Aconcagua Expedition Dispatches

January 20, 2009 – Team Enjoys the Comforts of Plaza Canada

It’s the morning of the 20th. We woke to a sight at Plaza Canada, snowfall overnight left a fresh coating of white all around us. The team slept very well being their first night at over 5,000 m/16,500 ft.

We heard from Steve and Scott; they checked in with our office in Canmore, Alberta from the Park Hyatt hotel. They are watching for their bags which came out behind them by mule and I’m sure they will be arriving sometime today. They didn’t move quite as fast as Steve and Scott since they moved by helicopter. They are doing fine in Mendoza and we are missing them already.

Here at Plaza Canada life has been good. Last night Simon, our Bolivian cook, fixed a wonderful meal. He made one of his famous soups (Simon makes fantastic soups on the mountain). We finished off with some Mexican food, tacos!

Back down at Plaza de Mulas, Cynthia is our cook and she is well known for her excellent pizza. One night she made a fantastic steak and mashed potato meal that really impressed all the guys. We are eating well here in the mountains.

Up above us I’m looking at today’s goal. I can see far above at the Nido de Condores Camp. Today we are going to stretch out our legs, carry some gear up and go to our new camp. We will spend two nights at this elevation in order to acclimatize.

The weather continues to change. Of course we are watching it, but at this point we are just going to focus on taking care of our bodies.

I am signing off for now from 5,000 m at our very comfortable and cozy Plaza Canada Berg Adventures Camp.