Aconcagua is the tallest mountain outside the Himalaya. Yesterday I returned from having the privilege of guiding Ed O., Frenchy G. and Alex L. to the summit of this massive peak in the sub Andes of Argentina along with my co-guide Stuart Robertson. It was a terrific trip up a unique peak. The weather was generally quite nice with only a couple of windy days. The drama began, however, as the weather forecasts started to deteriorate once we were in position to summit.
We did summit though. It was a lovelybluebird day. Some clouds rolled in and it snowed gently as we descended. The team was tired, elated, and very excited for some Tuna-Ramen and a hot drink.
On the summit I was honored to be able to help Alex, a young women with MS, hold her "Climb for a world free of MS" banner as my mother has MS so Alex's cause was dear to me.
At Alpine Ascents International we do a traverse of Aconcagua. We hike in the Vacas Vall
ey and ascend the False Polish route to our high camp which is higher than where most guide service's high camps , part of why our success rate is relatively high. We descend the Normal Route which offers a shorter hike out and makes for an aesthetic traverse of the great peak. At the base camps at the base of either route we enjoy the full services of a local base camp operator which provides meals, internet, wine, among other services helping to maximize climbers success. Apparently it worked.
We did summit though. It was a lovelybluebird day. Some clouds rolled in and it snowed gently as we descended. The team was tired, elated, and very excited for some Tuna-Ramen and a hot drink.On the summit I was honored to be able to help Alex, a young women with MS, hold her "Climb for a world free of MS" banner as my mother has MS so Alex's cause was dear to me.
The team was strong and all the members who made it to high camp made the summit in good time and had enough energy for the second half of any climb, getting down. As we descended we watched clouds swirl around the summit. Ours was the last good day to summit for a while.
At Alpine Ascents International we do a traverse of Aconcagua. We hike in the Vacas Vall
ey and ascend the False Polish route to our high camp which is higher than where most guide service's high camps , part of why our success rate is relatively high. We descend the Normal Route which offers a shorter hike out and makes for an aesthetic traverse of the great peak. At the base camps at the base of either route we enjoy the full services of a local base camp operator which provides meals, internet, wine, among other services helping to maximize climbers success. Apparently it worked.Congratulations Frenchy, Ed, and Alex!
No comments:
Post a Comment