December 18, 2012
From: Josh Tapp
Date: December 18, 2012, 2:38:53 AM PST
To: Phil Ershler
Subject: Photo of the gang
Had a fantastic dinner last night with the gang. Â Everyone is doing well. Â Off to Penitentes by mid afternoon.
Photo of the gang (Josh Tapp)
December 17, 2012
New toilet bucket (Eben Reckord)
Aconcagua Team #2, with Josh Tapp in the lead, checked in today from Mendoza. Great news was that all climbers have arrived and all luggage has arrived. We had a couple of missing bags yesterday but all has been resolved. That’s huge.
Final shopping and final packing are going on now. A quick stop tomorrow at the permit office and the team will be on their way to Penitentes, at the base of the mountain.
Phil Ershler
December 17, 2012
IL 76 in flight
Received the call from Mike Hamill early this morning, the 17th. The IL 76 is in the air. They’ll be back in Punta today and finding a nice restaurant to celebrate both their success on Vinson and with the Last Degree trip. Pretty much a perfect trip. In and out on schedule, everyone on the summit and no one gets hurt. And, I think they had a good time in the process. Pick up a copy of Mike’s new book, “Climbing the Seven Summitsâ€, if you want to learn more about the details involved in a climb of Vinson Massif.
IMG Senior Guide, Greg Vernovage, is up next with his Vinson team hoping to fly onto the Ice on December 29. Greg will be spending Christmas at about 35,000 ft. Such is the life of a mountain guide.
Phil Ershler
December 16, 2012
On the road to C1 (Photo: Justin Condon)
Eben and crew had a good carry today to C1. Camp is at about 16,200 ft. Weather was good, as you can see from the photo. They’re back at base camp now, which is Sunday afternoon, eating pizza.
The plan is to make the move to C1 on Monday. Health is good and people are acclimatizing well. The acclimatization is something we can’t force. This isn’t the time to rush things.
Phil Ershler
December 15, 2012
View from the tent (Phil Ershler)
We heard from Eben today. The crew had a nice rest day at base camp today. Lots of eating and drinking and generally enjoying a day off. Tomorrow’s their first carry to Camp 1 at around 16,000 ft. Higher winds are forecast for later in the week, but for now, all’s good. The team probably couldn’t be doing better.
Phil Ershler
December 15, 2012
Mike and Vanessa reached the South Pole on Saturday, December 15. They’ve toured the South Pole Station and will be spending the night camped at the Pole. They should be able to fly back to the Union Glacier on Sunday and an IL 76 flight is tentatively scheduled for the 17th. Pretty darn smooth trip.
Phil Ershler
December 14, 2012
Casa Piedra (Nick Hayward)
Another dispatch from IMG guide Eben Reckord, the team made it yesterday to Casa Piedra, camp 2 on the approach to Aconcagua. Weather was reported to be “ridiculously nice”. Today, everybody arrived at base camp in good shape, no issues. It was surprising to see how many people were not on the mountain, but it’s still early in the season. In the meantime, all is well.
On another note, IMG guide Josh Tapp finishes his packing today and will be leaving for Aconcagua early tomorrow. He’ll be leading the next team uphill on December 16.
Becky K
December 13, 2012
Mike just called in from about 16 miles short of the South Pole. Weather continues to be good and winds continue to be low. The view hasn’t changed – lots of white. With any luck, they hit the South Pole on Saturday. If weather permits, they could possibly get flown back to the Union Glacier that same day. Then it’s a matter of waiting at Union Glacier until the IL 76 is coming in so they can return to Punta Arenas, in Chile. Should be home easily for Christmas.
Phil Ershler
December 13, 2012
People always think mountaineering is so dangerous. Do you know what’s REALLY dangerous? Getting behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle. The longer I live, the more I am convinced that this is the most dangerous thing we do.
Yesterday, I was leaving a hotel to drive to my Air Force base to work. Luckily I was only going about 2 mph in the parking lot when the front right wheel of my truck became detached from the axle. It made a really awful noise, not to mention shook me up a little bit.
I got out of the truck unharmed and surveyed the situation. Worst case scenario, I thought, a couple thousand dollars of damage and maybe a few days to fix it. I called the base and let them know I wouldn’t be coming in. Their ONLY concern was that I was unhurt.
It turns out that some parts I had replaced on my truck in the fall were defective. What are the chances of THAT? The lower front ball joint just disintegrated.
As you travel this holiday season, keep in mind that the MOST important thing to anyone who cares about you, is that you arrive at your destination safely. I was really lucky. I don’t know what would have happened if I’d been going 65 mph on the highway or even 55 at night on a winding mountain road as I had been the previous night, or if I’d been going faster AND fiddling with my phone……well, use your imagination.
Most of us are trying to fit too much into our days already, and the holidays seem to exacerbate that tendency. If you feel rushed, just take a breath – slow down. I’m sure no one who truly cares about you will mind if you’re 15 minutes late or don’t respond IMMEDIATELY to their text.
Happy Holidays and be safe!
Jenni Fogle
***[The good news for Jenni, other than being unhurt, was that this was all covered by the manufacturer]***
December 12, 2012
Eben Reckord called in with news we love to hear, ‘all is well’.
Beyond that, he and his team are at Pampa de Llenas, our first trekking camp en route to Aconcagua Base Camp. No issues so far. The weather is nice, though the standard Aconcagua breeze is ever-present.
They expect more of the same tomorrow, but for now they’ll kick back and enjoy a little peace and quiet… and the occasional tent fly flapping in the wind.
Tye Chapman
