Trip Reports

Aconcagua - 10 Jan to 1 Feb '15

Written by Leader Mungo Ross, February 2015

They are going to have to build a chair lift up Aconcagua if we are going to improve the summit stats! I still canít believe that we have just spent three weeks on the mountain under blue skies, with light winds and no snow, yet we still donít see all of the group on the top. None of the local guides can remember a spell of weather like it, ever; perhaps Pasang Sherpa summed it up in his interview last January ñ itís just a really tough mountain!

We couldn't have had it easier - five fit guys; flawless, impeccable service from Jagged Globe; weather more like the Mediterranean than one of the windiest mountains on the planet; we followed the new itinerary to the day; no one fell off the path or got really sick. Well O.K. then, the relentless scree slopes and the notorious Canaleta could have been covered in perfect neve, we could have been fed steak and chips at every camp (washed down with Malbec), and one of the group did manage to get just a little sick at camp three while another one never quite managed to acclimatise in time, so the mountain took its toll and held her head high. The three that did make it to the top along with our two local guides admitted freely that it was by far the hardest thing they had ever done. So Aconcagua retains her reputation and the stats stay lowish. But then, climbing to nearly 7,000 meters on a three week 'holiday' is never going to be ìeasyî, unless you are already extremely hill-fit and superbly acclimatised ñ like Pasang's friend Tendi Sherpa who was working on the mountain this season; for these guys itís a two day hike!

This season we have witnessed various other audacious attempts and ascents; there was a Spanish girl trying to beat the female record of up and down from the park gates (currently just under 17 hours) but who bowed out with headache and coughing; the male record broken at under 13 hours; a guy who cycled from Valparaiso to the park before running up and down the hill; a team of American war wounded climbing alongside us on prosthetic legs ñ ìhumblingî being an understatement. After three weeks of being lulled into believing that climbing Aconcagua can be a relaxed, even enjoyable, experience getting home to hear that a British mountaineer has lost his life high on the mountain, bad weather preventing his evacuation in time; the sad reminder that it is indeed a very big and serious hill.

For the goal-oriented athlete it stands as a supreme challenge ñ to bag the highest summit in South America in as short a time as practically possible; for the traveller it offers a fascinating journey through an incredible landscape supported by a brilliant team of camp crew, porters and guides. Iliana in Buenos Aires; Vicky at Confluencia; Pablo and kitchen staff at Plaza de Mulas; Tarcho and his guys carrying loads on the mountain; Ilan and Adrian our guides ñ to all of you a huge thank you for not just your service but for your friendship and for going that extra mile to make our expedition special. And thank you five fit guys for your good company, your good humour and your grand effort ñ hopefully youíve gone home even fitter, happier, healthier ñ and even a little wiser? Indeed, happy days in Argentina! « Previous report | Next report »

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