I was asked by some friends, to also write an english report on my Expedition to Cerro Aconcagua.
Well - here it is!
ACONCAGUA
Climbing on Top of the Americas
It was in 2007 when Maike and I went to Nepal for a bit of mountain climbing.
The Annapurna Mountain Range is one of the most impressive areas of the Himalaya, and is home to some of the planets highest peaks.
By climping the Thorung-La Pass we reached the highest point of our lifes at 5416 metres. Well - until then. The more I soaked up the atmosphere of this giant mountains, the more I wished to reach higher. A bigger challenge, a wider view, thinner air, a (much) higher mountain. And so I did. After some research I decided to climb Cerro Aconcagua in Argentina.
With its 6962 metres, it is not only the highest mountain of the Americas. It is the highest peak of the southern and western hemisphere, and one of the seven summits.
I got my body into shape, found a tour operator for the expedition, safed some money, booked a flight and touched down in Mendoza on the 4th of January 2014.
Mendoza is famous for two things:
the amazing wine, and - of course - for beeing the starting point for expeditions to Mount Aconcagua.
And so I quickly got in contact with other mountain climbers, and heard their stories.
For many of them it was not the first attempt. The death rate here is higher than on Mt. Everest, because many mountaineers underestimate the dangers.
First of all, temperatures can drop below -35 degrees celsius, and so many came back with serious frostbites on their noses, fingers and toes. The altitude is another point, and you have to carefully get your body used to it , to avoid the mountain sickness which causes serious damage to your body and brain, and may eventually lead to death.
And these are just two points out of many!
You really start thinking, when you hear all that. Well the facts were not new, I was pretty well prepared. But it is one thing, if you read about something, and another, if you get first hand information. And I gave the promise to my family back home, that I will return alive, and in one piece.
Nevertheless, the next day brought a quick material check (sleeping bags, crampons, ice axe, etc.), we got us our climbing permit, and then hit the mountains.
Accompanied by the majestic condores, and with breathtaking views of the mountains, valleys, glaciers and gorges, we headed for the first camp "Confluencia" on 3400 metres.
It is absolutely breathtaking. You are there on an altitude of 4200 metres, the glacier comes down from the mountain like a giant, frozen river, and right in front of you emerges this massive stone wall, and reaches another 2800 metres up in the sky.
And you know: "I have to get up there somehow!!!“
On the next day we continued to Aconcagua Base Camp on 4200 metres.
It is an eight hour walk through river beds, over stones and rocks, and exhausting steep passages. The air gets thinner and thinner, and the sun burns you brain out. But you get rewarded with a great view of the upper Horcones Glacier, and the silhouettes of condores up in the air. Every now and then an avalanche comes down with roaring thunder, but even if the camp is situated right ON the glacier, you are in safe distance.
Instant soup for dinner never tasted this good.
And the starry sky at night! Damn it, you have never seen something like this before!!!
Then, we started to conquer the first summit. For acclimatisation purposes, we climbed Cerro Bonete. The path is steep, the air dusty and dry, and we walk like we are on slow motion. Well, we could go faster, but we are trying to get used to the pace for the final summit day. Again we can see condores, the icy pinnacles of the glacier peeping through the dust and scree on the ground, and we enjoy the great view over the Andes, which is absolutetly amazing. You feel like the king of the world, when you see this panorama. Cerro Bonete is 5100 metres high, and from here you can see the complete mountain range from the sea on one side (the Chilenean coastline) to the pampas on the other, including the north face of Aconcagua, and the route we were about to climb in the following days. UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE!!!
The sunset this evening was not from this world, and so was the cold wind, just seconds after the sun disappeared. We went to bed early, and carried on to Camp Two on 5500 metres the next morning, where a snow storm gave us a pretty cold welcome.
Building up a tent during a snow storm at this altitude is not exactly great fun, but once again, we were rewarded with a great view (once the clouds cleared for ten minutes)!
We spent the rest of the day drinking as much as we could, sleeping, eating, and hoping the wind won't blow away our tents, as it turned into a real hurricane.
When we woke up the next morning, there were around 40 centimeters of snow inside the flysheets of our tents, so we had to dig our way out of the tents. But guess what: exept from our tents being covered under tons of snow, the weather this morning was great again. Blue skies, the world covered in glittering white snow, the summits of the Andes close at hand - just perfekt.
Summit day was getting closer, and now, this was the last day, before we started the final ascent!
In the afternoon we reached Camp Three on 6000 metres, and once again, the mountain gave us a taste of what he has in store. While we spent the day drinking water, sleeping, eating, and organizing the material for tomorrow, the wind was shaking our tents like there was no tomorrow!
But well, when we woke up the next time, everything seemed perfekt.
I was a quiet, starry night, we got up at three o'clock in the morning, at around -20 degrees celcius. We put on four layers of clothes, heated up the water, had a little breakfast, drank as much as we could, checked the equipment one last time, and at five o'clock we got out of our tents and started the final ascent. SUMMIT DAY!!!
As we are looking down on the Andes below us, the sun starts to rice. We are already higher than all the other mountains around, and suddenly the sun throws the shadow of Mount Aconcagua into the morning mist!!!! This is a once in a lifetine moment!
Then, the shock moment: the toes on my left foot are becoming colder and and colder, and I can hardly feel them anymore! Frostbite?? Please! No!! Will I have to turn around and burry the dream of the summit? I take a break, and: all clear. My laces were a bit too tight, and that caused that strange feeling. Nothing serious, on we go!
We are moving in slow motion. Three deep breaths, one step, three deep breaths, one step. We are looking down on the earth below us, the incredible view on the Andes is something I will never forget.
We cross the "Traversa", normaly the most windy part, very steep, and crampons are absolutely necessary. Luckily there is no wind today - not yet.
Around one o'clock we have a short break, and once again enjoy the great view. But we are already on an altitude of nearly 6800 metres, and it is becoming harder and harder to focus your thoughts.
Some first clouds appear over the mountains and valleys of the Andes, and we carry on.
The next 200 metres of altitude will take us about two more hours. In the Alpes, this might take me around 30 minutes!
And so we enter the "Canaleta", a steep, rocky tube, that leads up to the summit.
And this is where the really hard part starts. We have already been walking, climbing and hiking for 8 hours, another two hours to go, and suddenly the weathers changes!
Clouds rush in, the wind is getting stronger, snowflakes as hard as hail are blown horizontaly into our faces, the snow under our feet is getting deeper and deeper, and about 50 metres under the summit, we can hardly see our hands in front of our eyes.
We have a quick meeting and debate whether to turn around, or keep heading for the summit. Our guide says, it may become really, really hard, but he is also convinced, that we can make it. And so we do.
Becaus of the high electricity in the air, and the danger of lightning strikes, we leave our walking sticks here, and carry on.
It is the 16 th January 2014, 15:10 o'clock, when I am standing on the highest point of my life:
THE SUMMIT OF CERRO ACONCAGUA - 6962 metres high!!!
But there is no big euphoria. We are all way to exhausted for song and dance, and the view is - well - none.
We hug each other, take the mandatory summit picture, and start the descent.
Snow up to our knees, stormy winds, hardly anything to see. This is a really hard one!
On one point of the way back, I can feel the electricity in the air flying around my head like a colibri. There is a humming in the air, it is itching in my shoulder, I panicly throw away my sticks and go to the ground, only a second befor lightning strikes about 50 metres away from me. Feels kinda weird!!
The rest of the way back to Camp Three is just a stupid step by step thing, and at 7 in the evening I open up my tend and with my boots still on, and the last thought in my head "I fuckin' made it!!" I immedially fall asleep.
The next two days bring us all the way back to the beginning of our trip.
The snow came down to around 4000 metres, which creates a totally different picture from the one we had when we came here first, months ago.
Well, this is what it feels like. It is the 18th of January. We started our trip in the 5th, and it feels like it's been ages!
By the way: we were the last mountaineers on the summit for five days! Due to heave winds, snowfall, and the extreme danger of avalanches, the mountain was closed for quite some days.
The next day we all met again for a great dinner with tons of argentinan meat.
We sat in the steaming heat of Mendoza (around 35 degrees celcius), and talked about what we experienced up there in the cold (-25) and challenging walls of Mount Aconcagua.
This was an experience of a lifetime, but for sure it was not the last!
Some of my fellow mountaineers are actually on their way to Mount Elbrus in Russia (5642m), and to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (5895m).
The biggest respect goes to my wife Maike, and to my kids Matti and Lars, who respected my dream, and never had any concern when I planed to leave for six weeks, and climb a mountain this high! (Yes, I stayed in Argentina and Chile for another four weeks, boarded a cargo ship to travel the sounds of southern Patagonia, did some trekking at the Torres del Paine, visited the Perito Morreno Glacier, went down to Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn, visited Buenos Aires, and spent some time in Uruguay.)
In the next years, I will spend the holidays together with my family, but there is already a new plan.
The fever is still there, probably stronger than ever before, and hopefully, within the next five years, I will stand on top of Pik Lenin, a 7134 metres high mountain on the border between Tadschikistan and Kirgistan.
I have never been in that part of the world before, so why not do some mountain climbing there...
