Prittie

Hear Willi's Call from Aconcagua

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We moved up to Camp I, in very good time yesterday, and had a really nice dinner and a nice evening down there. And did a carry today, dropped some things off at our Camp II at 17,600ft. These guys were animals, doing that climb in less than three hours, basically — I was very impressed with that. We continued on up to our present elevation, which is about 18,700ft and had done a deposit here, which we'll be picking up in a couple of days. It is mainly supplies and equipment for the summit climb and for our Camp III at 19,200ft. So things are going very, very well. We did try to cybercast yesterday, unfortunately we couldn't get through with a continuous, system busy sign.

Things went really well, we did actually loose Jim from the expedition at Base Camp. He had a preexisting, non-altitude related medical problems that were plaguing him, as well as a preexisting sprained ankle, all of which were really making life miserable for him. So he decided this was a hint that this was not the year for him to be up on Aconcagua. So, he's actually, as we speak, on the way out with an Argentinean doctor. They have a doctor stationed in Base Camp here on the Vacas Valley side, in Plaza Argentina, and they switch that position every few weeks. And it was, luckily, just the time for the switch so that a new physician was coming in for the one who had been here, for about 20 days, was leaving. So, the two of them are actually walking out together today and tomorrow.

We have a few messages here, also. From Gert, he would like to say 'hi' to [Unintelligible], Emily, Lydia, and Wilhelm. Jack would also like to say 'hi' to Laura. And from Chuck we have a congrats to Prestley on her new book, Whatever. A 'hello' to Suzanne, in Madison, from Joe and a 'hi' to sister Elise, and mother Vera and brother Derek — I just got that in my other ear. So, everybody is doing really well up here. We're really enjoying it, particularly the view. Although, I think there's a few tired people after this 2,000-plus-feet up that we've actually carried from Camp I today. But took a very, very important part of our acclimation to continue laying the foundations, so we can actually summit this peak.

So, that's going to be all for now and we'll continue to, of course, sending reports in as things continue to happen and we hopefully continue to progress up Aconcagua and have a great climb. This is Argentina out.

—Alpine Ascents Guide Willi Prittie, MountainZone.com Correspondent

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