Aconcagua-the Queen of the South

So there I was....ready to conquer  the second base camp of Mt Aconcagua (highest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemisphere at 22,841ft, located in the Andes about 70 miles northwest of Mendoza). Thought it would be simple, hike to the first base camp at approximately 11,000 ft, camp overnight and get acclimated. Then the next day, do a quick hike to the second base camp at 13,500 and back to base camp one in the same day. Well...a couple factors I didn't consider into this equation. One, I'm now officially a flatlander. No more of this acclimatized Colorado lifestyle which makes small peak summits way easier. Carrying the backpack with tent, food, water, and camera gear got my attention.  Two, snowstorm during early summer Argentina (December for us but June down south here). I got there, started setting up camp and it started snowing. It didn't stop all night, even in my tent.

Sitting out the snowstorm, waiting for the morning


Three season tent, no fleece, and some interesting intestinal problems and I'll leave it at that. So, I woke up to 3 inches of snow, spoke to the ranger who said more snow on the way and made the command decision to GTFO (acronym for boogie on back down the hill). Was able to knock out some pictures (including some panoramas which I'll work when I getback. Here are a few pictures just to show the beauty. If you haven't been down here, Argentina has the some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in the world. And some incredible wine which will be the subject of the next post. Salud!











 

The snowstorm brewing






















The morning after the snowstorm at the bottom













Headed back to the bottom, some gaucho equipment haulers headed down