January 8, 2018
IMG Guide Martin Lucero with Permits ‘Almost in Hand’ (Rikki Dunn)
It’s busy season in South America still. One Mexico, one Ecuador, one Vinson, one Patagonia trek and two Aconcagua trips have already been completed BUT one MORE Mexico, one Ecuador, one Vinson, one Patagonia trek and three Aconcagua trips still remain. Busy is a good thing.
So, we wanted to check in with Team 3 on Aconcagua, led by Nickel Wood and assisted by Martin Lucero and Rikki Dunn. Guides arrived early and shopped/packed food and gear. The climber team all arrived by 7 January. Climbers have been getting over their jet lag, going through gear checks, out shopping for a few more ‘snacks’ for the trail and generally enjoying the city of Mendoza. Big team dinner tonight. Oh yeah, there’s always that issue of securing permits. As Nickel emailed today – “climbers and gear are accounted for and permits are secured.â€
Bottom line – all the big preliminary details have been taken care of and team is ready to head out tomorrow for Penitentes. I’ll try to squeeze a team photo out of them for tomorrow.
Phil Ershler