Mountain Trip Lead Guide Brian Muller called from Camp 1 on the Ameghino Valley route of Aconcagua, as our December 1st team officially starts up the mountain! Camp 1 is located at about 16,400′, so today was a big day for the team as the climbed close to 3000 vertical feet up the east side of South America’s tallest mountain.
Everyone did great today and they enjoyed good weather, with a warm day transitioning to a chilly evening as the sun passed over the mountain. At 5000m, it can get chilly when the sun’s rays are not on you!
The day started with a gradual climb up a jumbled moraine of rocks, the result of a glacier that once carved its way down the east face of the mountain. The remnants of the glacier are still above the Plaza Argentina Base Camp, but the ice is mostly buried under rocks, boulders and gravel. As the team continued their ascent, the valley into which they climbed opened up and took on the classic, “U-shape” of a glacial valley. The climbers picked their way through the boulders, for about four hours before making the last one-hour push up the steepest terrain of the day to arrive at Camp 1.
Here’s Brian with an update!