Camp II

Wes and Dan are at Camp II at approximately 19,200 feet. They got there today at about 12:30 p.m. They retrieved their cache and again all their gear was intact. The campsite had some snow in it from the storm so they spent some time digging it out. They set up the tent and got it all tied down. They received quite a bit of snow today - very fluffy flakes. It snowed for about three or four hours. It then cleared up and the guys enjoyed a spectacular sunset. They could see all the mountains around Aconcagua. Tomorrow the plan is to climb across the Traverse and join up with the normal route. They plan on making another camp on the normal route at about the same elevation as Camp II. Wes and Dan are both eating and drinking a lot and still feel good. It looks like there will be snow showers coming in on Friday afternoon but after that it is supposed to be clear for the next five days. Another update on the Italian climbers. Apparently, it was not two climbers that died but one climber and the guide. They had summited but got lost in the storm on the way down.

Italian Climbers Located

Update on the Italian climbers from Allie's information. Two of the climbers have died but they rescued the other two climbers and the guide. There was also a sixth member of the group but she had descended before the storm hit.

The Mountain Strikes Again

Wes just called with another update. It is about 11:00 pm there. The guys relaxed for the rest of the day. They are both feeling very strong. Along with the Ramen and chicken they had as an early dinner, they dined on oatmeal and crackers in the evening before getting ready for bed. Yum. They got word today that a team of 5 Italian climbers got caught in the storm from last night and this morning. They are missing and presumed dead. This team was climbing the traditional (normal) route. A helicopter was flying around most of the day searching for them. Hopefully they are holed up somewhere in a makeshift shelter. The weather for the next two days is supposed to be clear with some clouds. The temperature will be around 7 degrees with 10 mph winds. The wind chill will be about -6 degrees. If this weather forecast is accurate, Wes and Dan will climb to Camp II tomorrow for sure. It should take two to three hours to reach camp.

Wild Times at Ameghino Col Camp

Wes and Dan are at the Ameghino Col Camp at 17,700 feet. They arrived there yesterday. It was about a 2 to 2 1/2 hour climb from Camp I. He said they spent about two hours building an ice wall to protect their tent from the wind. Wes was busy melting snow when he called (1:40 pm Argentina time). Dan was a little way off taking pictures. They got hit pretty hard yesterday and this morning with lots of wind and snow. They had about 35 mph winds last night with some gusts as high as 50 mph. A lot of teams are pulling out and going down today. They met four guys from Colorado who are heading down. One of their members has the early signs of HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema - the lungs fill with fluid). Wes said there have been a lot of cases of HAPE and HACE (high altitude cerebral edema - swelling of the brain tissue) on the mountain. It seems that a lot of climbers are just going too fast up the mountain. That is one of the reasons why Dan and Wes chose to stay at the Col Camp instead of going straight to Camp II at around 19,000 feet. They are taking a rest day today. Last night it was so cold that they cooked inside their tent. That is really not a good thing to do but they had all the air vents open while the stove was on. Due to cooking inside the tent, the walls got all iced up. They woke up in an "ice cave." The sun is out right now but it is still really cold. There are some puffy clouds but it looks like the weather is getting better. Yesterday there were some lenticular clouds hanging over the mountain which looked pretty ominous. Earlier today Wes said there was a plume about 1,000 feet long coming off the summit from the wind. He said it was pretty spectacular. There is only one other group at the Col Camp right now. A team of eight from Alpine Ascents. The guides apparently weren't too happy to see Dan and Wes because they said most people don't stay at the Col Camp. I guess they expected to have it to themselves. One of the guides even told Wes to move his tent. He said that he would move it a little bit but that was it. He said their team seemed dazed - they attempted to build a wall but only moved a couple of rocks around. After that initial encounter, Wes said the group is really nice. The guys are still feeling great. They said they are mostly hungry. They have about two days more of food at this camp and could stretch it to three if they had to. They have eight days of food and fuel cached at Camp II. Wes said they were planning on eating an early dinner of Ramen and chicken (they have one bun left to share) and relaxing the rest of the day. Wes and Dan plan to move up to Camp II tomorrow if the weather holds.

Sitting Pretty at Camp I

Wes and Dan are at Camp I (16,200 feet). They climbed up there yesterday. They retrieved their cache and everything was intact. It took about four hours to get there. Wes said it was warm and clear yesterday. They set up camp and then relaxed for the rest of the day. There about the same number of people at this camp as there were at Plaza Argentina. Today they had a modified "rest" day by climbing up to Camp II at 19,028 feet. Wes said they got a pretty good campsite at Camp II. They cached half their gear inside a couple of duffle bags and covered them with rocks. It took almost five hours to get to Camp II. Around 18,000 feet it started to get windy and began to lightly snow so they hid behind a rock to get out of the wind. They took a break and had something to eat. They had to put on another layer of clothing - their warmer jackets and pants. They were both pretty tired when they got back to Camp I. Tomorrow the plan is to either stay at Camp I or they may move up to 17,700 which is the Ameghino Col Camp. They initially were going to bypass this camp and move directly to Camp II but have decided that they may stay one night at the Col Camp. It is snowing right now. They have received about three inches of snow today. There are ice crystals inside the tent. Dan and Wes had one of their freeze dried meals for dinner. They had to eat inside the tent since it was so cold outside. Either yesterday or today they watched the recovery of the German climber. Two rangers were up at Camp II and lowered his body down to two waiting rangers who had a Stokes basket. His body is about 200 yards from the guys' tent resting on a knoll. He will probably be helicoptered out tomorrow. Both guys are still feeling great!

Still Hanging at Plaza Argentina

The guys are still at Plaza Argentina. They discussed it and decided it would be better to have another day to get acclimated. They did climb to Camp I yesterday and made a cache. Wes said it was a great climb. It took about four hours to get up there. They cached half their gear and piled a lot of rocks on top of it. Hopefully that will keep out all the critters. The guide company, Aymara, that they are using while at base camp is pretty cool. They will cook anything you want them to cook. However, it comes at a STEEP price. Last night Wes and Dan had two pizzas and two cokes for dinner. It was $30 PER pizza and $5 PER coke! Today Wes asked them to make lunch for him and they cooked him up some beef that was breaded, soup and fruit - yet another $30. They like U.S. dollars there. Dan decided to eat some of the snacks that he had brought and save his money.

Aconcagua has not been very kind to climbers so far this season. About three days ago a couple of guys had to be helicoptered out due to cerebral edema. Another guy had to be rescued today because he twisted his ankle on the way down from the summit. A German climber fell and died today on the Polish Direct Route. His partner, an American, had to be rescued. The weather has been relatively warm so the glacier is melting and has uncovered two more bodies that died in previous seasons.

On a more cheerful note, Wes has recovered from his Montezuma's Revenge and now feels great. Dan still feels good, too! For the record, Wes and Dan are climbing the Polish Traverse (not the Polish Direct) Route. They will meet up with the traditional route to go for the summit. This is a less dangerous route than the Polish Direct. They will be climbing to Camp I tomorrow.

Happy 2009!

Wes and Dan rang in the New Year in Argentina. Wes spent the early hours of 2009 dealing with Montezuma's Revenge. He finally made it to bed at 5:30 am. He is not sure if it was from the water or from the food last night. He is feeling better now. He started a round of antibiotics. All Wes had to say was "thank goodness for portable toilets." Dan was able to avoid that particular condition and still feels great. New Year's Eve on Aconcagua was a pretty wild place. At midnight huge explosions began going off. Apparently people brought canisters with fireworks or explosives. There was a very large bonfire and congo drums were played until about 3:00 am. About 40 tents are set up at this camp. There are people from all over the world - a few Americans. There must have been drinking games going on in the Inca tent because Dan and Wes could hear people cheering in Spanish, "Chug, chug, chug." The games are the same no matter what language you speak. From another group came the telltale smell of marijuana. Are these people really going to climb this mountain? Today Wes and Dan were seen by the camp doctor. Their blood pressure, pulsox, etc. were checked. The doctor said they were both fine. Wes said one of the tents was rigged up with Internet access and satellite communication. It is sunny and breezy right now. They are glad for the wind because it cools it down a little bit. Today is definitely a rest day. Tomorrow they are off to make their cache at Camp I.