Trip Reports

Aconcagua - 10 to 31 Jan '14

Written by Leader Mungo Ross, February 2014

One of the good things about a small climbing group is that you donít need many folk to summit to boost the statistics! So following the theme of my write-up of the first of Jagged Globeís four trips to Aconcagua this season, which saw two out of ten on the top (a mere 20%), for the same number to reach the highest point in South America gives us a 50% return for the fourth! And considering that one of the ìclientsî has already climbed Everest 10 times, is an International Mountain guide and a living legend (Pasang can hardly be considered a client, but neatly fits into the stats, thank you), so is a distortion of the numbers but legitimately contributes to the result.

To describe us as a motley crew meeting in Mendoza would be generous (ìMutlyî might be more accurate), excluding Pasang who is still only 29, our average age a mere 59 years young, the banter amongst the five of us quickly established rivalling that of a group of teenagers. A glorious three daysí trekking, taking in a clear view of the South Face on the way, perhaps a bit too hot at times for some and the increasing altitude taking its toll on others - by the time we got to Base Camp the statistics were already knocking on the door. Low oxygen saturation was to prevent the further ascent for one for so many days that the essential acclimatisation was lost, so denying the opportunity for him to be able to join the summit party. After a successful ascent of Bonete Peak, our initial night at camp 1 and walk up to leave food at camp 2, back in base camp the reality of climbing Aconcagua reduced the team by one more; another casualty of discovering the hard way what climbing this mountain is really about.

Pasang summed it up during an interview; when asked what his main impression was of Aconcagua his reply was spontaneous ìI am surprised at how difficult it is to climb! I have met a lot of people already who are back here for the third and even the fourth time trying to get to the top. It is certainly not the case that you can roll up here and just walk up the path ñ itís really hard!î

So our own summit bid was now just Andy and three guides ñ no pressure Andy! Our plan was to go camp 1, camp 2, camp 3, summit back to 3, return to base camp; 5 days straight through, no rest days on the mountain. And thatís what we did ñ the forecast all-too-important weather window materialised on 26 January, there must have been at least 150 folk on the hill using the same window, us passing many of them already descending in the dark of early morning having been turned round by the selection of factors on offer, our own descent made more interesting by the not-forecast snowstorm which appeared out of nowhere.

For our own team, an altitude personal best for Andy, the second of his 7 summits for Pasang, 50% for this group and three out of four groups on top for Jagged Globe, the numbers keep rolling. It will be interesting to learn the stats for the season; we certainly seemed to meet more folk going home empty handed than with the summit in their pocket, Aconcagua generating the ferocious winds and dumps of snow that maintain her reputation and keep the odds in her favour.

We left with the season in full swing, teams still jockeying for positions on the mountain to optimise their acclimatisation and the brief windows of opportunity, us returning via the steaks and fine wine of Mendoza to our lives in the lowlands to reflect on the experiences shared and lessons learned in the rarefied atmosphere of high altitude mountaineering.

Thank you to Jagged Globe for the organisation and support, to all the ground staff in Argentina and particularly Nanika our guide, and thank you guys for your good-humoured company and your willingness to share and learn ñ happy days on Aconcagua.

Mungo Ross, Expedition Leader « Previous report | Next report »

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