January 25, 2010
Aconcagua Update – Summit!
Summit! Ben called in yesterday to report that he and fellow IMG Guide Peter Anderson and 8 IMG climbers reached the summit of 22,840ft Aconcauga! Great conditions on the walk up made for a nice summit but a little weather on the way down made things a little more interesting yet uneventful. All is well. They plan on heading downhill to Plaza de Mulas today and will call in from there this afternoon. Nice work team!
Kilimanjaro Update – Summit Night
Eben and Jangbu called down yesterday to say the whole group has reached Barafu camp at 15,000 feet, and are doing well. On Saturday they trekked up the Barrancco Wall just below the southern glaciers to the Karanga Valley camp at about 13,000 feet, one of the most spectacular parts of the climb. Yesterday they climbed to the Barafu camp and are getting set for their midnight start, shooting to make the summit at dawn today (Monday). We’ll keep our fingers crossed on the weather and will keep you posted!
Ecuador Volcanoes – Cayambe
A busy couple days for the Ecuador team. After leaving San Augustin they’ve visited Romulo’s house for an authentic Ecuadorean meal then stopped by good friend, Jorge Anhalzer’s hacienda. Jorge is a famous Ecuadorean photographer who’s published many books over the years. After the team purchased some photos and books at Jorge’s they made their way to Cayambe…
Summit day on Cayambe was great! The team was strong and doing well until they reached the final crevasses before the summit. Unfortunately a few days before the snow bridges that had been used to cross the crevasses had collapsed which made reaching the summit impossible. They tried to end around the crevasses but there wasn’t a path the guides were comfortable with. So they turned around 150m short of the summit – strong enough to get there but the mountain wouldn’t let them. Needless to say they had a great time and have since visited the hot springs of Papallactas and are currnently in Quito.
Tye Chapman