Rob called this evening from Santiago, Chile after a very big day. They woke up at 5am and finally hiked out of the Aconcagua Mountain area. He took a quick shower at Penitentes then got on a plane in Mendoza and began his journey home. He will be in Midland tomorrow evening! Godspeed, Rob!
Rob’s voicemail today sounds like they’ve been solid trucking. They left Base Camp at Plaza Argentina at 9:30am through the Vacas Valley to a camp called Pampa de Lenas by about 5:30pm. 8 hours straight, snowing the whole way, and cold winds a’blowin’. Others are coming down, too… dozens of summit attempts spoiled by the storm. He hopes that everyone is warmer than he is right now.
Here’s this morning’s view from Plaza Argentina… click to see the snow/wind storm set in at 18k’..
Day 17: Summit Day on Aconcagua! Making an early alpine start, we climb out of camp to join the Ruta Normal. A gradual traverse along the mountain’s northwest flank takes us past the abandoned Refugio Independencia and to the base of the Canaleta, a 1,000′ high couloir leading to the summit ridge. Upon reaching the top of the Canaleta, a straightforward traverse leads to the summit. After celebrating on the summit, we descend to High Camp for the night.* Wednesday, December 19th, 2012
* Itinerary summary from RMI Guides
Rob just called from Plaza Argentina (aka Base Camp). He said he slept *very well last night after a long haul down from Camp 2 with all of their gear. They are waiting for mules to arrive to carry their gear down the rest of the way. He reports that snow is falling and the wind is blowing and its pretty cold, but they are all glad to be avoiding this “whale” of a storm that’s blowing through. Rob has already made his travel arrangements and will be back in Texas by Saturday. Godspeed, Rob!
here’s a live pic from 1:15pm est today at Plaza Argentina… click the image to see all the images of the day and possibly spot Rob!
Day 16: Move to Camp 3. We climb to our High Camp, setting up camp and preparing for our push to the summit.* Tuesday, December 18th, 2012
* Itinerary summary from RMI Guides
Dang. They’re getting blown out of the summit attempt. After a team meeting, they’ve decided to head on back. The team has made the right choice… and he did make a personal best to 21k’ which is higher than Denali (20,3′), Kilimanjaro (19,3′), Cayambe (18,9′), Elbrus (18,5′), Rainier (14,4′), Guadalupe Peak (8,7′), and Mt. Nebo (2,3′). Hear Rob tell it in his own words.
Day 15: Rest and acclimatization at Camp 2. In anticipation of our summit bid, we stay at Camp 2 resting and acclimatizing before moving higher.* Monday, December 17th, 2012
* Itinerary summary from RMI Guides
Its Sunday afternoon, and Rob says the temperature at Camp 2 was 0 degrees outside the tent, 21 degrees in the tent, and in his sleeping bag 150 degrees, he hoped. Sense of humor: intact! Team One was belted with 50mph winds all night which made sleeping difficult.
In Team One’s first itinerary modification, they’ve decided to wait a day before depositing a cache at Camp 3 since they will not be making the projected Wednesday summit bid. They did go ahead and hike up to Camp 3 at 19k feet and then on up another 1k feet for acclimization. He said the winds were “howling” the whole time.
They are back at Camp 2 tonight and its cold. They know that the forecast for their two summit days predicts bleak winds up to 100mph. On Monday, if the forecast by mid-day is still bleak, they will move back down to Base Camp (Plaza Argentina) and regroup there. Ever the realist, he seems aware what this wind-storm might mean.
Guide Geoff Schellens posted a blog entry and voice dispatch on the RMI blog today, too. Guide optimism and temperament… truly one of the best things about these trips with RMI. Thank you, JJ and Geoff!
Day 14: Carry to Camp 3 (Piedras Blancas at 19,600′). We continue traversing high above the Guanacos Valley to our High Camp and leave a cache of gear before returning to Camp 2.* Sunday, December 16th, 2012
* Itinerary summary from RMI Guides
As predicted, the recent forecast for the projected summit day has cast concern across Team One as they arrive at Camp 2 (aka Guanacos Camp at 18,000’) for the night. Rob’s voicemail dispatch this afternoon details that just hiking from Camp 1 to Camp 2 in 35mph gusts today was “extremely windy”.
Yesterday’s forecast of 75-100mph winds during the first two days of the summit window (starting Wednesday, December 19th) are enough to convince a climber to hunker down until the weather clears up. The RMI itinerary (and food/travel/etc) includes two extra weather days. In which case, a summit “bid” could be december 20th or 21st.
Rob explains that strong winds are mortally dangerous on the mountain. They can knock a person off their feet and destroy a tent while you’re sleeping in it. Rob says he and the team completely trust JJ’s experience and guardianship and know he’ll make the right decision to ensure a safe and successful summit. Today’s voicemail is an exciting must-listen!
Day 13: Move to Camp 2. Shouldering the rest of our gear we climb to Camp 2.* Saturday, December 15th, 2012
* Itinerary summary from RMI Guides
All good at Camp 1. Team One rested and discussed the next few days of climbing. Tomorrow they head up to the Camp 2 they established yesterday at 18k’.
Rob called and said the weather was getting a little cloudy. Rob described the people that passed their team today. As we all know, Dad loves a visit with a stranger now and again. He sounds positive and says he’s looking forward to the next day.
Day 12: Rest and acclimatization at Camp 1. We rest in camp for the day as we prepare for higher altitudes.* Friday, December 14th, 2012
* Itinerary summary from RMI Guides
Rob just left two messages from Camp 1. Today they stashed gear up at Camp 2 (18k’). He said the climb was quite steep. He said they had to navigate through more skree and penitentes (see the image below). And then they went up to 18,5k’ to sneak a peek at Camp 3. Tomorrow is a rest day, then they’ll move up to Camp 2. It was below freezing last night and constantly windy. And even though his camelbak froze, he seems cheerful!
The last few seconds of this is lost to sat phone distortion.
here is a picture of some random dude walking thru penitentes… they are kinda like upside down glacier-cycles…
Day 11: Carry to Camp 2 (Guanacos Camp at 18,000’). Today we get our first view to the north across the expansive scree fields above the Guanacos Valley. The snow covered peaks of the central Andes spread out in the distance.* Thursday, December 13th, 2012
* Itinerary summary from RMI Guides
Rob just left a very windy dispatch. It clears up after the first 45 seconds. Big wind!
If you’re extra-curious, here’s a random youtube video from 2010 of an american giving a quick tour of the “tent city” at Plaza Argentina.
Day 9: Rest and acclimatization at Base Camp. We continue to build upon our acclimatization today with a hike outside of camp. We rest in the afternoon and make the final preparations for our move to Camp 1.* Tuesday, December 11th, 2012
* Itinerary summary from RMI Guides
Rob just left another voicemail. He says that today’s 4.5 hour climb up to Camp 1 was “a heckuva climb”. Very windy with lots of scree and rain. He says everyone’s feeling well. They rest tonight and tomorrow.
and here is JJ Justman’s blog entry on December 10th. He is the lead guide with support from Geoff Schellens.
He says, “I know I sound like a broken record but our Aconcagua team is both rocking and rolling! Today we woke up early and laced up our mountaineering boots. With hefty packs in hand we slowly made our way up to Camp 1 at 16,360 feet…officially.
For Geoff and I today gave us an opportunity to visibly see how each climber is doing. And it was obvious that everyone has climbed before. And climbed well. The team was in sync with breaks, rest stepping, good footwork and most importantly everyone was having fun.
We spent a half an hour at Camp 1 and we left quite a bit of gear that we will need for the upper mountain. So we are now officially ready to move up the mountain. But first we will take another rest day here at base camp. There’s no need to rush. The tortoise always wins the race.”
Day 8: Carry to Camp 1 (16,200’). Our trek ends and the climb begins with our first carry of the expedition. We climb to Camp 1, caching a portion of our supplies and equipment. We descend to Base Camp to sleep.* Monday, December 10th, 2012
* Itinerary summary from RMI Guides