Chris sent us the following photos from Mendoza yesterday.  He, Lawrence, David and Fermin are all back in town and enjoying themselves after a long hike out from Plaza de Mulas.  The expression, “horses for the barn” is really fitting on the hike through the Horcones Valley.  Though the valley is spectacular, and more than worthy of savoring, by the time you have climbed up one side of the mountain and down the other, it is common to just want to get to the trailhead!

The team at the end of their hike out, looking up the Horcones Valley, with the massive south face of Aconcagua visible at top left. (from left to right) Fermin Avila, Lawrence Cutler, David Bailey, Chris Kerrick

Headed up on summit day with the shadow of the mountain stretching off to the Pacific.

The team climbed the first hour or so of summit morning by the light of their headlamps.

David and Fermin, relaxing at high camp.

Lawrence at High Camp

Looking up towards Camp 1. The trail follows the valley bottom before trending up and right. Camp is basically at the top of the hill in the rough center of the image.

Preparing to eat well on the hike in to Base Camp. The "asado" is a traditional meal in Argentina. Mmmmm!

Greg and David at an asado on the hike in. Greg left the team from Base Camp, with some altitude symptoms.

Lawrence and Greg at an asado in "Pampas de Lenas," the site of the first camp on the hike into Base Camp.

The team dropped down from high camp to the bustling, city-like atmosphere of Plaza de Mulas today.  They had a pretty easy time of it, although descending almost 6,000′ is rough on the knees by any account.  They ate like kings in a comfortable dining tent and are nestled in their sleeping bags for the evening.

Tomorrow, they will make the long hike out to the trailhead at the mouth of the Horcones Valley.  This will essentially complete their round trip up the east side of Aconcagua, up to the top and down the western side of the peak.  The Horcones Valley has a very different feel to it than does the Vacas Valley, which they hiked up to access the mountain. It is a broader valley, with different geology, which Chris loves to point out, as he is a geologist by training.  The hike should take roughly 5-6 hours, and although it is long… it’s all down hill!

David Bailey and Lawrence Cutler just called in from the summit of South America!  The two climbers, with out guides Christian Kerrick and Fermin Avila are standing on top at this moment.

They had a beautiful day to climb, following some incredibly high winds earlier in the week.  The team was patient and deliberate, which paid off with a stunning day and a view from higher up than anything outside the Himalaya.

After their last message from the base of the Canaleta, the climbers started up the steep, scree-filled gully and then picked their way along it’s edge, where the trail was in better shape.  They crested the summit ridge and after a bit of scrambling, stood on top of Cerro Aconcagua, 22,834 feet above the nearby Pacific Ocean.

Congratulations to the team!!!

Here is David, calling from the top.  Lawrence’s message was unfortunately cut off by orbiting satellites passing out of range.  If he calls back, we’ll post it asap.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The following two messages just came through from lead guide Chris Kerrick.  Chris, Lawrence, David and Fermin are all at the base of the long, rocky gully known as the Canaleta, which leads right up to the summit, roughly 800′ above them.  It sounds like they are doing really, really well, judging from Chris’s comments about how the team has bonded in the past days (and judging from Lawrence’s good-humored heckling in the background!).

They should be on top in the next hour or two!

Here is the first part of the message:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

And here is the rest of the message (satellite connections are frequently interrupted in the mountains):

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This report came in at about 5 am MST, about 2 hours ago.  The team is headed for the summit of Aconcagua in beautiful conditions!!

They called from an old hut, or rather the remains of an old hut, called Independencia, situated at about 21,000.  They were still a good few hours from the summit, but we hope to hear back from them shortly.  Think warm thoughts for the team and wish them well up there.

Here’s Chris:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Chris called this morning to check in and to let us all know that the team is resting and acclimatizing at Camp 2 today. They made a carry yesterday and everyone did well, but have decided that it makes sense to spend today letting their bodies get a bit more accustomed to the rarefied air of a half an atmosphere.

At 18,000′ there is roughly one half the oxygen in the air (per given volume) than there is at sea level. Since everyone started at sea level just a couple of weeks back, they are setting themselves up for success by adopting a conservative acclimatization schedule.

Below are some images from a previous trip that should help give you all an idea of the terrain they are climbing and camped in:

View of part of C2, looking up towards the Polish Glacier and the summit.

Camp 2 is located on a sort of bench, below a snowfield at the bottom of what is known as a dead glacier. Above, the slopes appear to be scree, but some of the terrain is actually an old glacier that is no longer growing, but lies insulated somewhat by the rocks covering it’s icy surface.

Looking east at Cerro Ameghino from Camp 2

Two climbers look over at the massive NW Face of Cerro Ameghino, located just east of Aconcagua.

The view of the Gussfeldt Range to the north, as seen from Camp 2. The beautiful peak at the left is Cerro La Mano. Anyone interested?

To the north of the mountain and visible from camp is the spectacular Gussfeldt Range, crowned by the stunning La Mano (The Hand). You cannot see this range from the Normal Route until you are laboring up to the summit, so we feel fortunate to be able to enjoy the views from the relative leisure of Camp 2.

Climbers moving up towards the White Rocks high camp.

This shot is from roughly 45 minutes above camp 2. Leaving camp, the climbers must ascend a fairly steep section of hill before starting up and into the broad basin in the image above. They make a long, rising traverse into the rocks at the top left of the image. The rocks are the eastern border of the White Rocks high camp and entering them is always a surreal experience. They are purple in hue and remind me of an old Star trek set or something equally bizarre!

It sounds like they’re having what can only be described as a darn good time…
Here is Chris and David, calling in from 18,000 feet on Aconcagua:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Lawrence called in from Camp 2 at 18,000′.  The team moved up to what is known as “Helicopter Camp” on the 9th of December under mixed weather, alternating between very hot and quite chilly.

Chris also called in to report that everyone is doing great.  They hiked through about a foot of snow yesterday, en route to camp.  After leaving their Camp 1, they ascended up and slightly around the side of a broad bowl-shaped valley.  At the northern end of the valley, they climbed out and into a col or valley that separates two mountains, in this case Aconcagua and the very pretty Cerro Ameghino, which rises to just above 20,000 and lies to the east of Aconcagua.  They followed this valley for a while before trending back up and onto the northeastern flank of Aconcagua, where they put in their camp.

Helicopter Camp gets its name from the wreckage of a Lama helicopter that littered the slopes above camp for a decade or so.  There is not much left of the chopper these days, but the name has remained a common one.  Camp is fairly protected, and they have good access to water which flows from a broad snowfield above camp.  When it is clear, they can see the top of the mountain, as well as their route up to the next camp at White Rocks (c. 20,000′).  The plan is to take an acclimatization day at Camp 2 and maybe make a hike up to White Rocks with light loads.  This will help them acclimatize better for their summit attempt, and should also keep them below some predicted high winds that might hammer the upper mountain tonight and tomorrow.

Here’s Lawrence:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Our friend Lawence has a Spot GPS device along with him and asked that we share the link to the device’s webpage where yu can follow the team’s progress as the ascend the Ameghino Valley route of Aconcagua.
Here is the link:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0YEs41LElZUrVxX07ErEPnGi0khCC6tqN

Greg Harris called in today on their rest day at the Plaza Argentina base camp.   They took a little walk to explore their surroundings and enjoyed meat pies for lunch.   It snowed a bit in the afternoon, but they are resting and acclimating today in the comfort of the heated dining tent.

Here’s Greg’s call:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Click on the link to listen to the audio dispatch.

Lawrence called from the Plaza Argentina base camp this afternoon.  They are all doing great and enjoying the amenities of base camp.  It is a pretty comfortable place with catered meals and a comfortable dining tent.

Here’s the call from Lawrence:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Our climbers are trekking towards base camp and plan to hike the final stretch on the 3rd.   They’ve had a beautiful trek so far up the Vacas Valley from the highway up to the camp called Casa de Peidra.   The first day was quite leisurely, hiking about 4 hours in beautiful weather up to their first approach camp Pampa de Lenas.   Today, however, was quite windy as they continued up the valley towards Casa de Piedra.  Chris estimated that the winds were blowing 35+ mph for most of the day.  This is pretty common, and it was otherwise a clear and sunny day.  The biggest inconvenience is that they weren’t able to build a fire to cook their steaks on for dinner.  It is a tradition to share a barbeque, or Asado, with the mule drivers at Casa de Piedra, but it wasn’t to be tonight.

They’ll get up early tomorrow (Dec.3rd), cross the river, and head up the side valley that leads them to base camp at over 14,000 ft.   Everyone sounds like they are enjoying each others company and having a great time!

The team made the trip up to Penitentes yesterday and is hiking in to their first camp today.  They took an extra day in Mendoza as they ran around looking for gear to replace the equipment of Greg’s that did not arrive on his flight.  Fortunately, with help from the rest of the team, they were able to build a suitable kit and head up towards the trailhead.

Looks like they got a good deal on a Lawrence while shopping!

They spent last night at the ski resort of “Penitentes,” a European-style hotel and restaurant, which is a short drive from the start of their hike.  The afternoon was spent finalizing the packing of their gear and sorting things for the mules that will transport the majority of their kit up to base camp.  Following the weighing of duffel bags and blue barrels, they enjoyed a dinner at the restaurant, took their last showers for a couple of weeks and got to bed in anticipation of today’s 8 mile hike in to their first camp.

The steaks in Argentina are truly world class. And they cut them generously as well!

Chris will call in this evening and we’ll post an update from the team after we hear how the day went.  They probably spent about 5-6 hours on the trail, covering about 8 miles and gaining almost no elevation from where they spent last night.  The Vacas Valley, through which they are hiking is very reminiscent of parts of the Grand Canyon in the southwestern US, and is replete with cacti, scrub grasses and chuckawalla lizards.

More soon!

Most of the team at the hotel in Mendoza

Hola from Argentina,

The first Mountain Trip expedition of the year is just one delayed piece of luggage away from hitting the road for the trailhead!

The team became complete with the arrival of Greg Harris yesterday. Not even an Ecuadorian volcanic eruption could keep him from arriving in good spirits, although it did prevent his duffel containing much of his mountain kit from arriving in Mendoza with him. Fortunately, Greg heeded our advice to travel with his boots, which will simplify matters, should we have to go shopping.

It has been a lot of fun packing the food for our trip. David and Lawrence arrived early and wanted to join in the fun, and they have been of great help and entertainment for Fermin and I. We have been shopping, indulging in memorable meals and have gotten lost wandering the streets of Mendoza (of which I will be razed about throughout the trip; what kind of mountain guide gets lost in the city?).

It’s been great, but it is time to get out of the heat of the city and head to Aconcagua. We are keeping out fingers crossed for the arrival of the missing mountain duffel.

Ciao,
Chris Kerrick
Mendoza, Argentina

The November 28th team has begun to assemble in Mendoza, Argentina. Here, they will have a team meeting, go over the itinerary, do a gear check, and enjoy the sights and sounds of Mendoza while our crew makes final preparations for the climb. Climbers on the team are Dave Bailey, Lawrence Cutler, and Greg Harris. Our guides for this trip are long-time Mountain Trip veteran, Chris Kerrick and Fermin Avila, a native of Argentina who has worked for us the past few years.

Stay tuned for more updates as the team begins their adventure in earnest.