Today I found on my phone all my annotations about my Aconcagua Ascenso (as my Scottish friend Tommy used to say, in a dubious Spanish language). “About an hour after finishing dinner, dressed, hats, and gloves, the sun disappeared behind the mountain, and the temperature dropped severely and almost instantly. I had wanted to make the Aconcagua Argentina combination for several years, and that At the moment, I couldn’t believe I was here. It was time to get into the sleeping bags soon, and I finally appreciated my big down bag, as it was too hot to go in until now. I tried not to sleep as much as I could and, while So far, I watched the most spectacular storm in the distance. It had the highest intensity multiple forked lightning ever. And from what must have been 30 miles away, it still lit our sky like a bonfire on November 29. It had a bit of a headache, and I took some Alleve that Tommy gave me, as I didn’t want to leave my sleeping bag and fell asleep shortly after 9. Tomorrow we would head to Camp 2 at approx. Between 17,700 feet. It all started to look like it was far away now, and the top of the mountain itself seemed miles away, which it indeed was. But for now, we were here, and I felt pretty good overall. We were only two camps away from a possible summit bid, but as with everything on a mountain, you really can’t overthink ahead – it’s always a day, or sometimes just a few hours, that you really should allow yourself. Think about. And tomorrow it would prove it very well. My trip is a matter of days, and I can honestly tell you that I don’t know if I’m ready or not. There are many reasons for this. One is a little anxious about possible altitude sickness. Having been around (or close to) 6,000m three times (Kilimanjaro, Island Peak / Everest Base Camp, and Elbrus), I have had, say, mixed results with AMS. In Kili, I had mild symptoms at about 4,000m. In Nepal, I felt a bit dizzy after 4,000 meters. In Russia, I was fine until the descent, when I started showing symptoms d. The latter was a terrifying experience of my life. Second, Aconcagua is a different pot of fish than the one in the mountains I have made so far. At about 7,000 m and 23,000 feet, it’s a quantum leap above the others in many ways. The altitude itself will be quite tough, but if you add to that the fact that I have to carry more weight than ever (more than 20 kg), it will be an incredible effort. I find that 20 kg in a suitcase is difficult to pick up, let alone carry them on the back at height. Having also read so many guide company websites and various blogs on the subject, I have not heard anyone say anything other than “if you think that because you have been on the Kili you can climb Aconcagua, then think again, or words to that effect. The final camp is above 20,000 feet, so the words “good luck trying to sleep there before the night of the summit” ring to me as well. I wondered many times how to climb Aconcagua cheap, and the truth is that I still can’t find the answer.
