Cleared for Take-off

Scott and Aaron passed their medical checks at Base Camp (13,800 ft.) and spent yesterday resting and acclimating to the elevation before they move upward on the mountain.  Scott was in great spirits this evening and told me that it was a beautiful night with a great view of the summit surrounded by stars in the sky.

Today they hiked up to Camp I (15,750 ft.), where they put up a tent and cached some food and supplies.  They spent a couple of hours building a "bomb-proof" tent shelter with rocks to protect it from the winds, and he said they both felt strong.  On their way back down to Base Camp, Scott said that it snowed a little bit but not much.  So far they have been trekking on scree (loose rock), which means that with every step forward you slip backward a few inches.  [If you've ever climbed Mt. St. Helen's, then you are very familiar with hiking on scree!]  Scott described the hike up to Camp I as a big slog.

Tomorrow they will pack up at Base Camp and move up to Camp I and spend the night there.  Part of the acclimation process is to "climb high and sleep low" meaning that in order to help your body adjust to altitude, you sleep at a lower elevation than you have climbed to that day to allow your body to recover at a lower elevation where the air is richer in oxygen.  Since they have already been up to CI today and spent the night at a lower elevation, they will be in fine shape to make it up to Camp I tomorrow and then overnight at that level.

I won't hear from Scott again until Sunday when they are at Camp II and ready to go for the summit the next day, but I will post more information tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Safe Arrival at Plaza Argentina (Aconcagua Base Camp)!

After 6-7 hours of trekking today from Casa de Piedras (10,500 ft.), the guys made it safely to to Plaza Argentina (Base Camp) at 13,800 ft.  They checked in with the park rangers and tomorrow they have a medical check with the Base Camp doctors.  There have already been several climbers who had to be taken by mules down to lower elevations due to altitude sickness, so the doctors are being very precautious.

Scott said that he likes the Base Camp on this route much better than the one from the normal route that he took in 2008/2009.  Their trek has been much more scenic, and they have a good view of the summit from here.  Their 3-day trek to Base Camp took them along the edges of the Relincho Stream and to an ascent of a steep slope by the same name. This is where they were able to see the last native vegetation before climbing towards the glaciers, where Plaza Argentina is located. 

It has been a really dry winter this year.  In fact, Scott & Aaron stayed at a hotel in a very small ski resort in Penitentes (only 3 lifts - just a little bit bigger than Mt. Holly, according to Scott!), and they have had no snow at all there this winter.

It is extremely windy and cold – now that they have their tents set up, they are bundled up and going through their gear to plan what supplies they will cache at each camp along the way.  They will be hanging out at Plaza Argentina all day tomorrow to acclimatize and make sure they are healthy and feeling strong before they move to Camp I.

Scott said they have been constantly talking about which route they are going to take – it seems the Polish Glacier is not in good shape because it’s so bare (really just rock & ice due to the lack of snow).  This means they would have to set protection, so they would be much slower to summit.  He said they will make the final call when they get to Camp II.  They could traverse over and pick up the normal route once they are at 21,000 ft. and then head for the summit from there.  It would be 1.5-2 hr traverse on rock, so it would be high altitude trekking rather than a technical route.

Scott also said they have met some nice Canadians (are there any other kind?) along the way, though their group is disbursing as some of them have had health issues.  However, there are two (a guide and his client) from their group left at Plaza Argentina.

So for tomorrow they will enjoy their great view of the summit – windblown and massive as it is - and they are hoping the weather will clear up when they start climbing again on Thursday.  Scott said that yesterday was a bluebird day, so hopefully they will have similar weather for their summit bid.

The dry cold air has been a little rough on his throat, so they are trying to keep drinking hot water.  Otherwise, they are feeling strong.  

Gentlemen, Meet your Mules

That's right.  While you are checking this update from your smart phone, iPad, or "old-fashioned" MacBook or PC, Scott & Aaron are hiking along with their gear piled onto the backs of mules as they have begun their 3-day trek to Base Camp of Mt. Aconcagua.

Scott was relieved to find out that they are able to trek along with their mules and muleteers (human guides/caretakers for the animals) up to Base Camp since the last time he climbed on this mountain, the mules and his gear took a different route than he did.  This time they don't have to be concerned about the gear's safe delivery and they can also get into their packs whenever they need something rather than carefully planning out what might be required for this specific portion of the journey.

After a night in Penitentes, they were transported to the entrance of Aconcagua Park. They took a shuttle to Punta de Vacas, where the muleteers loaded the equipment on the mules and from there they hike to Base Camp, which takes three days.  Today they trekked 4-5 hours up to the camp Pampa de Leñas (2950 m/9,200 ft.) where they presented permits to the park rangers, reunited with their equipment and set up the tents. Everything is going very smoothly so far, and everyone is feeling great and in good spirits.  Hee haw!

Happy New Year from Mendoza, Argentina!

Since they are 5 hours ahead of us (Pacific Time), Scott & Aaron have already welcomed in the new year and have nodded off to sleep some time ago.  They are staying in a hostel in Mendoza, where they celebrated an Argentinian-style BBQ with their fellow travelers.

I'm happy to report that they made it safely to Argentina, as did all of their luggage, and they successfully  obtained their climbing permits, so they are ready to roll.  They also did all their shopping (food and fuel for the stoves) this afternoon.

Tomorrow morning at 11am, they leave for Los Penitentes as planned.  It will be a 3-4 hour journey and they will spend the night there on Saturday night.

Happy New Year!

2011 Aconcagua Expedition is officially underway!

Scott has reunited with his friend and climbing partner, Aaron Saari, to make another attempt on Mt. Aconcagua over the next couple weeks.  Aaron and Scott summited Denali (Mt. McKinley), the highest point in North America, together back in 2007 on May 16, which is also Aaron's birthday.  [You can read more about that expedition in the Blog Archive and more info about Aaron in the May 16, 2007 posts.] 

They have a LONG travel day ahead of them today.  After leaving PDX at 8:30am, they have a couple stops in the U.S. (Texas, Florida) before they land tomorrow morning in Santiago, Chile and then finally in Mendoza, Argentina at 10:30am on New Year's Eve day.  Whew!

The first hurdle will be to make sure all the bags containing critical climbing gear made it safely, and the second will be to make it to the Visitor's Center in Mendoza in time to acquire their climbing permit in person for Mt. Aconcagua!  (It seems not everything can be done online!  The office closes early for New Year's Eve, so it's important that their flight arrives on time so the guys can get there before they close up shop.)

Scott has rented a satellite phone, and he plans to call at least every other day with a brief update.  So stay tuned and hope for safe and timely travels for both the guys and their gear!

Back Home Safe in Portland on 1/11/09

After leaving the mountain and a day of recovery at 9,000 ft., Scott felt back to full-strength, other than the disappointment that he had to abandon the climb, and then he had a week to explore other areas of Argentina.

He spent 3 days in the small resort town of Malagrue checking out a lagoon, Las Lenas - a ski area, some volcanoes, and a cool cave where he did some spelunking.

(photo of cache drop at Camp II- 17,700 ft. )

Then he headed to the Cordon del Plata mountain range near the Andes hoping to get good views of Aconcagua. He made it to the summit of San Bernardo Peak (13,500 ft.), but unfortunately the weather did not provide a clear view of the "Big A." While camping in this area, there were some vicious storms (hail, thunder and lightning). Later we found out that this same storm resulted in a blinding snowstorm and an avalanche on Aconcagua. If Scott's original schedule had gone as planned, this would have been the time that Scott would have been descending from the summit of Aconcagua and could have been caught in this storm. In hindsight, it's a blessing that he was camped out in a different mountain range an hour away at 10,200 ft. rather than at 19,000 ft. on Aconcagua.

Below is a picture from the summit of San Bernardo and a couple photos from the approach to Aconcagua.

The rest of his pictures from the trip can be found on http://www.mountainwaz.shutterfly.com/

Change of Plans - due to altitude sickness

The delay in updates was due to high altitude sickness, but Scott is okay now. The climb is off, however. MountainWaz Aconcagua Expedition (MWAE) will have to be continued another year.

After several successful major expeditions and first attempt summits, Scott suffered a setback this time, but most importantly he is safe and has fully recovered.

After making it up to Camp II (17,552 ft.) to deliver a load of supplies, he felt strong and returned to Base Camp (14K) to sleep as planned. (Sleeping at a lower elevation helps your body adjust to elevation.) The next day he hiked up to Camp I (16K) and set up his tent there for the night. During the night he felt a gurgling in his chest, which is a sign of the onset of high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). Wisely, Scott descended as quickly as possible back to Base Camp, which is the best prescription for HAPE. There he visited the doctor at the medical tent and was diagnosed with HAPE. Presumably they treated him there with oxygen and Diamox, a prescription medication that Scott took with him that helps the lungs expand rather than constrict as they react to the lack of oxygen and leak of fluid from blood vessels into the lungs.

The medical staff there insisted that a helicopter be used to transport Scott to an even lower altitude at that time, so they took him to Puenta del Inca (or base village) at ~9,000 ft to fully recover. There he was able to contact me where he waited for his muleteer and mule to bring his gear down the mountain and meet him. After one more night of rest at this lower altitude, he felt stronger the following day.

Then he was able to take the 4-hr. bus ride back to Mendoza, where he strongly considered trying to change his plane ticket and fly home early. Due to some language barrier difficulties and the fact that he is now fully recovered, he decided to remain there for the rest of his scheduled stay. He's spending some time south of Mendoza now until he leaves next Saturday (arriving home in Portland as scheduled next Sunday).

There are no long-term effects from HAPE, and he won't have any greater tendency to experience it in the future. It's not fitness-based and some high altitude medical experts say it often happens to young, fit climbers on the 2nd night at high elevation, which perfectly fits Scott's situation in this instance. It's a random occurance, and he has never experienced any severe altitude sickness in his climbing experience to date. Hopefully this was the 1st & only!

Thanks for your support and prayers. I am thankful that he was able to make good decisions in a very difficult situation, and that he is returning home safely, which we both agreed was his most important mission in this expedition.