31st
January - Everyone except Aine & Stuart Smith hav now arrived back in the Uk. Aine is stopping over in Argentina for a few more days and Stuart has returned to Canda.
29th
January - Everyone is now safely back
in Mendoza enjoying real beds, showers, steak & red wine!
26th
January - Summit success! Throughout
the last two days 15 members of our team have reached the
summit of Aconcagua. Peter, Kane, Mark, John, Gary,
Stuart, Aine, Ernie, Steve Marin, Fraser, Steve Marrs &
Duncan alongside our 3 leaders, Stu, Wil & Dafydd all
battled against some fairly extreme conditions and were successful
in reaching the highest point in South America. Jan, Jeff
& Steve T all made it above Camp 2 but turned back under
their own steam.
The
last members of our second summit party are just returning
to Camp 1 while everyone from the first team is safely back
at base camp. Everyone's well but looking forward to getting
back to civilization. The 20th January expedition has also
just arrived at Base Camp a day ahead of schedule.
The
weather on Aconcagua this year has been very bad with high
winds and a lot of snow. We're getting reports that a lot
of teams are retreating without attempting the summit so well
done to everyone for a top effort. In the past few days they've
experienced winds of 110mph at Camps 1 & 2. Tomorrow should
see everyone safely back to base camp and on there way back
to Punta de Inca. It's a 2 day walk out and a 4 hour bus ride
until they can experience the comforts of Mendoza.
19th
January - Well everything's going well
on the mountain. The whole expedition team are acclimatising
well and everything is now in place for a summit bid. All
but two of the team have now carried to the top camp (5900m)
and these two both reached 5700m before turning back due to
the affects of altitude. Everyone has now returned to
base camp for a rest before making their final preperations.
The weather has been interesting with a significant amount
of snow falling each afternoon and a couple of big storms.
Winds on the summit are still predicted to be around 80 kph
over the weekend. The plan is to head back up to camp
one this afternoon with a summit atempt penciled in for Monday
(22nd) or more likely Tuesday (23rd) as the wind speed is
forecast to drop. We wish them a successful climb and a safe
return.
13th
January - Stu's just called from Base
Camp where they're having a rest day. The whole team arrived
safely yesterday after a pleasent three day walk in. Everyone's
doing fine and looking forward to the load carry to Camp 1
which is planned for tomorrow.
8th
January - They've just met up with the members of our
successful Christmas expedition who are relaxing in Mendoza
before starting their homeward journey. Conditions on
the mountain are improving from earlier in the season and
a number of teams have now summited.
7th
January - The team
have all safely arrived in Mendoza and are making themselves
comfortable in the hotel. There's a few items of fresh food
to buy before they leave behind the comforts of Mendoza (steaks
& red wine!) and drive up into the Andes.
update
16/12/06 - 3pm GMT:
The
team will depart from London Gatwick on 6th January.
Stu
Peacock. |
