February 19, 2017
Mike and crew have been busy and productive up on Aconcagua. A nasty little storm rolled into C2 the other day, but all was weathered without incident. They carried yesterday up to C3 and made the move today. Weather could not be a whole lot better, and the crew is trying to get as much food, drink and rest as possible this afternoon and tonight.
Aconcagua Camp 3 (photo: Jonathan Farnsworth)
They want to take advantage of no precipitation and very minimal wind right now. Maybe it stays that way for a while but maybe it doesn’t. Climbing conditions are simply too good to pass up right now. Plan is to make their summit attempt in the morning. That should give them good weather for the climb and descent but also good weather the following day to make their retreat back to base camp on the Horcones Valley side of the mountain. That’s the plan, and that’s the goal.
What do they say?… Luck is when opportunity meets preparedness, right?
Phil Erhsler