Aconcagua Climbing Information

Why do I suffer so much pain for these blasted mountains? Here I lay at 17,700 Nido and I experience pain so few get to feel. Actually I am doing pretty well. Its 6 p.m. I am in my bag. The sun heating inside tent to 71 degrees, 87 earlier! I feel super compared to the move to 17,200 feet on McKinley. I was ready to die then. Right now I only have the slightest headache but my body is tired. I am only writing one sentence every 30 seconds. We got up this morning once the sun hit the tent. I fired up the stove for some cocoa. We packed up and we were off with our camp to sleep at Nido 17,700. It was another perfect day. I passed several people and finally after several hours of slow climbing, arrived at Nido. I dropped my pack at our cash and looked for the best spot for camp. It was at our stash so there I waited for the others. Then over the music of my walkman, a guy comes from behind asking for water. It was one of the Americans from the big group we have been crossing paths with. We knew they were climbing fast and had spent last night in the highest camp Berlin. We also knew they were all going for the summit today. We wondered why. They all claimed they were fine but they were just flying up. Their leader was this iron man who had been on or up Everest. We think he helped push them up. They wanted to get up it this good weather. I guess this morning they went but 2 of the 4 Americans got edema real bad around 21,500 feet. They thought they would die, they could not put another foot forward. It hit them quick. Now one was down at Nido with me asking for water. The other was 30 minutes behind. Soon Bob, Nile and Boyd showed up. We set up camp and talked to George the 2nd American with altitude sickness. I gave him the rest of the water bottle his friend used. They were both pretty hammered. Both regretted going so fast. Now all they cared about was getting lower to Base Camp. After camp was up I started dinner. Had problems with MSR XGK stove so we used our backup a wisperlight. Felt pretty good after the freeze dried dinner and cocoa. Then filled water bottles and came into the tent where I am now. I took a small nap about four sentences ago. Now its 6:45 and it�s back up to 84 degrees in the tent. The wind was kicking up but now it is calm again. Our tents seem to be on the path down the mountain. A couple of French guys came by earlier asking for a radio. They continued on. Another guy walked by asking two rocks, two rocks. I guess he stashed gear there. We are near the death zone and people are showing it. Boyd thought R.J. Secor just walked by asking where the water was. Secor wrote the book on Aconcagua that everyone has. He is on the mountain but supposedly doing a different route to put into his book. Boyd says he wrote about a pond up here in his book but he never did this route. Well while we were jabbing the guy next to us showed up. A tent next to us has sat empty. He is Mendoza police. He is head in charge of the body recovery. I guess they are going up tomorrow to get it. They will probably bring it to our camp here tomorrow evening.

Aconcagua Climb (page 2 of 3)

Well it is sometime in the afternoon. It has been quite a day. We awoke to pure blue sky. We knew it would be because last evening everyone was out looking at the mountains alpenglow. We awoke this morning and packed up camp. We kept asking about our permits but they still have not arrived. We left a huge duffle at the Keewees base tent full of stuff we do not need up high. Slowly we climbed the trail to Canada Camp. Bob and I took 2 good breaks and arrived around 2 p.m. The view is great with this perfect weather. At 16,000 feet, it is warm with the sun but a cold wind does flow through at times. We are camping next to Boyd and Colorado. Unfortunately, Colorado will not let us call him that so he is actually Nile. Also setting up a camp next to us is a guy from Seattle. The dogs also followed us up here. They are going to be real cold tonight. The best part of today was listening to my walkman the whole way up here. Our plan now is to take a load tomorrow up to Alaska or even Nido! I guess there is a dead guy above Berlin Camp. It is now after dinner, and the rough chore of melting snow is done. I just heard one of my favorite songs played. I am picking up a whole lot of music up here. Looks like were skipping on Camp Alaska and going to Nino. From there it is only Berlin Camp. I am just sitting here thinking how we are sitting at 16,000 feet. It is after 7 p.m., the sun is warming the tent. Outside you need fleece but gloves and hat are optional. When I do not think about how tiring this altitude is I often think I am summer camping. It does drop below 0 at night when there is no cloud cover. Ok, it is now 9 p.m. and just had to write down that I feel great. We just watched the sunset over some mountains, having some cocoa, and an ibprophren. Now I feel ready for another 2000 feet tomorrow.

It is 2 p.m. now as I sit in a tent that is 119 degrees and rising. I deserve such warmth. Today was quite a day. I slept ok last night but early this morning I had trouble breathing and a headache. I really began doubting this mountain. I just lay in pain wondering why I was climbing it. I would have turned back if I was the only person I cared about but the sad thing is there is pressure of others. I just could not answer the thousands of questions and comments. I just knew that if a night was rough at 17,700, what would a night be like at 19,500. That is the football field on McKinley. Finally it was time to get up and eat. I ate one of my few warm breakfasts and cocoa. It seems to help. Bob was feeling better than me. Boyd and Nile next door had such bad headaches and stomach problems that they stayed put today. While cooking, RJ Secor walked by. I guess it was him after all last night. A friend and he were headed up to Berlin for the night. They then plan to summit tomorrow. Bob took off first, than I slowly followed. Not far up we met Carl. He was the leader of the American team that only 2 of 5 got up. He was in a good mood. He says he will treat us to dinner in Seattle this summer to exchange war stories. Not far past them I dropped my pack and paid nature a visit. After that, I slowly caught up to Bob. We both slowly trudged up the switchbacks. I really pulled ahead of Bob when nature called him. Soon I was in Berlin Camp. It has got a great view and not that exposed. There are a few shelters but very popular. The summit is only around 3,000 feet above the camp. I put everything in the bag and headed down. I am surprised how good I felt at 19,500 feet. I talked to Bob on the way down but it only took 20 minutes I think to get back. I left after 11 and got back at 2. Now I rest until tomorrow when we move camp up there. Some clouds are moving in but it may be of no concern. Yesterday clouds came in, than a storm hit hard last night. The tent was really shaking. By early morning the clouds and winds were gone. I have got the tent down to 97 degrees, time for a nap. Now it�s near 7 p.m. All chores done. Woke up when Bob returned. We had both stoves going and cooked dinner and melted snow for water bottles (3 each). I feel pretty good but will have to keep on top of the headache. That is all for today, I will probably spend next hour reading something in large print. Tomorrow we take camp to Berlin, hopefully summit the next day. Then this climb will be over and I will be so happy. To go home without the summit would hurt badly. I would not get it off my mind.

Not a day I wish to remember although I always will. The night was hard. I slept well but awoke often wondering if we were going for the summit. The weather looked very iffy so we decided to call it a rest day. I have been in the tent all day. It is 4:30 p.m. It has been snowing off and on all day. I am so weak. It takes everything you have to do anything. If I get up too fast I am woozy. If I lay perfectly still then I am ok. Bob and I talked the past several hours. Now it is time for dinner. Luckily it is his turn. Bob also walked around camp. Looks like almost everyone has gone. We are hoping tomorrow is good or we will probably go also. Humans are not supposed to be living up here. Out of 100, only 25 percent of me wants to get up this mountain. I just do not care; I am tired of being tired. For a person like me who always has energy to do anything anytime, it is rough to be feeling this way. It is like when you�re sick in bed and all you want to do is stay there. Imagine feeling that way but forcing yourself to eat and drink things you do not like or you will die. Then imagining that tomorrow will be one of the most physically and mentally challenging days of your life. Imagine that every few sentences you are writing cause you to be out of breath. I can not write anymore but maybe later. Tomorrow morning is probably our last chance. If we make it up, great. If not, so be it. Now it is 7:30 p.m. Things are better. I feel pretty good. We had dinner. I have been in the tent all day except a few nature calls. We have pee bottles but they often fill up. R.J. Secors friend came over and said a few things to us. The weather is supposed to be bad for at least another day. Several people have tried to summit today and yesterday but only one Japanese climber made it. One guy was turned back by wind 100 meters from the summit. Another guy has not come back yet so they are a bit worried. We are really hoping the weather tomorrow is better. We are both ready to summit.

It is only 4:30 but what a day. I woke up feeling good. I made myself some cocoa, ate a granola bar and I was ready. I loaded my pack and took off. I felt really good. I was making first tracks in the snow filled old tracks, set my radio to a great station, and the dogs were still by my side. I soon arrived at Camp Alaska. I passed both groups who were packing up and then took my only break just past the camp. I pushed on feeling great. Nido did not look much further. It was about 800 feet higher and up on the NW ridge of the mountain. Plainly visible above me was the trail to the summit. The top looks so close from Alaska and Nido. Soon I arrived at Nino camp. It is almost 18,000 feet high. That is the highest I�ve ever carried a full pack. I found a spot to ditch my gear. My huge duffle is sure nice. Only 20 bucks and the thing works wonders. I still had some energy so I trudged through the crusty snow to the edge of the ridge. For the first time I was able to look north for miles into the Andes. One deep valley was impressive and so were two large mountains. Today was another warm sunny day but the wind at times was quite strong up there. After getting all the pictures, I headed down. Not far down I talked to Boyd and Bob. Boyd was motoring but Bob said he was getting his butt whipped. Luckily he was almost there. I than ran down a good amount of the way back to Camp Canada. Canada was nice and warm so I picked up a few rays of sun. Then I went into the warm tent to sleep and write in the journal, etc. Colleen, one of the Keewees, made it here today but only stayed until Boyd came down. Rob, the 3rd Keewee arrived about the same time. He is up here to stay but Colleen is not sleeping any higher than base camp. Some rangers were heading up today with a coffin thingy. They are going to get the dead Polish guy. I guess this polish guy tried to do it in one shot. He went up in tennis shoes and a t-shirt. He may have summated, nobody knows. They found him yesterday frozen to death below the summit. The weather report is for five more good days of weather. That may be all we need in order to summit. There are some high cirrus clouds coming from the ocean but maybe they are nothing. Tomorrow we move camp up to Nido de Condores. Well, it is almost 9 p.m. now. The clouds dispersed in the distance. I awoke from a nap before dinner feeling a bit crappy. We melted snow then cooked dinner. I downed a two serving Mountain House for the first time on this trip. That and a cup of hot cocoa have made me feel 100 percent again. I am ready to take camp to Nido. Two more Seattleites pulled into camp. They are from Vashon Island. I gave a couple of packs of corn nuts to the keewees. The Keewees never tried so much of my candy. I get a kick out of them trying it. We trade a lot with Boyd and Rob. We all seem to be cracking each other up. We are just one happy camp.

It is too bad I am writing this the night of the 21st. It is difficult to let all the events and feelings of yesterday out because of the comfort and way I feel now. Our summit day started yesterday by getting up around 7. We had the alarm set but the weather looked not so good. Bob took off at 8 a.m. I left at 9. We kind of planned on me taking off later because I would be a bit quicker and we would meet at the summit. When I left at 9 a.m., the weather looked good. The clouds did not look too bad and it looked to be an ok day. Slowly I climbed out of Berlin Camp. My toes and fingers were cold but I knew they would warm up. The trail was nice but it was slow going. The only people going for the summit were one guy, Bob and I. This guy was a bit in front of Bob. After a long time I reached the Independencia Hut. Things were still going well although the summit was clouded in and looked windy. Soon I hit the traverse. It was extremely windy but I pushed through. I was becoming extremely tired. Crossing a snowfield on the traverse was also difficult and tiring. There was no air. I was not too far behind Bob. We both were fighting to get up. Finally we came to the Canaleta. This was the last obstacle before the ridge traverse over to the summit. I got about halfway up then I hit a wall. The Canaleta was placed there by Satan himself. This section of the mountain is hated by all persons who ever step foot inside. First, imagine you�re at 22,000 feet. Every step requires 3 breaths of air. Now, place yourself on a mountain that was a bunch of loose rocks. No footing was secure. You put your foot on a rock, place your weight on it and it slides back down. You try to catch yourself and not fall on your face. In doing so, you use a lot of energy and it requires 10 to 15 breaths of air to calm down from that one step up. Now imagine that step after step. It is a nightmare. I hate that stuff at sea level, now at 22,000 feet! A storm had moved in and it was snowing hard. The summit looked very windy. I did not know even if I made it to the top of the Canaleta that the traverse up to the summit was possible in high winds. Most of all, I did not think the mountain was worth the pain I was experiencing. The pain in my body was so intense. My mind had already given up. I had given up but I did not care. Twice while I sat and waited for Bob to come down I thought I still could do it. I would get up, take two or 3 steps, fall back almost too where I was and give up again. It was the most evil part of the mountain and it was at the very end. I had already suffered on the trip enough and when I was in the Canaleta I realized it would end here. I have always climbed because I enjoy climbing. There has always been some pain but the fun and experience always outweighed the pain. This trip, the pain outdid the joy. Waiting for Bob got boring and cold so I decided to go down. I knew I was hurting because even going down took all my strength. I had to rest every few minutes. I had to cross the snowfield in a white out. I wished I had brought up my crampons but everyone said you would not need them. I was so tired I wondered if I could stop myself if I slipped and fell. I walked like a zombie coming down. I was in no rush but I did want down. I knew I was dehydrated and hungry but hungry is not the word when food does not appeal at all to you. That is one of the good things I noticed was I had no real altitude problems. I had turned back because of weather, exhaustion and disgust for the last 800 feet. Below the Independencia Hut I ran into 4 climbers coming over a bluff who were asking where Berlin was. I told them it was another 700 feet down. They had come up the polish glacier and went to high when coming over to our route. They had carried full packs above 20,000 feet and they looked it. It was near there that I saw 2 people coming down behind me. I couldn�t believe it was Bob and the other guy but it had to be. I continued down and finally made it to the tent. There were now a bunch of tents nearby, all North Face, all guided expeditions. As I lay next to my tent, Boyd dropped by to leave a note. I told him of our adventures and Boyd told us his plans. Soon I was just sitting in the tent in a stupor of complete exhaustion few ever feel. It was not too long, although I was not watching time in my stupor, and Bob arrived. He said he did not make it. I was very surprised. He had made it to the top of the Canaleta and turned back. I saw him near the top but that is when I turned back. He was able to look down the south face. He also walked by the dead Polish climber. I guess he laid there on his side with one arm up but no hand. Bob did not exactly study the body but it did give him a good scare. The conditions were horrible and the guy who was in front of Rob was on his way down from the top. Bob was not sure the best way to the top. The guy even said in passing that it was getting late you do not have time today, it is a very tough mountain, must be very strong, try again tomorrow, or something like that. He was a mule from Austria. Bob decided it was best to go down. He definitely said he felt his life was in danger. Back in Berlin Camp we just laid there as if dead. We finally mustered enough strength to cook dinner. We both could eat very little, we were wiped out. After dinner it was dark and we went to sleep.