All packed and ready to go! All our climbing gear fit into our 150L duffels. 24 hour journey to our hotel in Mendoza ahead. We are beyond excited!

After more than 24 hours, we have finally arrived in Mendoza. We had spectacular views of our objective as we approached Santiago as well as our flight over the Andes from Santiago to Mendoza.

Spent our first afternoon/evening in Mendoza, Argentina. The people were very friendly and kind. The city was very clean and inviting. We walked through the Central Park to dinner at La Lucia where we had one of the most incredible meals. We had an empanada and bottle of Malbec to start. Stephanie had a ribeye and I had Wild Boar ribs. We then, of course, had some gelato to finish it off. Early to bed for us, soaking up the rest while we can!

After 14 hours of sleep we woke up feeling sluggish. I decided to go on a run through Mendoza to shake off the rust. There was so much life and activity. People were out biking, running, skateboarding, and rowing. I couldn’t help but feel like I was at home. Everyone seemed relaxed, as if they were all on vacation.

We had an incredible food and wine experience at Lagarde Bodega winery! The flavors were unique and amazing. An example being siracha ice cream! The winery has been around since 1897 and produces 1.2 million liters per year. It is considered a mid-sized winery compared to the large commercial wine producers in the area.

Our mountain guide, Alejo, met us at our hotel for a gear check, some Q&A and then a trip to a local mountaineering equipment shop for some additional gear he felt would be worth having. Alejo has started his mountain guiding career leading expeditions of Cotopaxi in Ecuador when he was only 14 years old. He is now 43 and guides all over the world. We feel comfortable under his guidance.

Food! This entry is dedicated to food. After being to Italy, we thought it would be a while before (if ever) we topped the cuisine we had there. However, turns out it didn’t take long at all. The food here has been out of this world. It is bursting with a wide spectrum of flavors and textures. The combinations are bold and the presentations are beautiful.

Stephanie and I were laid up in our hotel room for the last 24+ hours with a nasty bout with a stomach virus. We think it was some contaminated food or water. It was touch and go for a bit as we were unable to hold down food or fluids. The whole trip was in question for a period of time.

….BUT we rallied in time to head out to our first night at camp on the mountain. We first enjoyed the last hot meal and shower we will have for a few weeks! Now, off to camp one! \240We start with a 3.5 hour drive to trailhead from our hotel. We will load up the pack mules there then hike 3 hours up to first camp.

Night one elevation: 11.2K feet

The last checkpoint before we live out of our bags and tents. We loaded up the mules, stocked up on all our food, and did the final briefing. It was like central station for all these various expedition crews. Everyone forgot something or packed something on the mules they wish they hadn’t. But no worries with this group as we are all in it together. Sharing sunscreen, chapstick and food with folks we met only seconds earlier. Most of the bartering and trading was done using the universal language of hand language slang. Not any official sign language, but the version we all know such as gesturing like your rubbing in sunscreen or using your hand to drink an invisible Nalgene as your way of asking where the water bottle fill station is…everyone full of energy, enthusiasm and optimism. And clean!!! We will see how long it lasts.

Easy 5 mile hike to Camp Confluencia. The lower mountain has relatively ritzy accommodations compared to what the upper mountain will deliver. The pack mules work their asses off to lug all sorts of resources to this camp for us to enjoy. Including the building of the camp itself. Don’t worry as these mules have sports doctors (veterinarians) who take excellent care of them up to strict regulatory standards. We just met the camp manager who showed us our dining tent, where we will set up our sleeping tents, the bathrooms and the kitchen. Way more impressive than the accommodations in the Himalayas. But sounds like the high mountain camps will be very very rough. So we will enjoy it while we have it.

Built our bedroom for the next couple days. Now relaxing on our camp patio with our new friends getting ready for dinner.

We did a 10 mile acclimatization hike to 13,200 feet to view the south face of Mt Aconcagua. We returned to Camp Canfluencia for our last night before we head up to the main base camp. We witnessed an avalanche on the way back to camp which was spectacular. Despite being several miles away it sounded like a plane flying overhead. Today was all about taking it slow and not stressing the body. It was all about finding a slow and steady pace to keep your HR as low and consistent as possible. Then we went to the medical tent to check our vitals and get cleared to head to Plaza De Mulas tomorrow. Plaza De Mulas is the main base camp on Aconcagua and is the second largest base camp in the world behind only Everest Base Camp. Happy to report Stephanie and I were both cleared to move up to camp tomorrow. We will be there for 4 days!

We had a grueling 14 mile hike with 3K feet of elevation gain to Plaza De Mulas - primary base camp on Aconcagua. It was a great day but ended up being a tough night of sleep which is typical at these levels of altitude. Unfortunately, my body was still fighting the flu which seemed to be under control when we left. However, symptoms amplified at elevation and high levels of exertion. This resulted in my body failing to acclimate properly. The oxygen levels in my blood dropped to the point where I was not cleared to proceed. Heartbroken and prioritizing my health, Stephanie and I went back down to Mendoza. With this extreme descent, my body quickly snapped back and I am feeling fine now. The mountain never fails to teach you lessons. But not all lessons you want to learn. Not always fun to learn. The lessons learned here are that it is called “mountaineering” not “summiteering.” \240Although making summitt is always a special accomplishment it should never be the end all be all. In fact, only 25% of attempts end in a successful summit on Aconcagua. So many things are out of your control. In my case it was simply catching the flu at the worst time. Sometimes it is injury or weather. Could be some critical piece of gear is ruined or lost. Success or failure in mountaineering, as in life, should be focused more on the journey itself, being present, and prioritizing your health to get back to your loved ones. The mountain isn’t going anywhere. I will be back…