Entries By alex barber
February 2, 2015
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 19,600'
Though the tents shook with the wind again last night, the gusts came fewer and further between. As the sun rose this morning the gusts became rarer, and we decided that this was our day to move to our high camp at Colera (Spanish for anger, not the disease). We were still prepared to face strong winds as we moved into more exposed terrain on the way, but
Aconcagua gave us a pass and we climbed with gentle breezes and brilliant sunshine the whole way. We are now settled in, working on heating water for dinner- which takes a long time at 19,600'- before we rack out early to prep for a hopeful summit attempt tomorrow. All of the days of hard work have gotten us here, and everyone is excited to be in place for the final push to our objective. We'll be in touch tomorrow to let you know how it goes.
Best,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Alex Barber, Juan, and the team
On The Map
January 31, 2015
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
The sun has been shining on us all day, and the temperatures are pleasant, but something has changed: early this morning the tents gave a foretelling rattle, and then the wind settled in. While the wind hasn't been too strong yet, mostly it just makes a lot of noise, the forecast is hinting that the winds may strengthen tonight, and that they may persist for at least a week. We are hoping that they allow us to move up tomorrow, and that a forecasted lull may give us our shot. At this point, everything is ready for us and we are in Dr. Suess' proverbial waiting place, so we just have our fingers crossed for our summit window to show itself. Keep your fingers crossed for us,
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer, Juan, Alex, and team
On The Map
January 30, 2015
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
We had a perfect move day to
Aconcagua Camp 2! The day dawned calm, bluebird, and warm, and looked like the ideal day to push up higher to our next camp at Guanacos Tres (a confusing name since it is our camp two). We packed the tents once again, shouldered packs that were once again heavy, and set out. It's not a far climb, as most of the elevation gain happens right out of Camp 1, and three hours later we were walking into our new abode. We are now happily settled in and are looking forward to another rest day tomorrow. So far everything is going very smoothly and according to plan, and we all have our fingers crossed that it stays that way.
Hasta mañana,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Alex Barber, Juampi, and team
On The Map
January 29, 2015
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
We had a relatively uneventful rest day at
Aconcagua Camp 1. While base camp offered pizzas, cook tents, and showers, folks spent the day at Camp 1 napping, catching up on journals, listening to music, and chatting. There were clouds in the Vacas Valley this morning, which we watched push up towards us, with the upper reaches just brushing our camp, before they would push back down valley again. Watching the curling cloud forms provided some entertainment as well. Our leisurely day should have us prepared to pack camp tomorrow morning to head up to Camp 2 at 18,000 feet. Once there, we will start the process of acclimating over again, and we will be one step closer to our summit push. Though we haven't been here that long, everyone is excited for the next step and a new home for a few days.
Hasta mañana,
RMI Guide
Pete Van Deventer,
Alex Barber, Juampi, and team
January 28, 2015
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
Another day, another step in the uphill direction. We continued on yesterday's momentum, woke with the sun, sorted loads, and pointed our boots uphill to Guanacos Tres, or our
Camp 2. It's not a huge day, only 1,600' of elevation gain, but it's great for our acclimatization process, and now we have the bulk of our food and fuel up high. This year is a bit bizarre in that this is traditionally high season and the mountain is very empty. We are the only team in Camp 1, and there is one other small team at Camp 2, which makes for a much more remote feeling to the expedition.
Some clouds blew over this afternoon, with a few flurries, but our weather remains spectacular overall. We're looking forward to a rest day tomorrow, and then hopefully on up to Camp 2.
Hasta luego,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Alex Barber, Juan, and team
On The Map
January 27, 2015
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
Today we moved to Camp 1 under perfect weather. The team made great time moving to Camp 1 and are handling the altitude well. Shortly after arriving we exchanged high-fives with
Billy Nugent's team. They made the summit of
Aconcagua the day prior. We're all settled into camp now and enjoying hot drinks. Having left the comforts of base camp, we've had some lively discussions about the toilet situation, etc. Tomorrow we will carry to Camp 2, as we continue to take advantage of this good weather and push higher.
RMI Guide Alex Barber
On The Map
January 26, 2015
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
With our departure from
Aconcagua Basecamp imminent, the group took full advantage of the amenities today, ordering pizzas for lunch, taking showers, and sipping coca colas. Cards came out and heated games ensued. A few folks headed back down the trail to take photos and stretch their legs, but ironically, the blue sky turned dark gray and a short but intense hail storm chased everyone back to cover. We enjoyed our last base camp dinner for a little while, with several people heading back for seconds on lasagna. As dinner wrapped up, we stepped outside to another gorgeous pink sunset, but today the shadow of
Aconcagua imprinted itself on the sky as well. We're heading to bed ready and excited for the move to Camp 1 and the continuation towards our goal that it signals.
We'll be in touch,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Alex Barber, Juan, and team
On The Map
January 25, 2015
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Today we took the place of the mules and shouldered our first heavy packs of the trip. Our goal was to get as much of our food, fuel, and equipment uphill as possible, so that when we move to
Aconcagua's Camp 1, our loads are reasonable. We succeeded at that goal in fine form, and now everything is ready for us to make the next step uphill to 16,000' the day after tomorrow.
We woke up to the helicopter over our heads, shuttling propane tanks, building materials, and the full toilet cans in and out of camp. A pretty expensive alarm clock! We ate breakfast, and then quickly got ready to depart so that we could minimize the amount of time that we were in the true heat of the day. The group moved really well today, even on the final 600-foot scree slope, where the uphill track disappeared and every step sent you sliding backwards. We left our gear at camp and then turned to descend. The same slope that was so heinous on the way up, had people hooting and yelling as we skied back down. We were back in time for an afternoon siesta, and to feel safe from the rain clouds that had started to build and were threatening. Though we heard some rumbles of thunder this afternoon, the clouds stayed away and we stayed dry. On the schedule for tomorrow is another rest day, one last chance to enjoy the comforts of base camp before we head up to higher elevations.
Thanks for reading,
RMI Guides
Pete Van Deventer,
Alex Barber, Juampi, and team
On The Map
January 24, 2015
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
We took a well deserved rest day today at
Plaza Argentina. Though most woke early, everyone opted to stay in their sleeping bags until the sun hit the tents. Our long morning continued with a scrambled egg breakfast and some joke and story telling over coffee. We roused ourselves in the late morning to head to the camp doctor's building for our obligatory medical check. We are happy to report that everyone is as healthy as they look and we are all clear to keep climbing!
It wasn't all fun and games, as we all had to sort through the duffels that the mules have been carrying to organize our gear for our carry to Camp 1 tomorrow. Unfortunately, Base Camp is the end of the road for the mules, and from here on up we take over their job.
An afternoon siesta led into another delicious dinner, which led to a spectacular sunset that turned the whole sky a variety of red and purple shades. A large thunderhead that has been hanging to the east provided a canvas for the painting, and dusk is just now beginning to overtake the brilliant hues. We are lucky to be in such a beautiful place.
We'll let you know how the carry goes tomorrow. Hasta mañana,
RMI Guides Pete, Alex, Juan, and team
On The Map
January 23, 2015
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
We are settled in to our camp for the next several days in a situation that in mountain terms is very plush. We woke up early this morning to get our bags packed for the arryaros, and then prepared to cross the Vacas river. Some opted to brave the chilly temps, cold water, and multiple channels, rolling up their pant legs and wading right in. Others took the unique opportunity to ride a mule across. We all learned something new from our Norwegian teammate, who showed up with ultralight waders and cruised across without getting the least bit damp.
The sun was shining again today, but the increasing altitude and another welcome breeze kept things mostly comfortable. We saw more Guanacos today (the team no longer believes us when we tell them it's pretty rare), this time either playing or arguing with a game of king of the hill. As we came through the top of the Relinchos valley, we got our first really unobstructed views of Aconcagua and its sister peak Amegino. A dining tent, lemonade, and an assortment of peanuts, crackers, cheese, and olives greeted us when we walked into
Plaza Argentina. With tents up, it was time for the afternoon siesta before a delicious chicken dinner prepared by Anita, the wonderful base camp cook. We're off to bed shortly, and after a lot of miles and hours the last three days, everyone is looking forward to a rest day tomorrow.
We send our best to everyone back home,
RMI Guides Pete, Juan, Alex, and crew
On The Map
You mom asked me to tell you comgratulations on how far you went, She is very proud PBB.
Posted by: Joyce Pully on 2/3/2015 at 6:31 pm
So glad to hear weather will let you take your shot at the summit today. We are all cheering you on from Fargo!
Posted by: Diann on 2/3/2015 at 6:32 am
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