Climber Joe Cuervorst called in an update for the December 1 Aconcagua team, who had just watched the sunset behind mighty Aconcagua after arriving back to their Base Camp at Plaza Argentina. The returned for another night of acclimatization at just under 14,000′ after a big day with over 3,000′ of vertical to cache supplies…
Mountain Trip guide Brian Muller called in with an update on the December 1st Aconcagua team, once again from Plaza Argentina, where they enjoyed a rest and acclimatization day. They spent their day checking in with the Base Camp doctor, relaxing, hydrating, refueling and adapting to the thinner air before heading higher on the mountain.…
Climber Mark Biegel called in another update for the December 1st Aconcagua team, who have officially reached their Base Camp! The climbers ascended from Casa de Piedra to Plaza Argentina (Base Camp), nearly 14,000′, gaining nearly 4,000′ feet of elevation–a big day in increasingly thin air! At the time of the call, the team was…
Mountain Trip climber David Kosma called in with an update on the December 1 Aconcagua team, who are on the second day of their trek through the Vacas Valley. The valley is beautiful, with towering, rugged peaks, streams and wildflowers, reminiscent of parts of the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately though, the wind and hot sun can…
The team is on their way! They began the trek today, heading up the Vacas Valley for a relatively short 4 hour trek to the first camp, Pampa de Llenas. After a lot of rain and stormy weather for the last few days in Mendoza, they were pleased to see blue skies and enjoyed the…
The first Mountain Trip Aconcagua Team is on their way! They met yesterday in Mendoza for a team meeting and gear check, followed by a nice dinner on the town. This morning they grabbed their permits from the Aconcagua Park office, and hopped in the van for the drive up into the heart of the…
The team is back down to the relatively low altitude of 14,000 ft at the Plaza de Mulas base camp on Aconcagua today. They had a big day yesterday with part of the team reaching the summit, and the rest reaching new personal high points. They completed the traverse of the mountain, and descended…
We haven’t heard anything from the team beyond the two calls made to our Trip Dispatch page. I understand that the disconnect of information is concerning, and that leaves us all to fill in the blanks as to how things went for the four other climbers and our other guide. One thing I have learned…
Kelly Puzak called in from the summit of South America! After a long day of climbing to just shy of 7000 meters of elevation, Kelly called in a very nice shout out from the top of Aconcagua. Details about all the team members are not in as yet, but Kelly, Sam, Chad and Fermin all…
A breathless Sam Mangum called in from the top of the highest peak in South America! At just shy of 23,000 feet, there is very little oxygen in each breath, and every bit of movement feels tough. Sam, Kelly, Chad and our lead guide Fermin Avila all reached the summit together, after almost 12 hours…