Trip Reports

Aconcagua - 12 Jan to 5 Feb '06

Written by Leader Paul Donovan, February 2006

The team, minus two who were meeting us in Mendoza, met up at North Terminal, Gatwick and had a very quiet, efficient ‘check in’ before heading to departures and on to Madrid - one flight over, two to go. A long flight from Madrid saw us in Buenos Aires (GMT-3 hours) for breakfast on Day Two. Flight number three was a short hop to Mendoza and our base for the next two nights, giving us plenty of time to explore the sights and taste a few of the many wines of the region. Some tasted more than others!

As we left Mendoza, our sights were now set on the next stage of the expedition - Los Penitentes to Base Camp (Plaza de Mulas) - who would have thought that getting two kit bags packed could be so confusing! Los Penitentes to Confluencia, our first day's trek may have been short, but it was certainly good to get into the hills at last. From Confluencia we had a return trip to Plaza Francia (Base Camp for anyone attempting the South Face) before setting off for Base Camp minus one team member (Matt G.), who became ill and chose to return home. Base Camp was a welcome sight after nine hours of trekking up the Horcones Valley. A day’s rest/acclimatisation was welcomed by all.

Having said farewell to one, it was unfortunate that we had to say good-bye to another team member (David S.), again due to illness. And then we were nine! Bonette Peak (5,004m) was our next objective - what a great days trek, with all the team members summiting. A great morale boost for us all. The next stage was about to begin - preparation for the carry of all our equipment on to the mountain, placing it at either Camp One (Camp Canada) or Camp Two (Nido). We did manage to squeeze in a half day ice axe and crampon practice in preparation for what might be ahead of us. Camp One gave us an awesome sunset, whilst Camp Two gave us views down on to many of the surrounding peaks, as well as views of our route to the summit. A quick return to Base Camp gave us time to rest and prepare for the next stage - a game of ‘chase the ace’, oh! and the Summit attempt.

As we ascended the mountain, it became a realisation that our time had come - the weather was on our side and our state of acclimatisation was as good as it was going to get. The next six days were what it was all about. The first three days were on familiar ground - Camp One and Two with further acclimatisation in a trek towards Camp Three on our rest day - who thought a rest day meant ‘a rest day’! As we continued to Camp Three, it was apparent that the weather was holding, but for how long. We needed just two days, and that’s just what we got.

Summit day was long, hard and incredibly rewarding for all concerned with all the team members achieving something from the day. Six team members summited (Fred M., Paul W., Kevin G., Dave R., Phillippa M. and Janet P.) on Aconcagua (6,959m) between 14:00 and 14:45 on 29 January 2006, with the three remaining team members reaching new height records. With the summit achieved and the customary photos of the snow and cloud covered summit, it was time to return to Camp Three for a jubilant night, if you can have a jubilant night at 6,000 metres (!) and time to reflect.

A day and a half at Base Camp helped us to recover before the long trek out of the Horcones Valley and journeying back to Mendoza. We had come full circle, finishing up where we started - sampling the wines of Argentina, only this time it was the ‘others of us’ who did a bit too much sampling!

A journey not to be forgotten.

Congratulations to all the team members on achieving their many goals along the way.

Llongyfarchiadau pawb

Paul Donovan
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