Steve Bonowski & Team Tackling Aconcagua

[uwe]

14'er.com community member Steve Bonowski is leading a CMC Adventure Travel Aconcagua Trip
He and his team are moving on the mountain.
Looks like they have done a carry/cache to 16K camp.
To follow, see link:

https://share.delorme.com/AconcaguaClimb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MountainHiker]

It looks like they are at Camp Canada:

[MountainHiker]

It looks like they moved up, or did a carry to Nido de Condores. It's a broad barren place with clumps of tents widely spaced from each other.

[kushrocks]

Go get it Steve and team!!!!

[jsdratm]

Thanks for sharing the pictures as a reference. Looks like they are doing well so far! Out of the group I've met Steve, Stan, Dana, and Sally and they all seemed pretty motivated with training and what not.

[MountainHiker]

mmmm, it looks like after spending a day at Nido, they (or at least the person with the tracker) descended back to Canada.

[jsdratm]

Looks like they (or at least the tracker owner) went all the way back down to base camp, hope everyone is OK. They may have been forced to turn around by high winds.

[climbing_rob]

I'm not following directly, but when we climbed Aconcagua back in 2004 (another one of Steve B's trips, 8 out of 11 of us made it), we went to Nido then back to base camp as a normal part of our acclimation. We zig-zagged (altitude wise) all over the mountain to acclimate. Good thing too! At nearly 7000 meters, something like 35% of the O's is starting to get thin.

[MountainHiker]

There could be a lot of explanations, including the weather:
http://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/ ... casts/6962
It looks like they arrived at Mules Sat Nov 30, and then on Mon Dec 2 did a carry to Canada, return to Mules.
On Sat Dec 7 they moved from Mules up to Nido, with a stop at Canada.
Then today they returned to Mules.

When we were there we spoke to various people on different acclimation schedules. Not everyone acclimates the same way. We spoke to sea level people who took took a few days to hike into Mules, and then hung out for a week before heading any higher. Also, there are different strategies with how many camps above Mules, and how many acclimation climbs / carries. And no matter what your plan, the weather, and how people are doing will dictate changes. We did a carry to Nido and then a rest day before moving up to Nido. That first night I didn't sleep. The second night I did sleep, but Dorthe couldn't shake a headache. So that following day Dorthe headed back down to Mules, while our friend Tim and I made plans for the summit that night / following morning. When Dorthe's brother was there the rangers warned everybody to head down from Nido because a storm was coming. Tents that got left behind were shredded.

Without knowing we can only speculate. If somebody does need medical attention there is a doctor at Mules. Weather permitting a helicopter is available. And there are mules.

My optimistic guess is they decided to head down to wait out the wind and then return to Nido within a couple days to be in place for a summit bid.

Rob, when you were with Steve B, did you go for the summit from Nido, or another camp like Berlin?

[climbing_rob]

There could be a lot of explanations, including the weather:
http://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/ ... casts/6962
It looks like they arrived at Mules Sat Nov 30, and then on Mon Dec 2 did a carry to Canada, return to Mules.
On Sat Dec 7 they moved from Mules up to Nido, with a stop at Canada.

Then today they returned to Mules. ...

Rob, when you were with Steve B, did you go for the summit from Nido, or another camp like Berlin?

Sure hope it's weather and not something else.

We summited directly from Nido. I think this was a good call, overall saves energy of moving to a higher, crappy (literally) camp. A few of us did climb to 20,000 (white rocks area) a couple days before summit day to acclimate. Then a storm rolled in for a couple days, then we summited. Long day, 14-15 hours. We walked by Berlin only 1.5-2 hours after leaving Nido, and on the way down that stretch was probably less than an hour. Move camp to save 3.5 hours on summit day? Not worth it. I guess Berlin is no longer used though, something called Camp Cholera???

[MountainHiker]

We accidentally walked through Cholera after missing one of the braided switchbacks that would have lead to Berlin. I was able to confirm our position with a map & GPS. It wasn't too far out of the way, so we didn't lose much time. We passed through Berlin on the way down. We were there in 06-07.

I agree on the logistics of summitting from Nido instead of Berlin.

[kman]

I guess Berlin is no longer used though, something called Camp Cholera???

I summited Acon this past January, and Berlin is still being used - albeit by only a few hardy souls. Camp Cholera (Colera) at White Rocks (picture #1 below) is the Camp of choice now for most people. It is "cleaner," more spacious, and makes the summit day shorter.

I have climbed with Steve (and Dana) before, and am wishing them the best of luck! The weather looks "favorable" (cold, but clear with diminishing winds), so hopefully they'll still attempt a summit bid in the coming days.

On a side note, the mountain (via the Normal Route), has quite a few "unique" things including the largest Base Camp in the world outside of Everest (Plaza de Mulas - 14,340 ft). I was able to shower there as well as use the internet which, at over 14,000 ft, was a first for me. The Hotel Refugio is also there, which I've been told is the highest Hotel in the world. The Base Camp also has the highest Art Gallery in the world (per Guinness). The Normal Route also has the worlds highest shelter, at over 19,000 ft. Not to be outdone, was the "Loo with a view!" (pictures 2 & 3). This is a short walk from Camp Canada and, at over 16,000 ft, is one of the more unique and scenic places for "doing your business!" I hope the Team gets to experience some or all of these things.