Entries from Aconcagua
A little wind today was no match for our crew as we made short work of our move up to Camp 2 @ 18,000'. Tomorrow will bring our last rest day before we make a concerted push for the summit. Thursday will see us move up to Camp 3, a.k.a. Camp Cholera at just under 20,000' - such a cheerful name. If the weather cooperates we will be making our summit attempt on Friday morning. We'll continue to keep you posted on our progress. Much love to everyone back home!
Well, after a rest day yesterday with crappy weather we awoke this morning to blue skies and very little wind for our carry up to camp 2. The team climbed strongly and it seems after our move uphill tomorrow we should be in a good position to launch our assault on the upper mountain!
Hopefully this high pressure will hold.
We made it to Camp 1! All is well, we're a little tired from battling the wind but our camp is now fortified with rock walls and we're settling in. Tomorrow's forecast calls for a LOT of wind so the plan for now is to rest. Then we hope to carry and move to Camp 2 on Monday and Tuesday when the winds should be a little more calm.
Until tomorrow,
RMI team Alpha 9,000 signing off.
Today saw a lot of wind on our carry up to Camp 1 at just over 16,000'. Lots of difficult walking in loose rock, scree, and icy penitentes brought us up to our first cache where we dropped food, fuel, and gear that will be needed on the upper mountain. Tomorrow calls for another rest and acclimitization day before our move up the mountain the following day. We'll check in again tomorrow.
We had a windy but great rest day here at basecamp. Drinking mate', telling stories, and pigging out. We enjoyed another delicious scramble for breakfast and then devoured a fat steak dinner. Tomorrow's move to Camp 1 should be a big day but we are certainly ready!
Today saw, most notably, the arrival of Leif and Jake here at basecamp. It was about as eventful as a rest day could be. We gorged on a bacon, egg, and cheese scramble with grilled onions and peppers, drank mate (pronounced mah-tay) and told stories all afternoon, and then had steak fajitas for dinner. Ooh yeah, we're roughing it all right! Oh yeah, we also packed and sorted provisions for tomorrow's carry to Camp 1. It has been pretty windy, and that trend is supposed to continue, so tomorrow may be a litte tougher than normal. Wish us luck.
Another day of hiking under blue skies has finally brought us into Aconcagua Base Camp. A 5 am wakeup ensured that our crossing of the Vacas River was during low flow, long before the heat of the day accelerated snowmelt. Unfortunately, such an early crossing makes for some seriously numb feet! After fording the river we began our ascent up the Relinchos Valley, 3,000 vertical feet later we rolled into Plaza Argentina. And after a nap and a fat spaghetti dinner, we're ready for a well-deserved rest day tomorrow.
Until then, ciao ciao bacalao!
Walter Hailes Rejoins Group!
.... or so the headlines read for this team of hearty mountaineers. Ho ho ho!
Another day of hiking in perfect weather has brought us to our second camp at Casa de Piedra. Today's walk saw only a slight gain in elevation but took us further up the deep and breathtaking Vacas Valley. Huge amounts of relief, enormous floodplains, intense sun, sapphire skies were among the visual treats along the approach. Spirits are high and we look forward to reaching our basecamp at Plaza Argentina tomorrow afternoon!
Rock n' Roll,
Billy, Walt, Andy, & Dan.
Well, after a lot of hustling around Mendoza; scrambling to both purchase and obtain permits (not done in the same location) and then go grocery shopping, we made it out of town and into the mountains! After a late evening and early morning of packing all our supplies at the Grajales facility in Penitentes, we were finally ready to hit the trail. We will spend tonight at Pampa de Lenas, our first trek camp.
Unfortunately, after a day of hiking we are still minus one Walter Hailes. Airline cancellations have kept him one step behind us for most of the trip so far. If all goes according to plan he should catch us at tomorrow's camp at Casa de Piedra. The weather has been spectacular and the team is in great spirits!
The team spent their last night on the trek out and has now reached the end of the trail. They will be making the drive back to Mendoza. Everyone is looking forward to good food, wine and a hot shower.
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