Aconcagua story 2

When you enter the Aconcagua park entrance your permit (costs about 700$) lasts 20 days. It seems like enough time but is quite short in fact!

My goal was to acclimatize quickly and not lose fitness. I wanted to try to summit as soon as possible after we arrived at the basecamp. What it feels like above 5500m was still a mystery for me. My big ‘premiere’ at that altitude.

The weather on Aconcagua was mostly sunny but the strong wind on summit parts accentuating the cold is the problem. Jetstreams up to 120kmh were forecasted but luckily there were some calmer days!

A week after entering the park I summited first time. Stocking my boots up.

In C3 I walked through snow in my trainers completely freezing my feet. Luckily I revived them and continued to the summit. The last 800m I felt like I left my lungs at home, breathing hard and moving very slowly! I had doubts about the project. But i believed that body would respond quickly. I still had two weeks to rest, train and try to get faster.

Mind is the strongest muscle, especially on Aconcagua! I had a day or two of serious doubts and demotivation. Now that I have been to the summit I had to find the motivation again and to set the mind to the actual goal of speed ascent!

In the end I managed to summit 3 times: on the 17th from Plaza Argentina basecamp, and on the 23rd and 27th of December from Plaza de Mulas. The time I could do the last 400m to the summit (called Canaleta) went from 1h 20 minutes in the first to 28 minutes in the record one! This shows how much the body can adapt.

Thinking back I feel like Aconcagua challenged me mentally way more than physically!