Our first camp is Confluencia (3350m), named for the meeting point of two large glacial valleys. The next day, Christmas Day, we do a side hike up to to the base of the West Face of Aconcagua. Only the most elite mountaineers in the world have climbed the mountain via this route.
The next day, we pack everything up and head for Plaza de Mulas...basecamp. Its a long day up desolate Horcones Valley, but we finally arrive at 4200m, exhausted. There are hundreds of climbers here from all around the world. A few days rest here get us used to the increased altitude. This is the highest mountain outside the Himalayas, so there are doctors here that check your blood pressure and O2 saturation levels. Here the water is ample, it can be collected from glaciar runoff. Up higher we will need to melt snow for drinking and cooking.The first camp is Camp Canada at 4900m, which offers gorgeous views of the valley below. We carry a load of supplies here one day before moving the tent up here the next.
The next camp is Nido De Condores, the condors nest, at 5400m. Its an extremely windy plateau with not much in the way of cover. We've been on the same schedule as a solo Swedish climber named Rob. We discuss strategy, read and melt snow. Jr. is drinking the water faster than i can melt it! A number of other teams try for the summit straight from this camp. We decide to give it a shot - load up with water and powerbars and head off from the tents at midnight. An hour later we are back in the tents, back to the drawing board. We decide to move up to one camp higher, Camp Berlin at 5900m. This is where most party's try for the summit. If means a tough carry and sleeping quite high, higher than the summit of Kilimanjaro, but the summit day is alot shorter. We get out of Camp Berlin in good time, the first team to leave camp. Its a crystal clear night, no clouds. Its cold (probably minus 10C) but no wind. We slowly work our way up, each moving at our own pace. JD is off ahead, Rob behind me. Up we get to a vantage point where you can see a long diagonal traverse up across a scree slope. JD's already crossed the traverse - he's moving fast. Following the traverse is a last steep section of scrambly rocks called the Canaleta. Half way up, I finally see JD, he's on the way down already! Almost there. Another hour and I reach the top, the view is tremendous, and not a cloud in the sky. Very little wind. For a few minutes, I'm alone as the highest man in South America.
Yet at the top you're only half way there, still the matter of the long decent back to camp. Slowly down, now without the motivation of the summit. Back at Berlin, Jr. has dismantled the tent and continued on down. We pick up whats left and head down further. Back at Nido, JD has not set up the tent - still down he continues, so on we go. Same story at Canada, so all the way back down to basecamp we go, finally arriving just as the sun sets. All in all, a 16 hour day on the mountain. We are too tired to set up the tent, so we lay out our sleeping bags on the ground in one of the storage tents, and fall asleep. The next day, all the way back out the 40 long kms to Puente Del Inca. We've missed the mule train for the day, and we are not about to stay an extra night, so we hump everying out on our backs. We limp back to the trailhead pretty weathered, sunburned badly, a few pounds ligher, and exhausted. But thats it, the job is done!
