Aconcagua Summit: Jan 2-17, 2022 with Tyson and Shannon Head - Part 2

Day 10:

Plaza de Mulas to Plaza Canada (5050 m, Camp 1). The beginning of our summit push. We woke up to some low cloud coverage and a different feel in the air. The weather was a bit stormy, the wind was blowing and the snow was coming down. Unfortunately, one of our team members decided to end his journey here as a family members passed away and he felt the needed to return home. We packed up all our gear from the tents and started our way up the mountain. Camp 1 was only 2.5 hours this time, as our acclimatization had shaved off half an hour from the previous trip. By the time we approached camp the tents were pitched and covered in snow. We quickly set up our sleeping arrangement and climbed inside. The guides served snacks, water, tea and dinner for us at our tent door so all we had to do was relax. The storm lasted a short while longer with more snow and wind and a few claps of lightning. Eventually the skies cleared and a calming soft blanket of snow covered the mountain side.

Day 11:

Plaza Canada to Nido de Condores (5560 m, Camp 2). Today we climbed higher once again. With full stomachs we moved up to the second camp with somewhat overcast skies. We made a decision to higher a porter for the two of us to lighten the load and save some energy for the summit day. As the porter will carry 20kgs our packs we more than manageable as we pushed on. The higher we climbed the more layers we put on. The weather was not cold but also not that warm either. Once we arrived at camp 2, again we all settled into our tents and had dinner served to us. The guides had to make a water run to a near by lake which was a 40-minute round trip.

As the afternoon turned to evening, we noticed a continuing trend of an upset stomach sweeping through camp. One of our guides was not feeling all that well and chose to head back to base camp and arrange for another guide to take his place. We gathered together before nightfall to discuss the future days and as the weather was holding constant, we chose to take another rest day here at camp 2 with hopes that stomachs would settle. As evening approached we all found ourselves outside the tents gazing at the at the breathtaking sunsets of westerly mountain.

Day 12:

Rest day at Nido de Condores (5560 m, Camp 2). The morning sun peered through the clouds while we ate breakfast. By mid morning half of us decided to head out for a walk so we wandered down to the lake across camp to fill our main jugs. With nearly 30L of water between the crew we casually made our way back to the tents. Just after arriving the clouds rolled in and the snow started to blow. The guides asked us to go back to our tents and rest until the conditions improved. With the snow came more thunder and lightening and the safest place for us was in the tents. We played cards and relaxed while being served hot drinks and lunch to our tents. As the storm blew on the weather gradually changed back for the better. Come mid afternoon we milled around the camp and socialized with the other team mates. As medication was drastically improving our stomachs we were able to gain some energy and rehydrate as much as possible. We then learned that a second guide and another climbing member were feeling unfit to continue and made the tough choice to head back to base camp. With a peaceful evening many chose to dine outside on whatever rock they could find to sit on. As the sun began to lower on another day in the mountains we were presented with another amazing sunset of astonishing colours. With the darkness came the cold so we promptly disappeared back into the comfort of our tents for hopefully a good nights sleep.

Day 13:

Nido de Condores to Colera (6000 m, Camp 3). This morning drew up some new problems. We were now down another guide as he was not feeling well as well as one member of our climbing team. Two others had a terrible nights sleep dealing with headaches and other common high altitude issues. For the previous 12 days we had been climbing in parallel with a second Grajales crew that were having the same issues as us. It was at this point we chose to amalgamate the two teams as both sides had members return to camp. With our gear all packed up and tents collapsed we then moved to the highest camp of the trip. This trek was again, up, up, up. It took us about 3 hours in total with a rest break every 45 minutes.

The final push was with a fixed metal rope to help guide us the final rock and ice steps to camp. As we arrived at the same time as the porters it took a few minutes before we could claim our space and set out our sleeping situations. We tried to help with the camp duties but they had a system and could get everything sorted out efficiently so we all just sat back and watched. The weather was cold and a stiff breeze blew threw camp. Everything is exhausting at this altitude so all of us disappeared into our tents as the guides presented us dinner and both cold and hot water. After a briefing about tomorrows plan, the eager and excited climbing crew settled in for the night around 9 pm and tried our best to sleep. As 6000m is higher than most places on earth the majority of people have a real tough time sleeping. Shannon fell asleep in what seemed like minutes, and I believe I tossed and turned until just before midnight. By now we were sleeping with nearly everything possible in our bags. The cold can end an expedition real quick so we had boot liners, gloves, cameras, batteries, water and everything else we didn’t want to freeze tucked away with us.

Day 14:

Summit day!! We are woken at 3:30 am by the guides and the sound of our tents flapping in the wind. Soon we were greeted with hot water as well a meat, cookies and oatmeal for breakfast. We were due to leave at 5 am sharp, not 5:05, not 4:55. They were very animate about this. At first, I was wondering why we were awake so early but I soon remembered how slow you move at 6000m. It was -10°C, windy and they didn’t want anyone standing around in the cold waiting. We were outside the tent and ready to go with crampons on right at 5 am. We hiked for an hour and a half in the dark with our headlamps shining on our feet. This was probably the most challenging part for Shannon. Not being about to see where you are going and seemingly endless switchbacks.

As we gazed over the mountain side we could see other climbers headlamps in all directions. Eventually, the sun began to rise and we felt a bit more positive about our situation. After three hours of climbing, we had made it to Plaza Indepencia at 6400m. At this point the guides informed us that we still had a further five hours before the summit and four people made the tough choice to turn around and return to the tents. We just kept the positive thoughts running through our heads and pushed on as best we could. The dreaded traverse was next to pass, A 1 km long section cutting across the face with wind blowing hard, at times almost knocking us off our feet. Eventually we reached the far side and made it to a sheltered area known as the cave, at 6660m. Over the next 45 minutes we focused on eating, drinking and resting while we stayed in place. This was just the recharge we needed to push the next two and a half hours to the summit. Up and up and up we went. Our steps got slower and closer together. We started to see others coming down from the top now, however, progress felt like an eternity. I noticed Shannon stopped ahead of me. She was not moving any more, and smiling. She was waiting for us to take the last 10 steps and arrive at the top of the mountain together. It was the most amazing feeling, so hard to describe. Tears of pure joy rushed to our eyes! We did it, we actually did it! It took 8.5 hours to arrive to 6962 metres, our top of the world.

Out of our combined group of 19, there were 10 of us that summited on this day. It was the perfect weather day! By now it was partly cloudy with no wind and the thermometer on my pack was reading +8°C in the sun. We relaxed there for just over an hour taking it all in. But like every summit, we were only half complete and it was time to go down. Retracing our steps, we skirted around the boulders and scree and tried to keep our footing while fumbling around the rocks, ice and snow, then plugged away back down to Camp 3 in around three hours.

We were both mentally and physically drained at this point and it took everything to concentrate on our footing to get us safely back to the tents. 13-hour round trip and back at 6000m now, we were congratulated by the guides and other climbers awaiting our arrival. This outside welcoming was short lived as the winds were starting to pick up so we quickly tucked ourselves away back in our tent. The amazing guides brought us water, hot soup and noodles for dinner. Then the wind started blowing hard. The defining noise of the tent flapping was no match for our level of fatigue as we settled in for the night and fell asleep just before dark.

Day 15:

Time to leave Camp 3 (6000m) and head down to basecamp (4300m). This took us about 3.5 hours, completely downhill. The wind was blowing so hard that morning we couldn’t even take down our tent. Anything not bolted down was flying away. Shannon and I sent our gear down with porters as we felt we wanted to save our knees on the big descent. With crampons on again we made our way to camp 2. We had stashed our hiking boots in a gear tent here, so we quickly swapped over foot wear and continued on. Skirting around Camp 1 we boot-skied the scree slope and made our way to the comfort of Plaza de Mules.

Once safely back down at basecamp we were greeted with warm welcomes, wonderful snacks and beer! The sun was shining, but the wind was still present just on a lesser scale. We relaxed in the dining tent, shared stories and tips with the next expedition making their way up the mountain, and even took a rewarding hot shower. We finished the way with a dome tent party complete with Argentinean wine and celebrations. We were all still rather exhausted from the previous two days that we didn’t make it much past sunset before resigning to our tents and the warmth of our sleeping bags.

Day 16:

The final day had come to hike out and get back to Mendoza. This hike would prove to be another challenging day, 27 km to be exact. Our gear was being sent down on mules so our day packs were pretty light containing only water with snacks and lunch in it. We started with the decent down the steep glacial moraine and then the dreaded four hours of river walk was upon us. This time however we were passing through here later in the day which made the river crossings a bit more challenging. Thankfully we had Gore-Tex hiking boots so our feet stayed dry as we tiptoed through the amplified water levels. The wind had also started to increase down the valley. Thankfully it was at our backs but the sandstorms that came with it were less than pleasant. Just as the first time we crossed this section, it seemed to go on forever, but eventually we arrived at Confluencia camp. A warm greeting from the camp host was a pleasant surprise as we enjoyed their juice and snacks and took a short but relaxing break. Once back on our feet we continued downhill.

Now we were starting to see the foliage come back and enjoyed green, yellow and purple colours that had been eliminated from us over the past couple weeks. Even spotted a guanaco walking the ridgeline as it peered down over us. The remaining seven kilometers back to the parking lot and the awaiting shuttle was nothing but rewarding and the perfect completion for our expedition. With mule bags loaded up we made one last stop in Penitentes where we grabbed the last of our things, had a drink, and were presented with our Aconcagua Summit certificates. Then our remaining team members all piled back into the shuttle and made the 3-hour drive to Mendoza. Once arriving at the Diplomatic Hotel we all settled into our rooms around midnight. We ordered a well-deserved burger, fries and Coca-Cola to the room, enjoyed a long hot shower and tried to get some sleep as we re-lived the past 16 exciting days our minds. Just as everyone had always warned us, the climb was the hardest thing we had ever done in our lives, but I would not have changed it for the world. The emotions, memories and relationships we encountered is why we do what we do and nothing will ever take that away from us.

Shannon's Gear List

Tyson's Gear List