Climbing Aconcagua

Aconcagua Feb 13,1993 - Mar 8, 1993

Aconcagua is the highest peak in South America and the Southern hemisphere. My friend, Stan and I have enjoyed climbing many mountains and decided to tackle Aconcagua ourselves. In this story I hope to share our story with other climbers and interested parties. There is limited information or should I say mis-information on Aconcagua and everything should be passed on. We started planning for this trip in fall of '92. I had kept in contact with a climber who we had met in Mexico earlier in the year who had expressed an desire to climb Aconcagua. We attempted to find out all we could on planning our trip. Soon it became very obvious that there is very little written on the big "A". I found this hard to believe but it was true. Besides having little info on the routes and mountain all the elevations and camps were inconsistent. Oh well, we'll figure it out when we get there right? A date was set and airline tickets were purchased. I took on the task of getting the food bought and packaged. Easier said than done actually. I've included the itinerary and menu. I prepared food bags for 14 climbing days, 3 extra days, and food for Puenta del Inca. In all I think the food itself weighed around 80 pounds. At least we wouldn't starve. Stan got a hold of 9 X-ray film boxes at the hospital where he is the emergency room physician. He put 3 sets of 3 individual boxes together for a perfect airline size piece of baggage. They really worked very well and held up great. The gear we took was standard for expedition. I've included my gear list and the group gear list.

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Feb. 13th, 1993 Sat.--Chicago - Day 1

We meet Matt our climbing partner in the terminal at O'Hare. We saved a box and a half for him and we pack everything and tape the boxes up. Baggage allowance is 2 bags at 70 pounds per bag. We just make it under the limit with the evil eye watching from the other side of the ticket counter. On the way to Miami and then to Santiago.

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Feb. 14th Sun.--Santiago, Chili--Mendoza, Argentina - Day 2

I made another observation that occurs mysteriously overnight on international flights. What is it that transforms wonderful coffee into International "sludge" overnight? We made it to Santiago but not without our first international incident. On the plane they said that passengers going on to other countries should not check in with customs. Well...we got off the bus and like lemmings followed in the lines and whipped through passport control. Uh Oh! We then asked some nice man with a radio where to go next and you would have thought we just pulled a gun on the guy. I take it from his wild gesturing that we weren't supposed to go in there at all. He took our passports which to my delight had a Chilean passport stamp on it and ran in the International police office. After lots of Spanish followed by Stan and I shrugging our shoulders they decided we were OK. We went with the radio guy and he took us back out the door and outside. Finally, we came to the transient lounge. The guy took our passports again and tickets and took off. A very typical foreign lounge, very loud speakers blaring every few minutes and enough smoke in the air to give you cancer. We're here 6 long hours with absolutely nothing to do.

One of the other passengers was a young guy from Mendoza originally but educated in the U.S., George was very nice and obviously proud of his hometown. He helped us greatly when we got into Mendoza. We had all the expedition gear and food packed carefully for the trip. I guess it's the norm in Mendoza to have customs take everything out of suitcases and search for electronics coming into the country. George explained our business and the man just waved us through. That saved us hours and a big headache. He also helped get us taxies and followed us to our hotel to smooth the check-in. We stayed at the Hotel Balbi located downtown. I recommend it to other climbers. It's convenient and close to everything. After hauling all the stuff up to our room we decided to walk around Mendoza. I had heard that to get the permit to climb Aconcagua, the location had been changed from the soccer stadium to the city information place. The office is the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente and is open everyday from 8am to 8pm. It's located in the Secretary of Tourism, San Martin Avenue 1135, Mendoza. I casually walked in not expecting to find a soul there at 7:45pm. I asked about a permit and the young man said no problem. All we needed was 80 dollars and a passport. We also needed to have medical insurance and list someone for them to call in an emergency. That was it! In the past you needed a zillion photos, doctors notes, EKG's, pictures of your tent, gear lists, etc, etc. Now no problem. The man was very helpful with maps, and information. So far this climbing season 6 or 7 people have died. (one is missing) The hotel Rufugio Plaza de Mulas is operating and they also have a bar and restaurant. This year around 1500 people have attempted all routes on the mountain and around half have made it. The weather has not been too good because of El Nino. He wished us good luck and we were off. Getting the permit early saved us greatly in time and money. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and headed off to the bus station to purchase tickets to Puenta del Inca. The tickets were only 7.80 each but we expected a luggage fee. Now with transportation and permits all we needed to do was get some fuel and a few groceries.

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Feb. 15 Mon -- Mendoza, Puenta del Inca Day 3

We piled the gear outside the hotel and split up to get money, fuel and groceries. The hotel only accepts Argentinean pesos but will take credit cards for a 15% fee. The exchange rate was very nearly 1 US to 1 peso. There is a super market right next to the hotel so shopping was convenient. We just needed some bread and cheese. Fuel was easy to get and is similar to white gas. The guy at the permit place gave us a map and told us what it should cost. I think we got 9 liters for 9 dollars. The taxi's picked us up at 9 AM and got us to the bus station. We carried the gear to our station and presented our tickets. The bus driver took one look at our stuff and sort of freaked. He brought out a scale and weighed everything. 125 Kilos. It ended up costing $28 extra. Actually, all together with taxies, baggage and 3 tickets it cost around 75 dollars to get to Puenta del Inca. We did check into a Taxi Flet which is a small truck and it was around 150. The muleteer wanted around 200. The bus ride is uneventful but some of the stops are interesting. The river valley where the road takes us is very beautiful. We also stopped for lunch in a village of Uspillada.

We arrived in Puenta del Inca at around 2:30. It's actually a wide spot in the road to tell the truth. Immediately an older man approached us and asked us if we wanted to hire some mules. We had a list of mule people and their approximate prices so we recognized this mans name. First we decided to check into the Hosteria and dump the gear. It cost $75 for 3 people and has hot water, private bath and a fairly large room. There is really nothing else in the town. When the peak season is going on most camp near the old church across the river. We walked over to see the famous natural bridge and mineral springs. Unusual formation to say the least. It looks like the mountain is melting into the river. There are some structures built into the side of the hill. Up above there is a bubbling pool of mineral water which the tourists like to take off their shoes and jump in. Now for the mule business. Sr. Grajales said that it would be for 60 kilos (1 mule) $120, 120 kilos (2 mules) $160 and 180 kilos (3 mules) $200. I wasn't exactly sure how many mules we would need but he said he would weight everything. He also could store our extra stuff and take us up the road to the trailhead (that saves walking about 2 or 3 miles). We decided to deal with him after we check some of the other prices. He said that coming down it would be probably 60 to 80 dollars. We met at 6 P.M. to give him the mule loads and weight the bags. We re-packed our packs and some food bags to get it all evenly distributed. It was hard to know what to bring for the first couple of days on the walk in. We decided to not take a tent and use a bivy sack and our liner sleeping bags. No real weather reports so we had to guess what we would probably need but keep the load as light as possible. We weighed the gear and it came to 128 kilos. He said $160 would do it and to be ready at 10 tomorrow. The Hosteria has a really nice restaurant that does a brisk business from all the tourist busses during the day. Argentina is much like Spain as far as meal timing. Lunch is usually between 1:30 to 5 PM and dinner starts at 8:30 to midnight. They have a fixed menu and the food is excellent. The meal consisted of coffee, small tuna salad, soup, salad with tomatoes, roast beef and ice cream. For the three of us it was $51. We really didn't know what to expect since the information on Aconcagua is very limited. I thought the Hosteria would be concrete floors, bunks and a greasy spoon.

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Feb. 15 Mon -- Puenta del Inca, Confluencia Day 4

Puenta del Inca is 2750 meters (8600'). Many climbers spend a couple days here to help acclimatize. We have not had problems with altitude lower than 14,000' feet so we planned on getting on with the trip. The two day trip to the Plaza de Mulas is around 37 km and the second day is the most lengthy and strenuous. We ate breakfast and prepared for our trip up the mountain. I heard a knock on our door. A middle aged man named Freddy asked if I had a Band-Aid for his foot. He said he was from Copenhagen and had been to Confluencia but returned because of problems with altitude. I made a comment to Stan that the man had more trouble than altitude if he didn't have a Band-Aid this early into an expedition. Ten O'clock came soon and we loaded into Sr. Grajales' truck. He drove us to the trail head which was around 9,400'. We walked a bit and around Lake Horcones a ranger appeared and wanted our permits. He then brought back a numbered garbage sack for our group.

The trail was easy at the start and the valley was very nice. The river crossings now have small bridges over them. The river crossings used to be the most dangerous part of the trip and with the swiftness of the river I can see how. Even in low water it would have been treacherous. Matt, our climbing partner fell behind when the trail got rocky and hilly. We got together for a brief lunch and all agreed the scenery was much more beautiful than we ever expected. Most of the day it was hot but late it started clouding up. It started raining and sleeting. Thunder snow! It stopped after awhile and we soon were standing above the huge valleys where the rivers come together, i.e. the Confluencia. There is another bridge crossing the Horcones river inferior and another small bridge over the Horcones river superior. The rickety bridge was sort of fun crossing. We met some other Americans who summited on their eighth day. They looked really fried. Their summit day took 14 hours and they said the Caneleta was in good shape. The Confluencia's altitude is 3,368m (11,114') We made laid down some plastic and got the bivy sacs out. Dinner was good and soon we were comfortable and ready for sleep. Of course, the comfort only lasted a couple hours before it started to rain. Oh boy! I'm glad I seam sealed my butt off getting the bivy's ready. It poured for about 3 or 4 hours and then of course got cold. Matt was soaked and decided to try to move into a shelter the Argentinean climbers had made between a couple rocks. Our Bibler bivys worked great and we were dry and half way warm with our liner bags. Remember, to stay warm, always potty when you have to (don't wait) and keep eating candy. Seriously these small things help.

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Feb. 17 Wed-- Confluencia, Plaza de Mulas - Day 5

Got up at 8am and made breakfast. I asked Matt to start the stove (MSR whisperlight international) for breakfast. He had no clue on how to get it going. I thought that was strange since we had talked about gear and I was counting on him bringing an MSR XGK. I got it going and got some hot coffee in us. Ready to roll and get this long day going. Today is going to be around 18 miles. Matt fell behind immediately but we split up lunch so we didn't worry. Again the trail was good and the scenery spectacular. The valley is immense and looks like the Karakorum. We crossed many small streams with no problem. The trail was easy for about three hours and then it got rocky and hard to walk on. The weather got colder and windier so we broke out the Gore-Tex and wind pants. We followed the valley around a bend and I think missed the right river crossing. The valley got narrow and it was obvious we had to cross the river by wading through it. Stan tested some rocks and then slipped in the river. Now with soaked boots he waded across and put on his dry wading shoes. I changed to my old Nikes and stepped through the icy cold stream. Wow, that was a wake up. Changed back to my boots and headed up a steep hill. More barren valley up above. After a long way we ran into another American who pointed out where the Plaza de Mulas was. He said it would be about 2 more hours. We continued on and of course the weather was getting worse and started to snow. Great, poor Stan has his wading shoes on and all our warm clothes, i.e. gloves went up with the mules. We didn't worry too much because spare socks make for wonderful mittens anyway.

Finally came to the old Plaza de Mulas. Not much going on here. Made it up a steep hill and then came up to a small hut. It was really snowing hard now and we weren't too sure where the mules had taken our stuff to. Stan and I decided that since it was our wedding anniversary it would be nice to treat ourselves to a night at the highest hotel in the world. A guy came out of the hut and I asked how to get to the hotel. He said it was close and would only take 10 minutes. Don't ever believe the phrase "10 minutes". Up and down, up and down, we finally found the hotel after about 20 to 30 minutes. I'm so glad the guy led us there because with the snow storm we would have had a tough time finding it. The hotel is huge. I was shocked at the size. We walked in an asked for a room with a private bath and hot water. Other rooms are available also with no bath. Our rooms cost $30 each and were sparse but comfortable. First, thing was to get warm. There is a large fireplace with large chairs and couches surrounding it. Coffee is served in huge mugs and was very tasty. Some Belgian climbers had hiked into the hotel with blue jeans so they were sitting around drinking their hot mugs of coffee in their underwear drying their wet jeans by the fire. We started looking around the place and it seems almost all the wiring is exposed. Kind of scary. Our room was ready so we took off upstairs to take a hot shower. They gave us a couple towels but we didn't have any soap. Oh well, it was hot water. Stepping out into the cold was thrilling but worth it. The dining room was heated with a large propane space heater. The kitchen had a limited menu but was in operation. We got a message that we were needed on the radio. Stan talked to the ranger and the radio call was from Matt. He finally made it to the Plaza de Mulas and wondered where we were. Crossing the river he fell in and got soaked. He found the boxes and was going to spend the night with the ranger. We ordered dinner to celebrate our anniversary. I got a Pepsi and pizza. Stan got a sandwich. It was the worst $4 Pepsi ever. Maybe it was the Diamox but it tasted terrible. Word is out that the weather is getting worse. Nobody really knows but that's how conversation is made on a mountain. People seem to be summiting anyway.

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Feb. 18 Thur. Carry loads to Camp Canada - Day 6

Slept wonderful. Drank lots of water last night. The hotel is at 14,400'. Kind of like sleeping on top of Mt. Rainier. We started taking Diamox for altitude last night. We've found that 125 mg (half a tablet) twice a day works great and cuts out most of the side effects. The weather looks great. We ate breakfast and were out the door at 11 A.M. Took around 20 minutes to get over to Plaza de Mulas. Found Matt in his tent and then gathered up our gear from the mule tent. Sorted out food bags and set up camp. I got loads together for a carry today to Camp Canada. Matt told us that he left his pack at the old Plaza de Mulas and has to pick it up. We need to make the carry so I told him where the dinner bag for tonight was so he could start the water when he saw us coming down from the carry. Took off about 1 P.M. for Canada at an altitude of 16,800'. The trail out of Plaza de Mulas is steep up the mountain with lots of switch backs at the start. The trail moves up a more gradual slope and passes a small campsite at around 16,000'. Camp Canada is located in the rocks overlooking the slope.

We got up there in 3 hours taking a slow to moderate pace. It was hot with the sun reflecting off the recent snow. We brought duffels that will be used to store our gear and food along the way. We originally thought that Canada was located around 16,000' but our altimeter read 16,800'. On the way down, it started to snow at around 15,000' and continued as light flurries all the way to Plaza de Mulas. We got back in around an hours time. Matt was sitting there and said he had just gotten back. I was really surprised by how long it took and asked if he was ill. He said he felt fine but I was getting worried because it should only have taken around an hour at most. He pulled out his stove and it was apparent that he didn't bring the stove I thought he was bringing. I asked where the MSR was and he didn't think we needed it. So much for my plans on nesting the two stoves together at altitude. To top it off the damn thing is a like Chernobyl when you light it and uses a ton of fuel. Stan and I were tired from our first carry and really didn't want to cook. I set out the food bag but he didn't know how to fix dinner. It was now very apparent that I would be doing all the cooking and snow melting from now on.

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Feb. 19 Fri. Carry loads to Camp Canada - Day 7

Slept fine after a Halcion at midnight. We decided that since we were a day ahead of schedule because of our good fortune on getting our permit we would carry a total of 4 times to Canada. We spent 4 nights on McKinley at the same altitude before moving up and it helped greatly. Snowed last night but it's not really all that cold, probably around 20 to 30. Sun hits the tent around 10 am and that's when we fix breakfast. Sorted out loads and put Matt on the trail an hour earlier than us. We caught him in 20 minutes. Got to Canada in a little under 3 hours with heavier loads than yesterday. Ate lunch and headed down. Finally saw Matt down the mountain. He looked trashed and wanted to quit. I asked if he was feeling OK. He said he was just tired. We got down in under an hour and waited for him to show up. Started to snow again. He got down around 6:30 and I started dinner. The area is clearing out this late in the season. Lot's of Europeans here.

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Feb. 20 Sat. Carry loads to Camp Canada - Day 8

Snowed a couple inches last night. Fed the guys then divided loads for today's carry. Matt took off around 11. Stan and I took off an hour later. I was feeling really strong and passed Matt in 10 minutes. Even with the fresh snow I was cruising up the mountain. I got to Canada in 2 hours. Wow, cut an hour off the time. I waited at the top for Stan and when I saw him I ran down around 500 feet and offered to take some of his load. Wrong! Guys don't like to have help from girls. Oh well, I climbed back up and started getting stuff organized in the duffel's. We put together a load for the next camp Nido de Condores and decided to carry as far as we could until 5 PM. It was really hot with the sun reflecting off snow. My hands really hurt from the sunburn. White gloves and white long shirt would have been very nice to have. We got to around 17,500' and then cached the duffel and marked it with a wand. We left around 4:45 and got to camp an hour later. Great time because we could tromp through the snow.

Matt was there and said that he didn't make it past the first hill. He had gotten a terrible headache and stashed the stuff. Tomorrow we're moving up if possible so I hope he feels better.

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Feb. 21 Move to Camp Canada - Day 9

Matt got up early and left at around 8 A.M. We waited until 10 to get out of bed. Really windy out today. Everything was blowing all over. I laid down the stove pad and in a second it was gone. Finished packing and stored the extra stuff in the mule tent. Stan found a lucky coin. Yahoo, we always make the summit when he finds one! Our packs weren't too heavy but 45 or 50 pounds get heavy. We took off at around 12:30. The wind was strong but it's better than baking in the sun's heat. Actually, we still baked we just weren't hot. Ate a leisurely lunch behind some rocks and took off again . Around 2:30 we saw Matt. He was resting again. I really had a hard time believing he wasn't already in Canada. Wow, over 6 hours. I got up to the campsite around 3 P.M. and started leveling off a platform for the tent. Stan got there at 3:30 and we set the tent up. Matt got there at around 4:30 and said he left stuff on the trail where we saw him. The weather is really strange. I'm not really complaining since the sun is out during the day and it gets snowy at around 6 PM. It is still windy but the platform is sheltered somewhat. We brought a 6 quart aluminum pot to melt snow in. It's working very well. Stan made an extension piece for the MSR heat exchanger so it will fit around the pot. This helps save fuel and directs the heat toward the sides of the pot. Dinner went well. I haven't figured out whats with Matt . He's just in bad shape. We heard today that one of the REI climbers from the US died after summating the other day. Great, that will hit the papers in America. He was 34 and a lawyer.

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Feb. 22 Mon. Carry to Nido de Condores - Day 10

Lot's of people moving up or hauling to Nido de Condores. The name means nest of the Condors and is around 18,000' in altitude. We decided to take heavy loads and Stan and I will also pick up the loads we cached a couple days ago. We packed up and I gave Matt a fuel bottle and a food bag. The trail was in great condition so I went quickly. The sun was hot and would only get hotter as the day went on. I left camp in light weight underwear and T-shirt with a wind breaker. In 45 min. I made it to the stash and dug it out. Stan and I split the load and headed up. The slope flattens out a bit before rising quickly before Nido. Old campsites and trash litter the flat area. I made it up in around 2 hours and 15 minutes and Stan made it in 3 hours. We sorted stuff and ate lunch. Really a neat looking place. The area is beautiful and the surrounding mountains gorgeous. There are some great rocks that would be fun to boulder on. We spent around an hour at Nido before heading down. We saw Matt moving slowly upwards. He looked really beat. I took lots of photos on the way down. It's such a great place with all the snow and rocks. I'm so glad it snowed. First, because it guarantees good water, secondly, because it's easier to climb in and lastly because it's just plain prettier! I got back to camp in 35 minutes and stripped down to shorts and T-shirt.

We laid out all our stuff to dry and air out. Stan was walking around in just shorts. Crazy weather at 16,800'. You can't do this on Denali. Matt got back at around 6. Tomorrow we move up to the next camp. All the food is up there and things are progressing well. Hope the weather holds. We need 4 or 5 more days to be able to summit on schedule.

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Feb. 23 Tue Move to Nido de Condores - Day 11

The wind was howling last night. Got up to bring in the packs and stove. The southern sky is absolutely spectacular with all the stars. Got up around 10 and fixed breakfast. We stashed extra stuff and garbage then packed up to move. The packs were heavy and I'm wondering how we're going to get all this stuff back down the mountain. We left at around 12:20 and I made it up in an hour and thirty minutes. The snow made it easy to walk on. Sorted through the stashed duffel's and then saw Stan making his way to the steep section under Nido. We had said we would have lunch at around 2 and it was now 2:30 so I bounded down the slope with lunch bag in hand. He yelled back that we could have lunch when he got up the hill. Oh well, good intentions. I trudged back up through the deep snow. The campsite was very trashy where we left our stuff so we decided to look for another spot. Literally crap everywhere. I'm glad it snowed because it would be very gross. We walked a ways towards the trail that goes up to the Berlin hut. Some other Americans were camped over there so we thought we would join them. We approached the site and the woman stood up and said that they moved over here to get away from everyone. I agreed that there was lots of trash and crap over at the well used sites. She added that she didn't want anyone camping near them including us. We were all really shocked by her attitude. Previously we were exchanging info about the mountain and sharing stories. Altitude does funny things to people I guess. I told her I was sorry but I didn't think there was a reservation system for campsites. We moved around a large boulder and out of sight. We leveled off a platform and you can really feel the altitude at 18,100'. Lots of work to haul rocks for tie downs. We got set up then walked over to the cache and loaded up. We carried and sorted food bags and the gear that will go up to Berlin tomorrow. Finally at almost 7 Matt shows up. He slowly set up and I fixed dinner. He asked if tomorrow was a rest day and we said only if the weather is bad or we feel sick. Tomorrow's carry is about 2 to 2 1/2 hours we heard. I think we should make a carry if possible. All in all, the carries on Aconcagua are cake compared to the long days on McKinley. I was worried we weren't working hard enough to get in shape for summit day. We were going to take only one tent but we changed to taking both tents. We don't really want to be caught with half a tent in bad weather while the other half comes up 5 hours later. The next couple of days will be really important and I hope the weather holds out. So far it's been perfect.

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Feb. 24 Wen Carry loads to Berlin - Day 12

Slept lousy and only got about 2 to 3 hours at the most if you add everything together. It got really cold last night and we put the liners in our bags at around 3 AM. The other group left for the summit at 5 AM and are coming back exhausted and nauseated at 10:30 having not come close to the summit. Something crazy is happening to my endocrine system and a had to pee 6 times last night filling up Stan's and my pee bottle. Now I'm dehydrated and very light headed. It's hard to think straight and I had a rough time getting things packed for the carry. Matt seemed in good spirits and took off first around noon. Stan took off a little later and I brought up the rear. I started slow I thought but just couldn't get going. I think I peed out every ounce of fluid I had. At least I won't get cerebral or pulmonary edema. I went about 20 minutes and past Matt . We started talking and I just sat down and decided I needed to get back and drink tons of Gatorade to get some electrolytes. Stan walked up and agreed. I made my way dejectedly back to the tent and fixed a couple liters of Gatorade. Put snow in some black trash bags to get some extra water melted. I was still rather dazed and it was getting hotter in the tent. I took off my clothes and laid down still sipping the green stuff. Drank 2 liters and started feeling much better. Around 2, I decide to get dressed and try to make the carry. I really felt like I was letting the guys down. I took off at 2:20 and took it easy. I thought it would take 2 or 3 hours to make the trip and took a liter of Gatorade and another liter of water. The trail was not hard but steepens sharply in some section. With all the snow many of the switch backs weren't taken and the trail went straight up. I really don't mind it though since it shortens the climb. I kept up a steady pace and when I looked up I saw part of the Berlin hut looming above me. My watch showed only an hour had passed and in another ten minutes I was there. The guys were really surprised. They had just gotten there and were scouting out the trail that leads to the summit. I stashed stuff in the duffel and had some lunch. We also captured about 2 or 3 gallons of fuel from some Germans. At 19,600' trying to do much work is a challenge. The Gatorade did the trick for me and I was feeling great despite the altitude. There were quite a few tents around the 3 huts and tons of trash. I really would hate to see this place without snow. Yuk! At 4:15 we headed down and with all the snow and steepness of the slope made it back in 20 minutes by going straight down. Started dinner when Matt got there and we decided to take another Halcion to get some sleep.

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Feb. 25 Thur Move to Berlin - Day 13

Cold last night but due to the wonders of modern medicine, i.e. Halcion I slept a little. It's was important to get as much sleep as possible down here because it will be very difficult at 19,600'. Had breakfast and melted snow for water. We got packed and started up at 1:30. Stan wasn't feeling too good so we went slow. It was really windy but the sun was hot. We reached the Berlin hut at around 3. All the tents were cleared out except one. We cleared out all the trash and food from hut.

Actually there are three hut's called refuges. The Plantamura, Libertad and the trashed Berlin. The Plantamura is the smallest and can sleep three, the Libertad is the largest and could sleep 4 or 5 in an emergency and the Berlin is unusable. Stan, another climber and I moved in the Libertad hut. It took a lot of work to clean it out and we also separated good food from bad. Matt finally got to the area and he moved in the Plantamura hut. With the strong wind the huts offer at least some shelter from the wind noise. I started getting a headache while cooking dinner. The hut is so dark and the light is so bright coming through the door. My right eye felt like it had a knife in it and my head was pounding. Stan got concerned and said we would move down if it wasn't better in an hour. I've experienced cerebral edema before and know what it feels like. I think I took one of everything to kill the pain and my head felt a little better after an hour. I needed to drink more and was dehydrated again. It's so hard drinking water at this altitude especially when the stove is just not producing much heat to melt the snow. Seriously, I could put my fingers on the bottom of the pot while the stove was on. The other guys MSR XGK really worked much better than my MSR Whisperlight Int'l. I knew it would and that's why I was upset Matt didn't bring one. I jumped in the bag with all my clothes on. I knew I couldn't throw up or Stan would definitely make me go down. I loaded up on more Gatorade while I laid in my sleeping bag and slowly my headache went away. Of course, we didn't really sleep. You just lay there and listen to your heart beating at around 130 bpm.

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Feb. 26 Fri. Rest day at Berlin - Day 14

Still at Berlin. Woke up at 6:30 A.M. to strong wind pounding the hut. Glad we're in the hut instead of a tent. I jumped out to take a look at the weather. It was clear but really windy. We decided to bag it for the day and try to prepare for the summit attempt tomorrow. I really hate to let an opportunity go by but I think we need to make our attempt with as strong a body, mentally and physically, as possible. Finally got a couple hours of sleep in the morning. Got dressed and started water at around 12. Sat around doing nothing most of the day. Oh the joys of mountaineering! The French guys who are bunking with Matt left at around 8 A.M. for their attempt. At around 1:30 the wind died down a bit and we had some company come up the mountain. One of the guides named Rambo had a Welsh climber with him. Rambo carried everything up the mountain for the guy and was really his personal Sherpa. The guy only had 10 days to get to the summit and that starts from his home in Madrid, Spain. That is really too fast but it's his butt. Rambo has everything set up and is preparing dinner. It's time for our cup-a-soup to warm us up. The summit looks very cold, windy and the clouds are moving in. I think we made a very wise decision. Rambo has a radio and he says tomorrow is supposed to be sunny with no wind. All right!! At around 4 PM the Frenchmen, Erik and Pascal, came down the mountain. One of them was staggering all over the place. These guys are around 20 to 25 years old and look trashed. Erik staggered to the hut and collapsed face first. I helped the guy get his boots and clothes off. He looked like he had the start of cerebral edema and was a bit hypothermic. I put dry socks and a dry shirt on him.

They had really light sleeping bags and really no extra clothes with them. I bundled him up and made him some tea. We prepared our packs for tomorrow. I'm carrying the wands and lunch. Stan will have the bivy sack and liner sleeping bag. We decided not to take the stove and fuel because of weight. I feel 100% better than yesterday and I think the rest helped out greatly.

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Feb. 27 Sat. Summit Day - Day 15

Today was the day. We got up at 6:30. The stove pump plunger wouldn't work right so the stove was really slow to heat the water. It took around 2 hours to get enough water for water bottles and breakfast. I had been sitting there all that time and finally got dressed to leave around 8:30. I got out and put on my crampons. I tried to put on my pack and grab the ski poles but I was really dizzy. My hands and feet were frozen. This happened on Mt. Elbrus in Russia. My blood pressure just drops and I get a shocky like reaction. I needed to lay down and get my head some blood and all important oxygen. Stan took the camera and headed up. I opened some chemical hand warmers. It was the first time I had ever used them on a mountain but I'm so glad I brought them. I decided to get up slowly and get going. The Welshman, John was up and was coughing up blood. They were going back down soon. I started over at 9:30 and caught up fast. Matt was below the area called White Rocks at around 19,800'. He said he was going back because he was cold and his feet were cold. I still couldn't feel mine but at least they didn't hurt. Independencia hut is at 6250m (20,625') and Stan and I got there at 11:20. Really good time we thought. We placed wands in the section just before that and more people should. It would be very easy to go the wrong way. I didn't see anyone carrying wands the entire time we were there. The hut itself is in ruins. Some climbers camp here the night before the summit attempt but I don't think it would give that big of an advantage. We continued up a hill to the Del Viento col 6300m. We placed another wand here. Here is the Gran Acarreo where the wind howls. The snow was blow clear here and even with the sun out it was cold. Beautiful area. Next was a stop for a bite to eat. Stan ate some sausage and cheese but all I had was a couple mini Nestle crunch bars. We left our packs here and headed up the infamous Caneleta. The Caneleta is an area of steep unstable terrain. Lucky for us there was packed snow instead of the dreaded scree. The height difference between the bottom and the top is around 400 m (1320'). There were some paths up but not many switch backs. We decided we were making great time and to take this section slowly. I started out doing 20 steps before getting a 15 or 20 second breather. This whittled down to 5 steps near the top. The slope steepens towards the top but is all fairly steep. The best part about it, is that what you see at the top is the summit. It just seems to go on forever. Looking upward is not a good idea because it makes your back hurt. It took about one and a half hours to reach the top. Finally we were out of the Caneleta and bingo we were at the summit. Stan and I walked hand in hand to the summit cross. It was a really beautiful climb. Off the side of the summit there was the dead American climber laying there. I don't have any idea how he died. We made it up in 6 hours which is really good considering we took our time. Lot's of summit photos were taken. I always carry a small pennant from my alma mater, Quincy College.

Stan carries a flag from Indiana University and a flag from Quincy High school. We spent around 15 minutes looking around and enjoying the view. Coming down we took lots of photos and I thought lolly-gagged around. We got back to Berlin in 2 hours. My nose got a little frost nipped because of the wind and cold coming across the Gran Acarreo. The big toe on my left foot is a bit numb still but it will come around. I thought that Matt would have heated up some water but no luck. The book I have on Aconcagua say that the average climber burns around 8000 calories on summit day. I totaled up what I ate today and it comes out to around 500. We had some luke warm cup a soup and hit the sack.

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Feb. 28 Sun. Berlin to Plaza de Mulas - Day 16

Big day or should I say big pack day. We got going at around 9:30 and packed up to leave. It was hard to stuff the sleeping bag at this altitude. We got our stuff packed and Stan and I got down to Nido de Condores in 25 minutes. Our stored gear was packed and we waited for Matt to show up. He finally made it and we headed off again down to Camp Canada. The pack got heavier and heavier as the day went on. Got to Canada in about 45 minutes. We ate lunch from the extra food stored there and loaded up again. Wow, my pack was around 70 pounds and when you weight around 110 that a lot of weight. The snow on the lower slopes had melted and it made it slower to descend. How people climb without ski poles is beyond me. I really love the things. On the way down we ran into this character, Freddy from Copenhagen. We had seen him going up and down the mountain previously and he is very unusual. He doesn't carry a tent or stove. He stays at Plaza de Mulas and hikes up to Nido to get acclimatized. We had seen him climbing up to Berlin looking tired and then again he stopped by our camp at Nido on the way down. I thought he was finished climbing and was very surprised to see him. I asked him if he was making another summit attempt. He answered, "It's no picnic." That has to be the understatement of the year. The man is loony. Stan and I got down from Canada in around an hour. It was windy the entire way and there were some lenticulars around the mountain tops. We got the tent up quickly as a storm was approaching again. The Plaza was almost empty from 7 days ago. The Germans who were camped next to us before we left were still there. They were having altitude problems and have spent 10 days in base camp. As Stan filtered some water, I checked about getting some mules for the trip out. I ran into the Welshman and being a perfect gentleman he offered me some tea in the Andesport tent. I graciously accepted. He has been stuck for a couple days waiting for some mules himself. It seems they are in the mountains eating. I know it sounds lame to me to. After a refreshing spot of tea I wandered back to my dear husband still freezing his fingers filtering water. Finally Matt showed up with the fuel bottle that had the fuel pump in it and we started dinner. Poor Matt looked like he had been through WW II. I made some Chili Mac and we devoured it quickly with some cheese-it crackers. Of course, we all burned the heck out of our mouths and lips but it was worth it. I'm looking forward to sleeping since we haven't really had any for 3 days.

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Mar. 1 Mon. Plaza de Mulas - Day 17

Lazy day. We had to get set up with some mules and the ranger who does that didn't come back from the hotel until 1 PM. Lots of confusion about which muleteer and something about contracts. We finally got our names correctly relayed on the radio and we think the mules will be here tomorrow. Communication is really hard for a number of reasons: they speak Spanish, we don't and radio messages have to be relayed between the Plaza de Mulas, to the hotel then to Puenta del Inca. Sorted gear for the mule loads. On the way out we are going to spend a night back at the Confluencia. Many climbers walk all the way out but it really silly to kill yourself if you have the time to spend another night. It's still around 24 miles and it's cheaper to spend the night out instead of at the Hosteria. Everything is ready for tomorrow so we made a big spaghetti dinner.

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Mar. 2 Tue. Plaza de Mulas to Confluencia - Day 18

Finally got some sleep last night. The mules got here around 1 and they loaded the poor beasts up. They don't even water or feed them when they get them up here. We took off and started the long walk out. We decided to take the tent and heavier sleeping bags this time. The packs were heavier but the weather was great. Lot's of mud slides occurred while we were away. The scenery was spectacular. Got to the Confluencia around 6 and set up camp. Nice to have the tent since it got cold at night.

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Mar. 3 Wen. Confluencia to Puenta del Inca - Day 19

Got packed and started on the way. The weather was super the entire way back. It got warmer on the way down. We got to the ranger station at around 2:15 where a lady checked our permit. The walk into Puenta del Inca was longer than I thought. Finally got to the Hosteria. The dining room was packed with tourist eating lunch. We looked like hell but it was good to be back. We found out clothes in storage and I headed off to the shower. I jumped in and got that hot water going. Took one look in the mirror and you would have thought we spent time in Dachau. I weighed around 108 or 109 and Stan was around 143. Our usual weight are 115 and 150. I didn't realize how much weight we've lost. Lean and mean! We went to lunch at 5. I'm usually a Pepsi drinker but a coke never tasted so good. Lunch was great also. We started re-packing for the bus home after lunch. Filthy gear. Didn't take too long to ram everything in duffel's. We decided to find a local restaurant for supper. There is a little hole in the wall place behind the grocery store. We ordered some beers, hamburgers and fries. Really good and cheap. It the bed early and slept great.

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Mar. 4 Thur. Puenta del Inca to Mendoza - Day 20

We checked out and stacked our gear outside. The bus leaves at 1 PM so we have lots of time to sit around. The most exciting part of the day was being questioned by the rangers. A couple guys came out of the Hosteria and asked if we knew Freddy. Doesn't everybody? They wanted to know if we had his sleeping bag and gear with our stuff. We explained we saw him going up the mountain 4 days ago and that was the last we knew of him. They seemed very concerned about him and we suspected he was missing.

We told them they could find him last name in the Hosteria register since he stayed the same night we did weeks ago. They did that and relayed the information up the mountain. They asked to see our permits again and kept part of it. We informed the rangers of his age and mental state. They didn't seem to know anything about the man. They seemed satisfied with our information and left. We still needed to pay for the mules on the return trip. A lady who works for the muleteer came by at 12:30 and wanted $160 for the trip down. The deal was $60 to $80 for the return so we said no way. We had around 120 kilos on the way up for $160 and on the way down it was 80 kilos. She said the mules had to go up empty so it was going to be $160. I told her it wasn't our problem that they went up empty and we also had waited at Plaza de Mulas for their mules instead of taking someone else's to get down the mountain. We settled on the same per kilo cost as the way up. I don't think she really understood but we paid her $106 and left on the bus. The bus took forever to get to Mendoza. It was packed to the rafters. We got a taxi at the bus station. Usually it would take two taxis but this enterprising young man stuffed all our stuff and the three of us in his taxi. We got back to the Hotel Balbi and got a room for the next 3 nights. The annual wine festival going on and it's the biggest event of the year in Mendoza.

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Mar. 5 Fri. Mendoza - Day 21

Sightseeing! Nice to relax and enjoy civilization. We bought some pottery and necklaces. This is probably the best time to visit Mendoza. Lot's of wine festival activities. There are plenty of great cafe's everywhere around town. The parade is tonight where the queens of the districts ride around the streets. The people have lined the streets for hours to watch.

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Mar. 6 Sat. Mendoza - Day 22

Sightseeing! More parades with hundreds of horses all polluting the streets of Mendoza. We even got to wave at the president of Argentina as he zoomed by in a big bus. The huge park was the scene of more fun so we walked out there. Actually, there the park is so big we couldn't find any action so we walked back.

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Mar. 7 Sun. Mendoza, Santiago - Day 23

Checked out of the hotel and stored our gear. We went to a beautiful church for mass. Stan and I walked all around the town. More festivities going on all over the city. We took a couple taxis to the airport. Stan and Matt got in one and I got in one with half the gear. Unfortunately, the driver was crazy. Seriously he was a loony. He kept screaming at me in Spanish. The taxis were racing each other to the airport driving like mad men. Great, I survive the highest mountain in South America but die in a fiery crash with a crazy man. Somehow we made it OK. The guy from Ladeco loaded our luggage on a cart and took it inside. In a few hours and a beer later we were loading up and on our way to Santiago. Only a 4 hour wait in the wonderful transient lounge this time. My eye's burned from all the smoke. Finally we headed out to the plane and we were home free.

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Mar. 8 Mon. Miami, Chicago - Day 24

Home at last!

Information for Climbers Muleteer Fernando Grajales in Puente del Inca at the Hosteria in Mendoza contact Jose Moreno Tel/Fax (061) 293830 There are many other companies that can set up mules, transportation, buy food, and get permits. This is really not necessary and is expensive. One of the climbers we met spent $700 for someone to pick them up at the airport, get a permit, drive them to Puenta del Inca and rent mules. The guide was extra. The bus is only $7.80. The permit is $80. A couple mules is around $160. Bring most of your food pre-packaged from the states and only pick up fresh bread in Mendoza.

Permits In Mendoza they can be gotten through the Secretary of Tourism downtown. We learned that you can also get them by fax at Puenta del Inca. One climber that we ran into on the day out, showed up at the ranger station at Lake Horcones and gave the guy $80 and received a permit. I don't recommend this but late in the season seems to be no problem.

Money The muleteer took US dollars. The Hosteria took credit cards or dollars. The bus station took pesos as did the Hotel Balbi. The Hotel Refugio Plaza de Mulas took US dollars or credit card.

Hotel Refugio Plaza de Mulas Operadores Turisticos Emprendimientos turisticos S.A. 9 de julio 1126 - 5500 - Mendoza - Argentina Tel: 54-061-232843 Fax: 54-061-380383 Prices: Hot water, Heat, Private bathroom, $40 each person (the room can sleep 4)

No hot water, no bathroom, $20 each person

Hot shower, $5