Team Bob addendum

One of the climbers on Team Bob had enough oxygen capacity left over on the summit to do a little filming. It's a good glimpse of what it might feel like up there... Enjoy!

Team Bob

Yes, it's true, Bob, you get a whole post! Team 8 was definitely an interesting team, a great collection of easy-going characters that made this trip a good one.

Many changes took place on the mountain in my absence. For one, it had gotten hammered with snow, so the concern for water at the higher camps was alleviated, and upper trails were covered in perfect styrofoam snow, great for cramponing. Additionally, the park (which is a provincial park, not a national one, which might explain some things), in its zeal to be a real park with real rangers and rules, used some of the newfound money from elevated permit fees to station a doctor at the very first camp. So while Matthew made hamburgers for dinner, I sat with the doc while all our people were checked for oxygen saturation, lung sounds, blood pressure, etc. More checks and more structures = a better park, right?

Ahem. Once at base camp (after a second medical check), we settled into carrying loads up the mountain. Lhakpa Gelu joined us at Camp 1, which meant that we had more stories and carrying power added to the team, as well as just an amazing mountain person. Afternoon snowstorms graced us for a few days but didn't cause trouble, and after that we had some great weather and moved up to our Camp 3, most people's camp 2. The forecast was for a couple days of high winds followed by a good period, so we spent an extra day there, gaining a little more rest and acclimatization, then moved up and summarily had our summit day.

A beautiful day, though a little windy at the start, and 6 of 10 folks stood on top with us. Lhakpa took three down who were running out of resources for a continued trip up AND down, and once back at camp we pooled all of our remaining meal resources to have some very flavorful mashed potatoes for dinner that night. But there's no standin for real food, so the next day we gratefully headed down to base camp and the path home. A memorable team, for sure!

Back in Mendoza, I was psyched to enjoy a few more days of watermelon and other fresh summer fruit, but am expecially excited to be back in the Pacific Northwest where there are things like organic lettuce and molasses. Yes, I have odd tastes, but it's good to be back where I can have them! The mountains are wearing some fresh snow, I get to go skiing in the fog with my partner, and it's good to be back.

Up the hill

Well, the team is here, and so is there luggage - what more can you ask for? We just had a great welcome dinner in the warm Mendoza evening and are headed out tomorrow morning. There's potentially a bit of SAT phone trouble, with a half-charged battery and no compatible charger here, but we'll make it work. Follow Team 8 at http://www.alpineascents.com/aconcagua-cybercast.asp Back soon!

Team 3

... this year on Aconcagua was a great team. Ten people from across the country and globe, tossed together in that mixing bowl we call an expedition team - they were all fun and generous and strong, and on top of that we had fantastic weather almost the whole trip. Unheard of on this mountain!

Things (not big things, just things) are afoot on the mountain. The climbing fees increased from $550 to $800 in the high season, and the park is trying to become a "real" park. New ranger huts being choppered in where previously there was only a stone lean-to, base camp physicians who actually know high altitude medicine (Sebastian was fantastic, docs in previous years less so) - you won't be able to recognize the place in a few years! But there will never (in human time, not geologic time) be another highest peak in South America, so people will continue to come.

When we arrived in Plaza Argentina base camp at 13,800', they had just experienced winds of 100mph which seem to

have generated a freak twister that tore Grajales' facilities apart and nearly nabbed one of Alpine's guides. They had rapidly called in new facilities and supplies (the propane oven was delivered by helicopter while we were there) and our experience was back to normal, pizzas and all. It was still a little windy at base camp, but the rest of the trip was great - just a day or two of moderate winds, otherwise generally quite calm and nice. Sweet!

Christmas day fell on our rest day at 19,200' Polish Camp. We made a little tree out of our ice axes and crampons and decorated it with battery-powered lights and a headlamp. A team of three Canadians who had been next to us much of the trip came by and regaled us with well-rehearsed songs of kazoo, harmonica, and recorder. What a nice touch! It is amazing what communities form in places where people are enduring common hardship. Voluntary, in this case, but true nonetheless.

We moved up to our final camp and had a beautiful summit day, with 6 of 10 of our climbers standing on top. We retreated to camp, then the following day to Plaza de Mulas base camp, and finally enjoyed a little more oxygen. After more wonderful base camp pizza, and a group sleepover in the dining tent (to avoid pitching our own tents) we hiked out in the worst weather of the whole trip, snow and rain for 13 miles to the trailhead. We even saw a small mudslide (rocks the size of pianos!)! But everyone arrived safe and sound back to civilization, and after several showers and remembering how to sit in chairs, we are enjoying the finer points of Mendoza.

Now for a little down time, sorting out budgets and trip reports and laundry and email. I'll be heading down to Punta Arenas to meet the Vinson climbers in a few days, but for now it's nice just to be wearing cotton...

And we're off...

Well, it's time to head up the mountain. We've spent the past few days here in Mendoza buying and packing food and supplies for the expedition. Everyone comes into town tomorrow, and we head up on Monday.

We have a new cybercast that actually lets you listen to the voicemail we leave - no transcription in the middle. So you get the garbles, the transmission breaks, and the sluggish processing of minds at high altitude. Enjoy!! We're Team 3 at http://www.alpineascents.com/aconcagua-cybercast.asp

14 up, 2 down

Crazy - it takes 14 days to climb all the way to the summit of Aconcagua, just under 7,000 meters, and only two days to get all the way down and out, back to a shower and clean sheets. This is because of acclimatization, of course, not muscular ability to climb fast or slow. But it's still crazy to think that all that work can be reversed with only two days of walking.

This trip enjoyed incredible weather. Four days before our scheduled summit day, I started to get nervous because the weather was... still. Practically NO wind at 17,500' on one of the windiest places on the mountain! Can't last, and we're going to get pinned down later.

Well, no, amazingly, the weather held, at least enough - clear and calm in the mornings, but snow and some thunderstorms in the later afternoons!

Three of our four summitted; one climber had been slightly sick for the past couple of days and just didn't feel like fighting that all the way up the mountain. But the others of us climbed up in perfect warm weather, the snow starting only an hour before we reached camp again. When the extra trekking poles strapped to my pack started buzzing with electricity in the air, I decided I'd go on ahead and start the hot water...

One of our climbers is the founding force behind Climb for Cancer, which raises money and distributes it directly to help families dealing with cancer: buying exercise bikes for the local cancer treatment center to improve the recovery of bone marrow transplant patients, or paying for the gas, parking fees, and food for families coming to the center for treatment, so they can afford to come. Keep your eye on this one - Ron (not the guy in this picture) is an incredibly passionate and compassionate head of this charity who raised $32,000 (independent of climbing costs, all paid out of his own pocket) with his young neighbor who also climbed with us and did very well.

Edited now with a few pictures from John (thanks!!). The pig one is pretty random - that particular swine had been Christmas dinner at base camp a few weeks before and was being memorialized by the cold weather. And the last picture is with John and Lhakpa Gelu, the other Alpine Ascents guide on this trip. He's still on the mountain, working with three more summit climbs. Sometimes I'm glad I'm not a Sherpa...

Mendoza and back again

OK, so I dropped my camera on summit day, thought I'd see if I could realign the inner lens that got displaced by carefully removing and replacing some screws, and discovered that some components are not user serviceable. (Like, most of them.) The whole lens unit is self-contained and buried deep in the inner workings of this digital camera, so I am temporarily without pictures.

It's OK - Mendoza's not that exciting. Spent the week running into the usual random assortment of other guides here for the season, wandering about town in varying degrees of heat (up to 104 one day!), and largely cooking in the apartment since, again, I can only eat so much salad and fried potatoes, even if I do bring my own walnuts.

Lhakpa arrived for his four-in-a-row stint on the mountain, we did the shopping and packing for our four climbers, and I kept wondering f I'd forgotten something - seems like so little after packing for a group of 9 plus 3 guides!

We're off this morning - check out Team 8 at http://www.alpineascents.com/aconcagua-cybercast.asp See you in a couple weeks!

Blow the house down

For a traditionally cold and windy mountain, Aconcagua sure was cold and windy this time around! We were pretty much stuck in our tents above base camp, missing out on the usual opportunities to have a lounging rest day or two. Yoga at Camp 1, socializing at Camp 3, these things did not happen, but everyone (if not all the tents) made it through.

The logistics and personalities of the trip went well. One of the strangest groups I've had bonded incredibly well, had long conversations into the night on fidelity, politics (yes, peacefully!), and personal paths. Everyone did well, stayed healthy and strong, and enjoyed the sunshine at a time when most were trying to avoid tinsel-filled shopping at home. And the local guide who joined our Alpine crew turned out to be awesome. Thanks, Martin!

The wind and unsettled weather were a bit of a pain however. Our three nights at high Camp 4 (20,500') resulted in three gimpy tents - two poles broke the first night in wind gusts, two the second night. Those gusts moved some big rocks holding our tents down! We made a summit attempt the first half-way decent day (two people made it to the top) and were excited when the next day was actually supposed to be good. But by then, all but one person was tired of being up high with limited oxygen and difficult sleep. We headed down, ready to be freed from the nylon walls of our tents.

But everyone is down in one piece, in good health and with the knowledge of what good acclimatization can feel like. (So many of the people who pass us on the trail going up also pass us on their way down when they their bodies can't adjust to their fast rate of ascent. Interesting.) Hopefully everyone enjoyed their time in the mountains.

Me, I'm on a fruit and whole-food diet to get some nutrients back before heading up again...

Poof

And now it´s Argentina. I had about six days in Seattle to unpack, repack, and connect with friends there. But nonestly, the hardest part is switching automatic languages phrases, at least the little that I know them. I keep trying to use Hindi words for simple things like now and yes, and taking a moment to realize why they haven´t understood me. Ha! My spanish is limited enough, but this is definitely making it less useful!

Fortunately, I´m pretty used to packing for these expeditions by now, so was able to spend a lot of time socializing with people I haven´t seen for two months and won´t see for another two. A screening of films from the traveling Banff Film Festival, tea with Mary, a tromp in the snow to get the feel of the Northwest again. The snow was hard from warm weather followed by a clear cold snap, so it was more of a hike, but good to remind my toes and fingers how to stay warm after two weeks of 90 degree weather! Freezing cold and windy, but great to get out.

Now in Mendoza, I´m getting food and logistics prepared for nine climbers and a few guides for almost three weeks on the mountain. I´m working with a local guide for the first time instead of all Alpine guides, and he seems to be a great guy. The best part is he knows where to find things it would take me hours to do with my broken spanish. (¨Do you have ... something ... for ... umm, uno momento.¨) But at least it´s warm again...

We´ll be posting cybercasts for Team 3 on Aconcagua at: http://www.alpineascents.com/aconcagua-cybercast.asp

Catch you on the flip side!

Well done

1) Congratulations.  2) Finished for the season.  3) Fully cooked.  

Really, all of the above.

The trip was good.  Five climbers and three guides (his private trip was cancelled, so another joined us) spent three days walking to base camp in crazy windy weather (but not snow like last time!).  Our third guide walked out from base camp with one climber, and the rest of us continued up the mountain in usually good weather to camp three (19,200' or 5800m).  Ben and another climber descended to wait at the ending base camp while I continued to camp four (20,500' or 6200m) with the remaining three climbers.

Summit day was beautiful.  It snowed overnight, but we had an amazing sunrise with no wind and the clouds settled below us.  A group came up from a lower camp to break trail just as we started out, and the many commercial and private teams scheduled to summit that day moved smoothly up and down the mountain.  We stood on top about 2:15 and descended just ahead of the snow and wind that moved in that afternoon.

The air is thin at the summit - in millibars, the atmosphere at sea level is about 1012mb pressure.  At the top of Aconcagua, it was 425.  Less than half the available oxygen.  If you flew someone to the top from sea level, they would be dead in 10 minutes.  

Yet if you spend 2 weeks carrying heavy packs, breathing hard, and camping your way to 22,834' (6960m), you can stand on top with no more than a slight headache, if that.  Amazing how the human body adjusts.  But the top of Aconcagua is about the elevation that climbers start to use oxygen on Everest and other places.  It is dangerous mostly because people underestimate it.

Back in Mendoza now, I'm fighting off a wicked cold that has gone around our team, and hoping that I get real health insurance before the part of my nose that always burns turns into melanoma.  Relatively unscathed, and only 3 lbs lighter than when we started (people usually lose 8-15 lbs), I'm looking forward to fresh fruit, another shower, and finishing all my paperwork.  It's nice to be back...

...and back up again

A week in Mendoza has been well spent - about three days of letting my body recover, a few days of having the apartment to myself, and another three packing and getting ready for the next expedition.

I went running a bunch, including one three-hour day in the HOT sun - boy was I thirsty, but the run (OK, I walked up the hills) was good.  Into the desert

on tilted plains above Mendoza, mountains on one side, city down below.  Cooked real vegetarian food in the apartment kitchen, wandered around town a bit, and managed not to spend any money.  Places to go with that dinero...

Things I love about Mendoza (I won't presume to all of Argentina):

- People will randomly help you bring groceries in from a taxi, etc, just to be nice!

- I can go running without offending anyone, unlike many foreign cities (Delhi, Mexico City).

- Taxis and fresh summer fruit are cheap!

Things I hate about Mendoza:

- The checkers at the grocery store might be the slowest moving service people I have seen.  Ever.

- Absolutely everything involves meat.  Even Oreos - in the States, vegan.  Here, they have beef fat in them.  Seriously!

- And, yes, it was 103 degrees today (39 C).

But at least it is a dry heat (aside from the occasional thunderstorm), and the huge shade trees the city was built around make things bearable if you're near a ceiling fan.  The pace of life is slow, which makes burning a week here pretty manageable.  And the wine is good.

So really a good week all around, and it will be good to head back to the mountain.  A small group this time, one of whom I've climbed with before - should be good.   We're off to the mountain on Sunday, back in a couple weeks!  Track us - Team 10 -  at http://www.alpineascents.com/aconcagua-cybercast.asp 

Down from the mountain

An awfully cold, snowy mountain for being Aconcagua in the summertime!  We might have gotten snow on all but three or four days of a two-week trip.  Afternoon clouds frequently engulfed the summit and spread snow down to various lower reaches.  I don't think there was one truly hot day of the trip, including the usually-scorching three-day trek in.

Our group did great - mostly Americans, but an Aussie and a Brit thrown in for good measure, ages 25 - 64.  Our Aussie had to leave us at camp 3, but the other nine climbers made it to the summit in less-than-ideal visibility.  I stayed in the tent and slept off a fever and GI bug, but recovered by that evening and descended the next day without issue.  Hmm - I hope my various India bugs haven't decided to stick with me!  Dave and Lhawang were great to work with, some fun tent conversations and only a little kicking each other in our sleep.

Despite the lack of hot weather, there's no shortage of UV or just general harshness up there.  Part of the recovery process back in town is just letting my nose and face sort out their various burned and chapped layers.  Amazing how long it takes for this recovery - my muscles are ready to go, but it takes longer for this.

Now a week in Mendoza, where there is no shortage of heat.  Today it is 100 degrees (or 38 C), certainly too hot to run and sometimes too hot to move much!  Yikes!  It's supposed to finally cool off tomorrow - whew.  Hopefully some running, biking, reminding my body what it's like to move faster than 2 miles an hour...  

The next trip leaves tomorrow, so the other two guides and their living room full of food will be gone, and I'll have the apartment to myself for three days.   A little reading, a little cooking, a little relaxing - mmm.

Gone

The day I arrived in Mendoza we went to a Tibetan restaurant at the suggestion of Lhawang, an accomplished guide of Tibetan descent who lives in San Francisco.  The restaurant, Karma, is run by his friend who moved here with many others some years ago when they filmed Seven Years in Tibet in Argentina.  I very much enjoyed my Indian curry (vegetarian) in this Tibetan restaurant in Argentina listening to... Alanis Morissette.  Yep.  Sort of funny, all around...

After a few days of packing and adjusting to the late-night dinner schedule (parents with kids sitting down at 10:30pm), we're off to the mountain tomorrow morning.  Back in a couple weeks!  We're team 6 - cybercasts at: http://www.alpineascents.com/aconcagua-cybercast.asp 

Aconcagua, round 2

Whew! It's a lot of work getting ten people up a big mountain, but that's exactly what we did! We had a great, strong crew - many thanks to them for sticking it out. Working with the same lead guide and another guide who stayed on the mountain from the previous expedition, we successfully got ten climbers and three guides to the top. Lovely and all, but it's essentially a big rock pile, and I'm glad I'm working to help others reach their goals.

(These pictures don't have the same panache of those from the previous trip, but they're what you get with a disposable camera - enjoy!)

The weather wasn't quite as supremely cooperative as on the first trip, but was still good enough to summit at the beginning of our time window. Mendoza is a nice little city, even if I don't eat meat, one of the Argentinian specialties along with good wine. But it's time to get back to the north and catch up with winter rather than hang out here for another week.

It was surprisingly painless to get my ticket changed - I should be getting back to Seattle sometime on Monday. Missing one of the best winters of snow in quite some time has been killing me - there's actually powder on the ground in the great Northwet from what I hear! Time to get some skiing in. See you soon!

Back up the hill...

Ushuaia was great - nice to get some time in the forests and mountains and greenery, and some time to myself. Ironically, the weather was great there (where Mary got snowed on several years ago) while it rained buckets every day in Mendoza. Unlike my winter season coordination (it is dumping snow now both at Alta and in the Northwest while I'm down south), I actually picked the right time for the weather here.

After much more relaxed preparation this time around, we're getting ready to head back up for our second expedition. The group is looking strong, and the weather good, and it's time to climb a mountain! Keep an eye on Aconcagua's Team 6: http://www.alpineascents.com/aconcagua-cybercast.asp and check out the previous Aconcagua post below for a couple of pictures. See you on the other side!

Aconcagua, round 1

Back down from the mountain, everybody safe and sound. Aconcagua is, indeed, both harder and easier than expected - for a tall mountain, involving lots of acclimatization and attention to potential altitude issues, it is intensely non-technical. The carries to higher camps and rest days in between were uneventful, especially since we had great weather. Last year was crazy windy, but this first trip was pretty mellow - only one day of wind and a moderately cold summit day.

I was not able to summit this time around, having brought down two climbers who didn't have the energy to continue to the summit and back. I turned with them at 21,000 feet, which is my high mark, hopefully just until the next trip. My body seems pretty happy at altitude, so I´m looking forward to summiting with the next trip. (And the ones next year, and the next...)

These are just two of several amazing photos lent by one of the climbers on the trip. (Thanks!)

After three weeks with people, I booked a quick (and expensive!) flight to the southern end of the continent and am in Ushuaia, Argentina, for a week or so. It´s not so easy to rent a kayak independently, so I´m headed to Tierra del Fuego National Park for some hiking and may do a kayaking trip early next week before returning to Mendoza. A funny little tourist town down here, but beautiful, with green and water and spiky peaks, a much-needed contrast to the driness of the Aconcagua area. More later...

Off to the big hill...

One spanish-speaking country to another with a completely different (and therefore less useful to my Mexico-enhanced comprehension) set of words and pronunciations...

Back to work after three months off - a little strange since it´s essentially the same environment but with more demands and people! We´ll be calling in cybercasts for friends of those climbing to keep track of our progress on the mountain (talk about contrary to my personal philosophy!), so if you care you can track us, Group 3 on their cybercast page here: http://www.alpineascents.com/aconcagua-cybercast.asp

Catch you on the flipside of Aconcagua...