Jussi Westergren’s Aconcagua Expedition Dispatch

February 7, 2011 – Leaving the Mountain

Being decisive and resisting the temptations of camp inertia at high altitude is a challenge. By the middle of the day on Sunday, we were still pondering the weather forecast we'd gotten and - truth be known- thinking how palatable it would be to spend another night at our camp at 18,045ft/5,500m. Perhaps our Finnish friends would arrive. Wouldn't it be nice to awake to another morning of Simon's pancakes served in the tent?

But when it is time to go, it is time to go. We started down toward Plaza de Mulas around 2:30 pm. Jussi and I were out front; Osvi and the guys were behind with impossibly large and heavy loads. Thanks to Sergio's daily trips down the mountain to remove our waste the guys were able to remove all our supplies in one carry down.

We had a great celebratory pizza dinner prepared by Diego at Plaza de Mulas. Surprisingly, the camp at 14,108ft/4,300m that had seemed so extreme and uninviting when we arrived a few days ago was downright tropical when we returned, the air is thick and sleep comes easily here. One can also consume a surprising amount of pizza.

This morning, the chief helicopter pilot in this area, Duro, was back on the job after some days off. We'd been trying to contact Duro for several days via his mobile phone number. Last night while on Facebook, Mariela finally got hold of Duro and told him that Jussi and Wally would like a ride from Plaza de Mulas this morning. Osvaldo and his crew would take care of waiting for the mules to arrive and make sure all our supplies were safely loaded.

So, in the early morning light, Duro's helicopter arrived from down valley. A few minutes later we were at the Harcones entry station. Javier was waiting for us with a car. Javier found a classical music station on his radio which was perfect as we drove through the canyons and along the Mendoza River on our way back to town.