Aconcagua Climbing Expedition February 2009 News Dispatches Updates

Aconcagua Climbing Expedition February 2009 News Dispatches Updates

(photos in slideshow: Dan Mazur, Ryan Waters, & Tom Proctor)
News of our recent expedition: Aconcagua February 2009
1 to 20 February, 2009

Dispatches: Please click one of the links below to go directly to that dispatch or just scroll down.

14 February, 2009

Team summits! Packing up and heading back to Mendoza.

Live dispatch from the mountain (click here to listen)

Hi, this is the SummitClimb February Aconcagua team calling in with a dispatch for the 14th.

We have some good news. We reached the summit of Aconcagua yesterday on the 13th in the afternoon.  That was Artur, John and Steve who all reached the summit together. After a long night’s rest, we are now packing up to move down to basecamp on the 14th.

The plan is for hiking out on the 15th from basecamp. All of the members are feeling good. The other members are safe down at basecamp waiting for the team to arrive.

We’ll send more news once we’re back in Mendoza. Otherwise, everyone is safe and feeling good. Thanks for following along our expedition. Bye. back to top

11 February, 2009

Team in camp 1.

Live dispatch from the mountain (click here to listen)

Hi, this is the SummitClimb February Aconcagua team calling in with a dispatch for the 11th.

Everyone is doing well. Three people are down below at basecamp now; Janine, Ed, and Gerry.

John, Steve, and Artur are at camp 1 and doing just fine. We did a carry yesterday to camp 2, dropped off a load there, and came back down here to camp 1 to enjoy a rest day. Tomorrow we plan to climb to camp 2 for the night. Hopefully if the weather is good, we’ll make an attempt for the summit on the 13th.

We’ll call in some more news as soon as we have some. Thanks for following along our Aconcagua expedition and we’ll talk to you soon. Bye, bye. back to top

 
The final traverse between Campo Berlin (5950 metres/19,550 feet) and the Canaleta, which begins around 6600 meters/21,650 feet. It is an easy hike. Sometimes there is snow (Dan Mazur).

9 February, 2009

Hi, this is the SummitClimb February Aconcagua team with a dispatch for the 9th.

We have been busy on the mountain carrying equipment to camp 1 the last few days. Then we came back down to basecamp and took a rest day, before half the team headed back up to carry more to camp 1.

Gerry, Ed, and Janine have all elected to stay at basecamp today. They are going to wait for the rest of the team to come down before heading back up the moutnain.

Everyone else is up at camp 1. We're either going to take a rest day up here tomorrow or try to do a carry to camp 2, depending on what the weather is doing. Right now it is snowing a bit, so we'll see what it looks like in the morning.

Everyone is doing well, staying healthy and looking forward to moving higher up on the mountain. We'll contact you again soon when we have more news. Thanks for following along our February 2009 Aconcagua expedition. -Ryan Waters back to top

6 February, 2009

Team in basecamp. Moving up to camp 1.

Live dispatch from the mountain (click here to listen)

Hi, this is the SummitClimb February Aconcagua team calling in with a dispatch for the 6th.

We wanted to tell everyone that we reached basecamp on the 5th. Everyone is feeling good and healthy. Today we took a rest day here at basecamp.

Tomorrow on Saturday the 7th we plan on doing our first carry to camp 1. We’ll climb up to that location, drop equipment and then come back down to basecamp. On the following day, Sunday, we plan to take another rest day in preparation for going to the upper mountain next week.

It’s supposed to be a little bit windy Saturday and Sunday, which works well with our plan. We can supply our camps during the windy spells and come down here to rest in basecamp while the wind blows itself out.  We’ll be going up next week to do some more work on the mountain.

We’ll give you a call back and update you soon. Thanks for following along our expedition. Bye, bye. back to top

Plaza Argentina, our basecamp for both routes, is located at 4200 meters/13,800 feet (Otto Sluiter). 

1 February 2009

Hola from Mendoza,

The February SummitClimb Aconcagua Expedition is underway with all the teams arrival in Argentina. Tonight we are having a team meeting and welcome asado or barbeque in the hotel. The weather has been extremely nice so far in Mendoza with very warm and mild weather. We will be gaining our permits tomorrow morning and then taking our private transport to our hotel in Pentitentes tomorrow at 2 pm. There we will relax, repack a few things and then enjoy some nice pizza and beds for the last night for a couple weeks. Our plan is to start hiking on the morning of the 3rd approximately 4 hours to the Pampa de las Lenas campsite. We will update you upon reaching basecamp on the 5th and let everyone know how the team is doing.

  • Ms. Janine Ardohain-USA
  • Artur Olender-Poland
  • Gerald Silliman-USA
  • John Hansen-USA
  • Ed Culbertson-USA
  • Steve West-USA
  • Ryan Waters-Leader-USA
  • Dave Elmore-Leader-USA

Best wishes from the team and more soon to come! back to top

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