Trip Reports

Aconcagua - 17 December to 7 January 2014

Written by Leader John Armstrong, January 2014

A Climatic Emergency will exist for the next 48hrs and all climbers should descend immediately to below C2, declared the Park Ranger Service.

This was the news which greeted us by radio, shortly after the successful summit team returned to C3. Our tents were the only ones remaining; several of our group were already in their sleeping bags having given it their all that day...

The international group of eight from the UK, Canada and Ukraine had assembled in Mendoza on 18 December to meet up with our 'local guides' Ilan - 14 seasons on Aconcagua and over thirty summits and Tendi Sherpa from Nepal - UIAGM guide with ten Everest summits and several other 8000er's to his name. I was pleased to be working with such experienced colleagues. We soon formed a cohesive and cooperative team who enjoyed cloudless skies and perfect conditions for the walk to Confluencia and onwards to Base Camp. For some the acclimatisation took a little longer than others, but we all spent a night in Camp 1 as planned before returning to Base Camp for a rest before our summit bid. Ilan, Tendi and I estimated from the forecast that there was likely to be only a small window of opportunity to go for the summit a day early, on 31 December. The current summit winds of 60kph were set to increase significantly after that, but with several days to go we hoped the forecast might change for the better.

We had no such luck. Assembled a couple of days later in the mess tent at Camp 2, we explained the situation to the team who agreed to forgo the acclimatisation day there and continue to Camp 3 the next day. It was certainly noticeably colder and windier as we reached Colera - Camp 3 at 6,300m, but still the sky was a cloudless blue.

We had an 0330hrs wake up which saw everyone leave on the 31 December summit bid by 0500hrs. For Silvie, our petite Canadian, the wind soon proved too much and she returned to camp. Just below Independencia Matt had to call it a day, a great effort considering he had acclimatised quite slowly but with great determination throughout the trip. The remainder continued with Ilan and Tendi, but in the Caneletta at around 6,800m it became clear that Isobel and Colin had, on this occasion, reached their high point, so Ilan elected to descend with them. At 1430hrs the Ukrainian trio of Oleksandr, Oksana and Dennis along with Philip from Wales and of course Tendi reached the summit, thus becoming the last people to summit Aconcagua in 2013.

By 1900hrs with everyone safely back at Camp 3 we melted snow for water in the guides' tent and thought of dinner. As we did so the radio crackled into life and we were advised that there was a climatic emergency with the wind forecast to reach 120kph overnight. We should strike camp and move to the emergency shelter nearby. All other groups had already descended. Ilan, Tendi and I swiftly formed a plan. They would take half the group to the shelter and I would take the remainder to the Rangers shelter an hour downhill at Camp 2. Quickly the team realised the seriousness of the situation and somehow mustered the energy to pack up and get moving. Oksana, Dennis, Matt, Silvie and I reached the Camp 2 shelter as darkness fell and after some food we actually enjoyed a comfortable night in bunk beds in the deserted camp. Even the ferocious wind couldn't keep us awake as it battered the fabric of the robust dome structure.

The remainder of the team walked the short distance to the Elena emergency shelter and soon installed themselves in the cramped quarters as Ilan and Tendi dismantled the tents before returning to cook dinner for everyone - a sterling effort by all.

The next morning it was still very windy but after a relaxed start, all had returned to the comfort of base camp by late afternoon. Our final evening there was celebrated with a few glasses of Malbec whilst we re-lived the adventures of the last forty eight hours.

The next day we awoke to a grey, cold windy day. It rained just as we reached the Park gates, good timing we all agreed as we climbed into the waiting vehicles. As leader, I must commend the group for coping so well in difficult and uncertain conditions and also being such good company. A big thank you too for invaluable input and support from Ilan and Tendi.

John Armstrong
Jan 2014 « Previous report | Next report »

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