Aconcagua Expedition Dispatch

December 28, 2012 – Childhood Dreams Becoming Reality

This is Neil, Dan, Apollo, and Wally on the 28th at about 11am reporting to you from the border of Chile and Argentina, right exactly on the border, pass right at the crest of the Andes mountain range at an elevation of 3,800m (12,467ft) above sea level. No, we didn’t climb this high yet. So directly from eating barbeque and sunny summertime Mendoza, but yes we have traveled this far.

Yesterday we drove from Mendoza to the border town ski area of Penitentes in Argentina and checked into a hotel there. Our elevation at our hotel is 2,600m (8,530ft) above sea level. Now we’re preparing to go enter the national park, err, the provincial park, Mendoza Provincial Park tomorrow and actually begin our trek towards Base Camp and begin our climb. This little tourist jaunt today up to the border is about introducing our lungs to high thin air; we’re going to get used to that, quite soon of course, and just getting familiar with the area. It’s always a treat to come up here on Berg Adventures trips to the border and experience where we are in the Andes Mountains.

Dan talked to me yesterday about how he’s dreamed since he was a little boy of travelling to the Andes and here we are, for sure, in the Andes Mountains, getting ready to climb the highest mountain in South America and the highest mountains in all of the Andes of course, Aconcagua. There’s a lot of logistics to do. We let Maria and Sergio off at the corral where the mules are being organized for our departure tomorrow. We’ll hike of course (lost connection)

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