Expedition to the Aconcagua

This adventure started three years ago during a small chat among friends. From a comment of someone buying a backpack, up came the proposal to do a trip down south.

That is how we went out with the idea of doing the famous Seven lake track from Junín de los Andes and, while we were at it, we should as well try and go up the Lanín Volcano. On that occasion, only Sergio who was more experienced managed to reach the peak. I decided to come down the second day of the expedition, but that helped me realize how much I liked this type of activity. From there on, we started talking about the Aconcagua, but this time we were all sure that we had to get perfectly ready for the new adventure.

During 2002, we decided to make an approach to the base camps, with the idea of studying the logistics we would have to follow at the moment of trying to reach the peak. That way we put all our energies in getting to know the land, trying out the gear and watching the behavior of our own bodies when exposed to extreme situations (psychological, physical, climatic and height). We got a positive answer to all aspects, so we decided to go along with the plan.

All of 2003 was a hard year of training, because we practiced all kinds of activities: cycling, athletics, swimming, mountaineering and we also went to technical meetings where we met people that had reached the peak, so all their knowledge was welcome. January 2004: We knew that one of the most important factors for this kind of activity is the acclimatization, due that lack of it provokes what is known as acute mountain sickness (AMS) which affects a high percentage of mountaineers and can even put their lives at risk. This is why the first steps we did was at the “Cordón de Plata”, best known as “Vallecitos” We camped there for four days at 4200 meters over sea level in the “Salto de Agua” campsite. The first day we felt a slight headache and a bit of fever, which were compensated with a beautiful summer snow fall.

Already acclimatized, we went to the city of Mendoza to get the gear ready, pack it and send it off in one of the many companies that have a mule service. THE EXPEDITON WAS ON ITS WAY!

GOING UP, DAY BY DAY.

Day 1 – 20/01/2004
We left Mendoza City for Puente del Inca. We went into the Aconcagua Provincial Park, we registered and we paid a 300$ fee each in order to get the permission to climb. We made our way to camp N°1 CONFLUENCE 3300 MASL. We slept there for one night.

Day 2 – 21/01/2004
With the idea of reaching the second base camp MULES SQUARE 4200 MASL, we started walking knowing that we had an 8 or 10 hour walk. The sunlight was fading and so were our strengths, we still had a couple of hours in front of us in order to reach the point that we had settled on, nevertheless we decided it was better to stop, stay the night at the IBAÑEZ SHELTER 3800 MASL and continue the next day.

Day 3- 22/01/2004
In three hours we completed yesterday’s plan and we reached MULES SQUARE 4200 MASL. That day we rested and we picked up the gear that the mules had brought from the base. We got it all ready and we had the daily medical check up done. For the time being we weren’t experiencing any of the AMS symptoms.

Day 4- 23/04/2004
With the idea of reaching acclimatization at 5000 meters, we decided to climb the Bonete Hill 5400 MASL (in the map 5075 MASL) Although from MULES SQUARE there is only an 800 meter difference, it took us four, very long hours to complete. While we remained there for one hour -without experiencing AMS- we met three Spaniards with whom we would climb the rest of the way, and together we came down along stony steep tracks to the MULES SQUARE base camp.

Day 5- 24/04/2004
We rested all day. We prepared the technical gear, warm clothes, food, fuel and logistics, etc.

Day 6- 25/04/2004
At 9 in the morning we started to climb on our way to CANADA SQUARE at 4800 MASL, and as we felt fine physically we decided to continue and reach the 5100 MASL. In this campsite a great sunset welcomed us. From this height onwards if we wanted water it was necessary to melt snow.

Day 7- 26/04/2004
After having a nice hot coffee, we melted some snow to have during the day and we left for the BERLIN campsite at 6000 MASL, where we planned to leave next day to reach the summit. We were only 962 meters away from the ACONCAGUA SUMMIT. It was too cold (-10°C) plus the fact that the height was playing against us, plus our anxiety, made that day a very bad one. Sleep time came, but it was quite particular, because everything that was at risk of getting frozen was inside our sleeping bags, so it actually looked as if we were sleeping inside our backpacks.

Day 8- 27/01/2004 “The Big Day” The Summit.
With the excitement of that day, we all got up before giving the alarm clock a chance to ring. We quickly got dressed so we avoided getting frozen. We pack everything we needed, and the two of us plus the three Spaniards left to reach America's roof.
Once in the gutter (the key to the summit), Jesús (from Spain) couldn’t warm up his toes, so he decided to come down. We carried on climbing and just a few steps before we finished going up the gutter, Javier (from Spain) starts having trouble breathing, so before having a pulmonary edema, he decides to come down too, so his friend Rafael goes with him. Sergio and I carried on climbing, we had to reach the GUANACO’S EDGE and at 17:30 we reached the Aconcagua summit. We touched the sky with our hands in the company of Thomas (Tommy) Heinrich, the first Argentinean that climbed Mount Everest, the roof of the world.
After half an hour we started coming down towards BERLIN at 6000 MASL.

Day 9 28/04/2004
We were so tired that we decided to come down only up to CONDOR’S NEST at 5400 MASL, where we rested to recover physically.

Day 10 29/04/2004
We went down to MULES SQUARE; our Spanish friends were waiting for us there. We made a toast and then we got everything ready to set off with the mules and get the rest of the things ready to come down.

Day 11 30/01/2004
We went to the park’s entrance early in the morning. Some people say that when you reach the point where you left, that is the real summit.
Content courtesy of Nomada Magazine