Aconcagua Day 7: Carry to Camp 2

Today was a really tough day carrying a load from Camp 1 to Camp 2 at Ameghino Col, but despite the harsh wind conditions and difficult terrain, we made the round trip in an amazing 4 hours an 15 minutes.

Climbing up to Camp 2.

We started the day with a quick breakfast of coffee and oatmeal in our tent and left camp at 10 AM. We went up a very steep scree slope with lots of falling and moving rock, one slip there and you’re down several hundred feet. After a quick rest to eat and hydrate we faced an even steeper wall complemented by a very strong head wind.

View from Ameghino Col on the way to Camp 2.

There were times where I had to squat down like a sumo wrestler in order not to be blown off the mountain, that is despite my 185 lbs plus the 50 lbs backpack I was carrying. We kept pushing and finally made it to the top of the ridge. We took a very short break and followed a very steep trail to the saddle of the mountain. At that point the wind was blowing over 80 mph, no joke or exaggeration!!!

Ari, Joe & Garrett carrying a load to Camp 2.

We quickly cached our load under some rocks and headed back down to Camp 1. The descent was a harrowing one due to the steepness and all the loose and falling rocks, not to mention the wind that blew my favorite Lakers hat into Chile.

We finally made in back at 2:15 PM. Tomorrow is supposed to be a well deserved rest day but if the wind isn’t blowing hard, we may change our plan and move up the mountain. It all depends on the wind and weather. Tonight we’ll cook an early pasta dinner at 6 PM and probably call it a night afterwards. We were able to pitch a second tent so I’ll have my own tent tonight while Garrett and Ari share the other one.