* almost; round trip from the base camp
Have you ever seen the book series ‘x in a weekend’ e.g., Tennis, Skiing, Sailing – a crash course manual that should teach you this activity in one weekend only? Well, in the case of climbing Aconcagua, this title could be indeed true. We’ve done it ourselves, almost.
And it is not ‘almost on weekend’, because Friday-Sunday in our case were sufficient to climb the mountain and do ‘there and back’ from the base camp at 4300m. Unfortunately the ‘almost’ stands for ‘almost reaching the peak’, which was only 400 m away from us.
This might seem to be a failure for us. First, we are spoiled by climbing several Swiss 4000m peaks, with every attempt accomplished. Second, Aconcagua is technically an easy mountain. Neglecting its height of almost 7000m, going up to the peak is a hike, not a climb. Third, we discovered a long time ago that the altitude sickness that bothers many people on the heights over 3000m, doesn’t really concern us. It was confirmed in the medical check point at the base camp. So why did this mountain kick our ass?
Well, it was cold and windy. We mean, freezing cold and unbearably windy. We thought we were prepared, with plastic boots, ski trousers, many layers on top (Marta had seven polar blouses!), tree gloves per hand, and heads covered with caps, hoods, masks, thick cream. But at one point, at about 6500m, we had to follow a very exposed ridge. As can be expected from two hiking Poles, each of us had two hiking poles. We had to keep all of them on the left side to fight the wind blowing from the right… And then, one of us freaked out (and it was not me;). We returned.
There were only a few people that reached the peak on that day. We talked to them later. One guy suffered from bad frostbites of fingers and nose – on the next day he couldn’t feel anything. In contrast, his friend had more fragile feet that froze on the way down from the peak. I mean, froze completely – they had to take him down with a helicopter. Although a bit disappointed up there, I am now happy to have returned before reaching the peak. My nose, slightly damaged by the freeze too, seems to completely agree with me.
A word about the weather forecasts. They didn’t predict wind at all. On the contrary, it was supposed to be a very good day for summiting (which was, nota bene, why we hurried so much). Apparently, Aconcagua doesn’t read the same forecasts as we do. Indeed, the mountain guides we talked to said that she never does.
As a result, we were back in Mendoza only six days after we had left. We expected it to take much more (typical expedition lasts about 15 days mainly due to acclimatization), and booked our flight to Ecuador accordingly. Now, it is impossible to rebook this flight (we are in the lowest, limping turtle class) and we are stuck in Argentina/Chile for another 10 days… Still have to figure out what to do with that time.
Blog entry location:See entire map here!
That’s a great comment by tata Wojtek!
yeah, where r u taking Marta next, Maciek? Mother Earth soon would be done!
looks like I have too much time checking your blog daily.
Very beautiful Photographs. Love them….
No to popykamy jeszcze w Heroski!
And what have you noticed in the great telescope you were going to look through? Have you choosen a mountain on the moon for the next trip “around the moon”?
Brawo Marta za rosądek. Maciek jak się ma twój nieco odmrożony nos?
Hi, I`m your fan from the centre of Poland, but sorry an emerita. I`ve read your gripping news, admired fantastic photos and cute comments made split my sides laughing. But for u there are harsh moments to cope with. Glad u act accord. better safe than sorry or as some say in Poland lepiej nosic niz sie prosic. Enjoy your trip and in good weather conditions. Good luck.
Uncle Grzegorz`s cousin Malgosia from Lodz.
brawo!!!
podpisuje sie obiema rekami pod komentarzami waszych Ojcow-bardzo wlasciwe!!!!
Wow, it seems like Huayna Potosi was a piece of cake compared to this. Though I’m surprised with number of people you, almost like Tatra Moutains. I’m sure you are going to simply skip the 7000 and just jump to 8000
Congratulations: uporu, ale i rozumu w koncowce tego pierwszego!. Wiedziec kiedy odpuscic to art i sztuka. Tym razem sie udalo.V.good. Unfortunately I miss possibility to watch the photos (your page is among blocked due to unfortunate policy of my company), but from the comments I gess they are good & intriguing, as usuall in this trip. The freezing cold outside, on the sea (-13C&”fresh”wind) makes my imagination vivid. Brr.
Hope you feel gorsko spelnieni and now will seek advantures in rather lower parts of terra globale.
I am keen to see your photos asap. Pa, ogrzejcie sie gdzie tam przy kominku i winku, take care.
OK, all’s well that ends well. You should be happy that you are back with your boots, even damaged. Coming back is a greater achievement than to reach an object only once – without possibility to reach it again. The found horseshoe (in the photo) gave you this good luck. The “merde glace”
are the most interesting photos, according to me.
Guys, that was a very wise decision to turn back!
Next time, next time
Impressed by your achievements.
Good luck. Valya
Wow! Impressive climb! Good that you are back in one piece and with all the parts.
We hope Zygimantas did not have any frostbites!
You are crazy, but young and beautiful!!!
I like Campamento Canada u know y !
Now you have time to shop for new hiking shoes or you can fix them!
love,
Odwołuje się “Nareszcie!!!” dotyczące “December 26, 2009″. To z rozpędu.
You man. I’m glad you made it up there. I’m sure it was a great climb. Enjoy your trip and see you around.
Nareszcie!!!