Hi!
Well, another expedition done. Here's a few photos:
Day 1 of the 3-day, 27-mile approach up the Vacas valley. Starting elevation 8500', basecamp at about 13,800'.
Day 3 up the Relinchos valley to basecamp. Elevation about 12,000'. Aconcagua is on the left, Ameghino on the right. We go to the saddle between the two, then around the backside. The big snowy face of Aconcagua is the Polish Glacier.
Increasingly rare these days, the Aconcagua Eagle is easily distinguished by it's white wings and brown body. Here we see an immature Aconcagua Eagle sleeping in it's natural habitat.
Our lead guide Brien Sheedy, a man not known to care at all about how much sunblock he didn't rub in.
Dinner at basecamp, courtesy of our outfitter, Grajales. Note Sheedy and lots of sunblock. That man never gets sunburned!
On a move to Camp 1. Plaza Argentina basecamp visible in the valley.
Camp 1, 15,500'.
Moving rocks at Camp 2, elevation 17,800'. We use rocks to anchor the tents and build wind walls. This particular camp can be the windiest, since it's in the saddle between Aconcagua and Ameghino. A big wind storm can make the wind speed over 150mph here. Thankfully we had great weather, clear and light wind. Proper lifting technique is mandatory, since at this altitude getting your head too low can produce a splitting headache.
A view up the Polish Glacier from Camp 3, 19,200'. The 'Polish Direct' follows the right edge of the snow and is a popular more technical route. Popular meaning that it might get climbed once in a season. 60+ degree snow and ice and some rock bands at 22,000'. In this photo it looks pretty icy, not in good form.
A body wrapped up in a sleeping bag, apparently from last year, just out of camp 3. At this point seeing things like this does not bother me, though it does make the clients go silent for awhile. Personally, I'm just grateful that the NPS was able to recover Suzanne's body.
Client Nick and I on the walk out. Nick's body was not adapting well to the high altitude, so he and I reversed to route from camp 3 to the trailhead while the rest of the group summited and went down and out the other side. We slept under the stars halfway out. Didn't see a soul. Very nice.
The final day of the walk out. At noon Nick and I arrived at a camp/checkpoint called Pampa de Lena. My thermometer read 77 degrees in the shade, and 127 in the sun. We rested in the shade for 3 hours to let the heat of the day pass, then continued on.
There you go! My next group arrives in Mendoza January 22.
daveheinbach@yahoo.com
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