We summited Aconcagua today at 3:30p in the afternoon (local time).
It was an epic combination of 8.5 hours up and about 3 hours back down. It made for an 11.5 hour day, non-stop. We woke up to beautiful weather and got on the trail at about 7am because it was very cold earlier in the morning so we decided to wait a little longer. We had a combination of beautiful conditions at times, and windy conditions at other times on the way up. As we approached the summit (3,200 feet from our high camp to summit) a snow storm ensued and we had snow, not only during the steep climb to the summit but also all the way back down. About a foot of snow fell on the way down. It was a great experience.
All 8 members of the team summitted, which is an amazing success rate! The guides (Ben, Peter and Martin) deserve a great deal of the credit for steering us and guiding us through this adventure!
We are all now back at Pedras Blancas (high camp at 19,600 feet) and we will be heading down to the Plaza de Mulas base camp tomorrow during the day.
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Congratulations Everyone!!! We've been reading the blog with great interest! Can't wait to see the pictures!!!
ReplyDeleteAlll the Best the Henrys (Adair's neighbors)
Alright, outstanding feat! It sounded like a long but exhilarating summit day! Stay warm, Henrik
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Gordie and the rest of the team!
ReplyDeleteIt would have been impressive even without bagging the summit, but this is phenomenal.
Good luck on the way home.
Congratulations! Can't wait to hear about it in person! I'm expecting some details about pain and suffering, so start thinking up creative embellishments. :-) --John W.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the summit! Just saw your blog mentioned in WSJ:
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2010/01/22/the-daily-start-up-is-the-worst-yet-to-come-in-vc/
All the best,
Matt