging, steep loose rocks and ice patches slowed our progress and after several hours our legs began to tire. By midday we reached 21,700' at
the base of the final couloir to the summit ridge. It was getting later in the day than we hoped and the challenging terrain behind us took more energy than we planned. We decided to call that our high point, a bit dismayed but still thrilled to have reached 21,700', a good stretch higher than any point in North America.
After catching our breaths and enjoying the views, we retraced our path back to high camp, arriving in the early evening. We're tired, but certainly not disappointed as the expedition provided everything we'd hoped. After a much deserved nights rest we will descend back to Base Camp tomorrow.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Hello everyone in the lowlands! It's Team 2 up here at Camp 1 on
Aconcagua. We just found some prime real estate at 16,200 feet. It's a sunny day with some scattered clouds, which made it comfortable climbing.
Everyone is doing great and we are now relaxing in the sun drinking water and eating to recover.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
The mules are loaded up and we are ready to start the approach! Today we will walk to
Pampa de Lenas and say goodbye to wheeled transit and trees. Every long journey begins somewhere and though we've been preparing for a long time, now it seems like we are actually beginning the climb. So long friends and family and stay tuned for the adventure to come.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
On The Map
We're fortunate to be in the midst of a very stable and almost perfect weather pattern here on
Aconcagua: the days are clear and calm and today was no exception. After a great night's sleep at Camp 2 we packed up our gear and left for high camp by mid-morning. The trail to high camp ascends a broad north facing gulley, occasionally intersected by small cliff bands and large boulders. We weaved our way up, crossing sporadic patches of snow and across pockets of yellow dirt and rocks that smelled of sulfur. After a few hours of climbing we reached a small cliff band and followed a natural weakness in it to scramble up and over our final obstacle and right into our high camp.
Sitting at 19,540', Camp 3 is a small flat area ringed by rock towers on nearly all sides. Between the towers we can catch views over the Vacas Valley to the east into Argentina and all the way around to the west over the Horocones Valley and into Chile. Above us stands the final 3,000'+ of Aconcagua with the first portion of our route visible from Camp.
We spent the remainder of the afternoon in camp, finalizing our gear for the summit push and trying to rest up and hydrate as much as possible. We are sharing camp with a few other teams and we traded notes on conditions and forecasts: we all agreed, tomorrow is predicted to be a great summit day!
We've retired to the tents even though the sun is still quite high in the sky in hopes of getting some rest tomorrow. We are planning on making a pre-dawn alpine start tomorrow morning and going for the top! We're all doing well, feeling strong, and excited to make an attempt! We'll check in tomorrow after the climb.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Today is another rest day for the team at
Plaza Argentina. After our carry to Camp 1 yesterday it serves us well to take advantage and fully acclimatize. The team is doing really well. The agenda for today is resting, eating and taking showers.
Everyone on the team says hello to family and friends...
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
A big hola from Mendoza! The team is assembled in this summery land, all bags ready to go and all our paperwork complete with crossed t's and dotted lower case j's. Now all that remains is to start this
Aconcagua adventure by loading up and heading into the mountains. Tonight we will have our last meal at a proper table for a few days and start our walk in tomorrow. Wish us luck!
RMI Guides Jake Beren, Mike King and Steve Gately
The southern solstice treated us to a long, restful, and relaxing day here at Camp 2. We waited until the sun reached camp before stirring and then had a relaxed morning, watching the long shadows coming off the mountain above us gradually fade as the sun rose higher. From camp, we have perfect views of a good portion of our climbing route on summit day. There was hardly a puff of wind coming off of the top of
Aconcagua and we could make out our trail crossing the wide scree slope called the Acarero and up the gully known as the Canaleta to reach the summit ridge. The perfect weather, views of the route, and time to rest and recover has motivated us and we are excited about the coming days. Tomorrow we plan to move up to Camp 3 at 19,500' in hopes of making a push for the summit in the following days. We are all feeling strong, rested, and ready for the next push. We'll check in tomorrow from high camp.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Hello everyone in the lowlands! We thin-air breathers are now back in base camp after a terrific day. The team carried gear up to Camp 1.
Aconcagua is a big undertaking which requires a lot of food, fuel and gear.
We established Camp 1 at 16,200 feet. The team is honestly doing so well! We moved as one unit up and down. I like this because it keeps people motivated and we can pass the time with chit chat.
Once we arrived at Camp 1 we emptied our packs and then
Leah and I filled a couple of duffel bags full of food and gear. Now back at base camp we are surviving the heat and several climbers are in a championship round of Yahtzee.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
We were treated to another wonderfully calm, clear ... and cold night last night at Camp 1. The almost full moon hung huge in the western sky, just above the edges of the Horocones Glacier below us when we poked our heads out of the tents this morning. We dragged our feet a bit getting out of the tents but once the sun reached us we warmed right up and soon had our packs loaded and were heading up the trail. The climbing today was perfect, not too warm and hardly a breeze. Our acclimatization at Camp 1 was noticeable as we moved smoothly across the difficult sections of trail where the bedrock is covered by a thin veneer of gravel and loose stones. The time and the altitude ticked by with us hardly noticing until we found ourselves weaving between the large boulders that mark the entrance to Camp 2 at 18,330'.
No afternoon clouds were forming in the west and the weather was perfect so we took our time setting up camp, soaking in the views, sipping on water, and erecting large rock walls around our tents in case the do winds pick up. The rest of the afternoon passed with little action other than relaxing in camp and getting used to the new elevations. The approach of the longest day of the year down here (tomorrow!) means that even approaching 8 o'clock in the evening the sun still hangs high in the sky right now and is keeping the tents pleasantly warm.
We are all definite feeling the new jump in altitude up here - everything takes just a bit more effort - but are all feeling good. It is exciting to be moving higher on the mountain and suddenly the summit doesn't look, or feel, as far away now. We are planning on taking a stroll above Camp tomorrow but largely using it as a rest day to adjust to the new elevations and recover a bit from the days we've had since leaving Base Camp. We'll check in tomorrow afternoon.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Buenos Dias from
Plaza de Argentina (4,200m). We had a wonderful rest day. Sunshine, salad, and Christmas movies have kept us entertained. But don't forget the very important medical check up. The top notch doctors at base camp checked out the group and of course everyone is healthy and ready to climb.
In light of the Christmas spirit the group was given the gift of a shower to clean off the dust from the long trek in. A hot shower and clean socks are a hot commodity down here.
Tomorrow we will carry some gear to camp 1. We're all looking forward to stretching our legs and seeing more of the mountain!
RMI Guides
Leah Fisher &
JJ Justman
On The Map
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LINDEN,
THIS SOUNDS ASTOUNDING.
BE SAFE. YOU MUST BE ON YOUR WAY BACK BY NOW.
PB
Posted by: phyllis bronson on 12/29/2013 at 2:18 pm
Wow!!!! Thats higher than any point on North America, Africa, Europe or Antarctica. GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT!!!! Be safe and enjoy the steak in Argentina!! Very jealous of the experience.
Posted by: Bill McGahan on 12/24/2013 at 2:38 pm
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