Aconcagua Expedition Dispatch

January 9, 2013 – Greetings from the Summit of the Americas

Part I

Hi, it’s Neil Aisenstat and Dan Gormley calling from Aconcagua, January 9th, 2013 as of shortly passed 1pm. Lovely weather up here. We’re here with Osvaldo and Sergio as well and we summited Aconcagua! In beautiful weather! We will be heading down shortly; anyway, that’s our dispatch from Aconcagua.

Listen to Neil's call

Part II

What you know from Neil’s satellite phone call from 6,962m (22,841ft) above sea level (the summit of Aconcagua). Dan, Neil, Sergio, and Osvaldo reached the summit of Aconcagua today. It is approximately 9 hours after they started from Berlin Camp at about 4:20am. They have good conditions as Neil mentioned but it’s always a huge challenge. This big ascent of this highest summit of South America came, it was hashed in a conversation that Dan and I had in attempting Kilimanjaro a few years back. Neil was always a willing participant member of the team. But it was a big, big challenge for these guys and they did superbly.

The team is on the way down right now. Maria and I are working on logistics to leave, and the logistics are a big deal when they get back to Berlin Camp tonight. I anticipate probably 5 hours downhill before they get back in their tents tonight. Really proud of the guys, I know it is a beautiful view at top. I heard their voices on the radio; you heard it on the Sat phone, somewhat restless but deservingly proud. These guys did great and we want to congratulate them and we’ll keep you posted on our progress, hauling in the mules, packing up our bags, carrying down the load and starting to work our way towards Mendoza and on home to Canada and Bolivia.

Listen to Wally's call

Update from the Office

As of 2pm (Chilean Time), Osvi has checked in by radio from the bottom of the “Candelta,” which is the steep gully that leads to the summit ridge of Aconcagua. They are taking a short break, but Osvi commented that, “these guys are amazing! I think they will be back down to Berlin in 2 hours!”

We have received messages of love and support from home for both Neil and Dan and we are passing them along! Congratulations on a superb summit day!

Part III

It’s just past 5pm on the 9th. I spoke with Osvaldo on the radio, and Neil and Dan are resting, very tired and very proud I’m sure in their tents at Berlin Camp, or High Camp. Their summit day is over and they’ve returned to high camp successfully; much faster than I thought they would.

I’m down at Plaza de Mulas now, working on forward transport. Maria is going to be fixing great super food for these guys tonight although I have a feeling that the main thing is going to be a sleeping bag after coming to sleep after such a long and grueling day climbing to nearly 7,000m (22,967ft).

We’re proud of the guys; we have passed along messages from everyone at home, and I’m looking forward to savoring departure from the Andes in the next few days. With a team that deserves a lot of relaxation and the acknowledgement for their accomplishment from everybody. We’ve seen these guys perform extremely well under demanding circumstances and have complete success in Aconcagua.

Listen to Wally's call