Trip Reports

Aconcagua - 11 Jan to 18 Feb '07

Written by Leader Rolf Oostra, February 2007

Once upon a time there was a sword sticking out of a rock and along came a dude dressed in really tight clothing called Arthur who ripped it out and then pranced about the medieval kingdom doing good deeds. Sometime later in Argentina another Arthur dressed more casually in jeans and t-shirt did a very similar thing but instead of ripping a sword from a stone he pulled a blue pole from the ground and brought it to the top of a mountain called Aconcagua. Many debate whether this was a good deed or an act of sheer stupidity. Only time will tell.

The final Jagged Globe assault on Aconcagua for the 2006/7 season started very well indeed as the entire team gathered at the hotel in Mendoza. What a fantastic place Argentina is to hold an expedition: great food washed down with great wine set a scene that would often be repeated from town right up to camp one. The scenery, food drink and people are all amazing.. nothing less can be said about that.. but then there is the mountain. And that is something very different. From all sides this monster looks menacing. If you think Kilimanjaro was a walk up then you are right, It was. The big A is like a Himalayan 7,000'er and then some. It requires a lot more than hard work to summit this beast. The team was not necessarily up to the task: for some every foot gained above Penitenties was a new altitude record. A case of ignorance being bliss? Still, what we collectively lacked in experience, we made up for in spirit and there was plenty of that as anybody listening in on the nightly card games will be able to confess.

Before starting up the mountain, park regulations require the climber to undergo a short medical examination in the little clinic set up at BC. What we thought would be nothing more than having your blood oxygen level measured with those handy little finger gadgets turned out to be more akin to a post by-pass examination where doctors tested heart rate, blood pressure, O2 levels and lung function. This unexpected procedure freaked out a few members so much that their blood pressure shot through the roof and they were put on the dubious list. Had they come all this way only to be stopped by the bearded doctor at BC? A good night's sleep and a little breakfast saw everyone clear the re-trial and up we went. All that is except Mike who had developed a severe throat infection and decided that since these matters never improve up high that he ought descend and head for Buenos Aires. A wise choice and one which he didn't regret. In fact, he had such a great time that he came up with the unique idea of starting a business which shall be known as "Mike's Post Expedition Buenos Aires tours" and which will undoubtedly make him millions in the future.

Hot temperatures and blue skies accompanied the rest of us each morning as we worked our way up the mountain and these without fail would be chased away by cold temperatures, high winds and a blizzard in the afternoon. All predictable enough to set a watch by and henceforth aiding us greatly in our planning. A pattern formed amongst the team too. Upfront would be John and Graham, virtual shadows of our front man Giani, a speck on the horizon was Daniel and taking up the back would be a heartily puffing Devin. Our group was clearly marked apart from all other teams on the hill as towering above us at all times was the blue pole carried by Arthur. This thing signed by the team started as a joke but soon became a symbol of team power easily equal to that of the Olympic flame. There was nowhere else for it to go but the summit and Arthur was to be our chosen athlete to put it there. The only problem was that Arthur had never climbed a hill before. Ever.

We arrived at camp three, Berlin all feeling slightly worn out. The mountain was beginning to win its war of attrition. We were scheduled to have 3 summit day opportunities but this lofty camp woke us up to the possibility that if the weather were to make the summit bid impossible until the last day, then perhaps we would be too worn out to even consider an attempt. Indeed a more likely and freakier scenario would be that since the guides were feeding us so many high carb meals that after three days we would only be able to roll out of the tent and down the hill. With baited breath we waited.

The morning of day one was declared "no go" due to high winds and the tension mounted in camp. But fortunately the morning of day two was declared a "go". Up we went. Gusts of wind, pitch black and freezing cold temperatures. At the Windy Gap at 6,200m Simon signalled down because of frozen fingers and toes and along came Laura going too slowly. Gordo headed down into the gloom with them. The rest of us traversed to the bottom of the Caneleta, which is normally the crux of the route due to its steep, never ending scree, but now a nice surprise of hard snow. Here Daniel fainted and started to shiver uncontrollably. Down he went too with Gordo who had rejoined us from camp. We had a break, then started up the Caneleta. Here John bailed out due to breathing problems. The team was dwindling. A scruffy bunch and large blue pole moving up to the summit ridge. Here we took stock and did a quick weather check. Things were still holding. Up to the top. We arrived at 1405 and collapsed in wonder at the top of the Americas, wondering if all this was real. Here we were, the remnants of the team who would never make it. Arthur triumphantly planted his blue pole and as an act of deviance stuck a glove on top: its middle finger pointing to the sky. The weather began closing in fast and the summit is only half way. Take care guys it is not over yet. Then Doug took a nose dive down the Caneleta: He would have gone the whole way if he was not stopped by an amazingly fast Giani. A quick assessment of his injuries revealed that he had a nasty cut on the head, was shaken up but could thankfully still get up and move. Down we went in conditions that deteriorated minute by minute. We reached camp 6 hours later. Totally done in but extremely happy at our achievements. Now the most challenging part of the trip could begin: Mike's post Buenos Aires tour! Would we survive that ordeal? Only time would tell...

Rolfe Oostra, expedition leader « Previous report | Next report »

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