Plaza de Mulas

Wes and Dan are at Plaza de Mulas, base camp. It took about four and half hours to hike down there today. He said it feels good to be in the thicker air at about 14,000 feet (still higher than most mountains in the U.S.). Wes said they ended up spending about 15 minutes on the summit. They had to get down quickly because the clouds were rolling in. He said it was pretty difficult coming down from the summit but they both felt good. Wes said it really hasn't sunk in yet that they summited. They had dinner tonight provided by their guide service, Aymara. The dinner was "only" $25 this time and included soup, bread, lasagna and dessert. It was definitely worth it! Wes had gotten behind on his fluid intake so wasn't feeling too good this morning when he woke up. He said he felt like he was going to pass out a couple of times. He also has some cuts on his hands from the dry air that haven't healed because of the altitude. He was talking to some people in camp and was told there has been only about a 20% success rate of getting to the summit so far this season. In one group there were nine climbers and only one summited, in another group of five only two summited. There are quite a bit of people in this camp. Tomorrow they plan to hike out to Puente del Inca. It will be about a 15 mile hike. Wes says they plan to take off at about 10:00 a.m. The mules will leave with their gear at about 11:00 a.m. They have a room reserved tomorrow night at Puente del Inca. However, if they get down early enough and transportation is available they may try to get back to Mendoza. Wes said he really would like to get off the mountain so he can take a shower. Once again, the guys are both feeling good. Dan and Wes were very appreciative of all your well wishes!