Aconcagua
Epilogue
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The camps up from Plaza de Mulas are Camp Canada at 4900m (16,075ft), Nido de Condores at 5400m (17715ft) and Berlin at 5900m (19360ft) about the same height as Kilimanjaro summit.
This account is
Going Home
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Another free buffet breakfast, same offering as yesterday.
I spend the day relaxing by the pool and reading. I ask for a late checkout and am informed that if I have lunch at the hotel restaurant
Get Me Out of Here
Monday, December 29, 2008
Free buffet breakfast, yogurt, cereal, lots of breads, juice, coffee, sliced meat and cheese and hard boiled eggs.
I clean my gear and hang it out to dry. Some of it I’ve been wearing for 5 or
Decision
Sunday, December 28, 2008
In the morning I head to Andres tent. He tells me to come in and I tell him what is going on and that I think it is best to go down. When I tell him I have a fever, Wyne puts a hand on my forehead
Prepare for Assault
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Today is another rest day in Plaza de Mulas to acclimatize and prepare for the final assault to the summit. This assault is comprised of 3 camps, summit day and then one more day back to Plaza de
Camp Canada
Friday, December 26, 2008
Today we get our usual breakfast and pack a lunch and some warmer clothes for an acclimatization hike to Camp Canada at 4900m (16075ft). This will be the first time that we will be wearing our
Merry Christmas
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas. I get up to another good breakfast. By now I try to eat as much as I can from breakfast because it is the best meal of the day.
This is our rest day to acclimatize and I go
Plaza de Mulas
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
We take down our tents and pack up our gear. I don’t have much to pack. Today is a long 12 mile (20km) hike up to Plaza de Mulas 4300m (14108ft). This took us about 7 hours including several
Plaza Francia
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The picture above is from Plaza Francia which is rarely climbed but has a dozen routes. Can you find a single route from here that looks even remotely safe?
Today we take a hike up to Plaza
Confluencia
Monday, December 22, 2008
We get up and have a descent breakfast, eggs, yogurt, cereal, cheese, sliced meat….and very dry hard toast. Breakfasts are always the same (sometimes the eggs have meat or cheese in them) but they
Puente del Inca
Sunday, December 21, 2008
In the morning we check out early and meet Andre in the lobby. The group loads their gear, I jump in with my daypack. We drive to a government building where we register to climb the mountain,
Arrival
Saturday, December 20, 2008
In Chile, I go through to connecting flights and to the LAN counter to check in. After I get my boarding pass I ask about my checked bags. No problem, she calls down to baggage where they will
Departure
Friday, December 19, 2008
I take off work the day before departure to make sure I pack everything. I have a hard time fitting my pack and all gear into a single duffel, so I decide to leave a few optional items behind.
The Stone Sentinal
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
At 22,841ft, Aconcagua is the highest mountain attempted so far, exceeding the height of Kilimanjaro by 3,500ft. It is the highest mountain in the world outside Asia and the highest in South
The value of our life is not solely measured by its length, but also by the depth of our hearts.
And breadth of our experiences. And indeed the heights that we achieve.