12/1/2011
We summitted yesterday, 11 Jan! It was a long and painful day. We waited so long for the right day but they winds have not died down since we got here. So we thought we’ll give it a go anyway and maybe we could fly off…. Aconcagua is considered a very windy mountain but during our time hear the winds have been even stronger and more relentless than usual. First, it was a seriously hard day just getting to the summit. Very cold and we were all carrying heavy packs. Eventually we waited 6 hours on the summit for the wind to die down. It took all 4 of us to hold the glider down and nearly got blown off. Frustratingly in the short lulls taking off felt almost possible, but inevitably a huge gust would come up and kill our attempts. Eventually, late in the afternoon, with frozen fingers and aching heads we gave in….. Wrapped up the glider and started the long walk down to camp 2. Today we’re back at base camp and tomorrow, with our bellies full of mash potato and steak, we start the 40km walk out with the thought of hot water and clean clothes waiting on the other side. As a consolation Pierre and Guy got to fly down from camp 2 to Base camp and it was rather hairy….. Pierre had already flown off the summit of Aconcagua in 2008, and our main purpose in returning was to film the flight, so despite our failure to fly yesterday, 7 Summits 7 Flights is still on track. I don’t think I want to come back to this cold windy mountain again…..
