Mt Aconcagua Report by Paul Hameister
 

On 31st January 2008 at around 1.55pm, I reached the summit of Mt Aconcagua (around 7000m/23,000ft), exhausted and dehydrated after a 7.5 hour ascent in crampons from Camp 3 (6000m).

The ascent was relentless and quick (usually 8-10 hours) because our guides were worried about a forecast change in the weather. They were right. As the 3 of us sat slumped over for our 10 minutes at the summit, we could see no further than 20m as a blizzard began to set in. Things were looking grim.

In fact, the pace had been strong for all carries from Base Camp to Camps 1, 2 and 3, since the news had arrived that in the expedition before us, a 32 year-old had died on summit day from cerebral endeama (with another person lost in a blizzard – later found with severe frostbite). Our sense was the guides were angry (their company’s reputation had been damaged) and they were trying to sort us out.

We had started with 11 expedition members from around the globe (Canada, USA, Norway, Holland, UK, Ireland and Australia). Four turned back at Base Camp (4300m) after the first brutal acclimatization climb. We lost another at Camp 2 (severe headaches and vomiting).

By Camp 3, we had 6 left and within the first pitch black freezing 2 hours of the grueling pace on summit day (up at 4am), another 3 had turned back. Statistically, we were on track – last season only 8% of climbers made the summit. This season it will be closer to 15%.

As we sat on the summit, my two companions were from Norway and Ireland (both had extensive mountaineering experience and so were more familiar with how bad they were feeling than I). All of us were physically shattered.

Disappointed to be denied the view across Chile to the ocean, we took some quick photos and started down the famous Catalina (vertical 60 degree angle) which had taken over an hour to ascend.

It wasn’t long before I started to lose my grip on reality and found myself collapsing every 15-20 minutes, no matter how hard I focused on trying to walk strongly. On a few occasions I lost consciousness and was woken by my guide yelling at me not to fall asleep (which was all my body wanted to do). I was suffering AMS and severe dehydration. Aconcagua is one of the driest environments on earth – you lose moisture with every breath. I had been drinking 5-6 litres of water a day, but because of the pace on summit day (and lack of rest stops), I had consumed only about 1.5 litres. It was not enough and my body was shutting down.

After a 5.5 hour descent, Camp 3 finally came into sight. After collapsing in my sleeping bag that night, I staggered 8 hours down to Base Camp the next day where I ate for the first time in 2 days. My blood pressure was dangerously low and after a few cans of Lemonade and packets of salty chips I made the 35km/10 hour final walk (still vomiting and with a high fever) through the desert valley back to the hostel and finally civilization in Mendoza to sleep for a couple days before the 26 hour travel home.

Without doubt, that is the hardest physical and mental challenge I have ever undertaken. There was no elation at the summit – just exhausted relief and the dawning realization that I had used all my energy and determination to get there, but now I had to get back down and would have to call on reserves I had never known to do so. On the way up, I could have turned back on at least 10 occasions (and on a couple, expected the guides to tell me to do so). On the way down, I can’t believe how tempting it was just to go to sleep and know that I would have died.

It is a mountain to be respected – offering an unpredictable, hostile and foreign environment.

Thank you to everyone for their support, we raised around $15,000 to buy new breathing monitors at the Royal Childrens Hospital.