Trip Reports

Aconcagua - 6 to 27 Jan '12

Written by Leader Greg Coe, February 2012

At the end of an expedition, it’s occasionally possible to look back and identify the sequence of events which determine the final outcome. On this trip it began with the arrival of a porter called Gustavo, just before dinner on our first night at Nido de Condores (Camp 2: 5,655m). He ducked into our big dome tent clutching a scrap of paper in his hand, on his way to do a carry for another team on the mountain, and dropping in to chat to Lucas (our head guide, and seemingly the hub of all information on the mountain) and deliver the 5-day forecast from Pablo at Base camp.

The hastily handwritten note contained, in a cramped matrix, the predicted wind speeds and temperatures from three different (and contradictory) websites for the next few critical days, thereby providing us with something of a dilemma. They all agreed that the following day (Thursday, our intended rest day at Camp 2) and Friday (when we planned to move to Berlin , Camp 3 at 6,070m) would be cold and windless, but then they differed: MountainWeather and MetFax predicted strong winds (60-70km/h) from Saturday morning (our first planned summit day), while the American military site (NOAA, from which the others were supposedly derived) suggested Saturday would also be acceptable, with the winds building up only late in the afternoon. With our planned rest day considered nearly essential for recovery and acclimatisation, the discussions took up most of the evening... We had gathered two weeks previously in the heat of Mendoza, assembling from the England, Scotland, Australia, and Brazil. Mystery flight delays and some vanishing bags set back the initial meeting in the Nutibara bar, but soon we were getting acquainted, running through the plan for the next few days, and having a final check of technical kit. Then it was out on the town to sample the Argentinian cuisine (steaks and Malbec, inevitably), and a morning visit to the National Park office to pick up permits.

The trip was nearly derailed when the key to the hotel’s communal kit store went astray, but when we threatened to start breaking windows and smashing down doors, the master key was hastily procured, and in no time we were winding up the road towards the Chilean border, the mountains, and a night in the out-of-season ski resort at Penitentes. Almost as soon as we arrived, Jim was trying to blame the hotel staff for his mysteriously damp sheets, giving a hint of the future accidents to occur on the mountain...

Then we were into the hills at last, with a short walk to Confluencia, and an acclimatisation day-trip to view Aconcagua’s south face from Plaza Francia. Despite bringing quantities of our own bottled water, sickness struck down some members of the group – perhaps from overindulgence of the rice pudding? The next day was the long haul up to Plaza de Mulas, with the weather deteriorating as we arrived, and a task to erect the tents in what quickly became a heavy snowfall.

Unfortunately, during our first rest day, the local fella who usually manages the shower facility was away carrying loads on the mountain, and with his slightly less able sidekick in charge, it was a lottery of refreshingly icy deluges, with occasional jets of scalding steam. Still, most took it in good spirit, and the following day we were treated to clear skies and good views as we made good time up Bonete Peak (altitude disputed, by the Polish surveyor on the summit).

Then it was onto the mountain itself, with our first load-carrying foray, and an introduction to the heat when the wind dies away and sun gets going. The weather had settled into a pattern of roasting hot mornings, and snowfall in the afternoons, so we wasted no time in setting up our tents, and were treated to a dinner of Lucas’ bangers and mash. There is little wildlife on Aconcagua, so we had been delighted the day before by the sight of a couple of condors flying in formation around Plaza de Mulas, and now were treated to an Andean fox confidently foraging around camp 1. After a trip to Nido to drop loads, we were soon back in base camp enjoying fresh pizza and “poufs’ tea”. Jim was struggling with a chest infection, and initially the doctors at the base camp med post were inclined to send him down. But they proved irresistible to his charm, and were soon taking every opportunity to provide (medicinal) injections in his arse. Sadly, deciding his fitness was not up to scratch, Philip decided to head home, depriving us of his wry humour, and an endless source of geographical trivia teasers.

Then steady progress up the mountain once again, and a pleasant afternoon playing cards in the sunshine at Camp 1. Jim had elected to spend an extra day at base camp for more medical treatment, so for once the team was deprived of the pre-breakfast banter with his long-suffering tent-mate Ray. The tensions of sharing a tent at high altitude cannot be underestimated, and by the time we arrived at camp 2, Leo and Ajit’s blossoming friendship was starting to show signs of wear and tear...

Then came the great weather debate, and having accepted that foregoing the rest day would inevitably deprive some members of the summit, we decided unanimously to be patient, and risk it all on the weather holding good for Saturday. Initially the decision looked like a good one, as we awoke to a windless night and a dazzling canopy of stars. But ominous gusts of icy wind began almost as soon as we departed, and by the time Jim turned back (at 6,150m: a determined feat, given his condition just days before) we were fighting a steady wind of thirty knots, and rising. The last pull up to Independencia (6,300m) was a real struggle, and clearly worse was to come: sunlight was highlighting whirling plumes of spindrift above us, blown some 500m off the exposed ridge to our right.

Still, we donned goggles, balaclavas and big mitts at Independencia and battled upwards, over the Puerto del Viento, and onto the beginning of the traverse. At this point Ron (who was making first ascents of big peaks in the Karakorum when I was still in nappies) turned back with his partner Hilary, saying he considered the conditions too marginal, and they descended with the ever-patient local guide “Cabeza”. Lucas led the rest of us into the shelter behind the gendarme at 6,400m, where a shouted discussion reached a consensus: we could struggle on for another hour or two, but the clouds whipping across the summit made it clear conditions would be worse higher up. And with the wind blowing 70km/h across the traverse and the temperature around -20, the risk of cold injury was too high, and any stumble or delay likely to turn into a calamitous epic. So sadly we turned, and began the trudge back to Berlin.

A final radio call from there to base camp for the latest forecast revealed that the high winds were set to continue for the next four days so, finally accepting defeat, we broke camp, packed bags, and hustled downwards to base, and the prospect of drowning our sorrows...

A special “hats off” goes to Pete, who was on his second attempt at the mountain, and subsequently decided to join Adele’s team for his third: (Go, Pete!); and John, Ray and Leo who were going so strongly on the day. Thanks also to Ron for lending his hard-earned experience top the team, Hillary for bringing some much-needed femininity, and to Ajit for his calm, unruffled demeanour.

A great trip, huge thanks to Lucas and Cabeza, and a swift recovery to Roddy...

Greg Coe, Expedition Leader « Previous report | Next report »

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