High life in Argentina

GO ARGENTINA: FIN O'DRISCOLLtravelled to South America to climb the continent's highest peak but mother nature intervened near the summit

ACONCAGUA AT 6,962m is the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayan range and is the second highest of the seven summits next to Mount Everest (8,848m). Almost 150 climbers have died on the mountain since 1926 and six people died this season including four in mid February when I was acclimatising and preparing for a summit attempt with a group of 12 other climbers.

Aconcagua, the “Stone Sentinel”, is close to the border with Chile, 200km west of Mendoza and it stands over 1,500 metres higher than any neighbouring peaks. It is prone to severe and unpredictable weather, including violent high altitude winds and regular chill factor temperatures as low as -50 degrees.

I have been on several mountaineering expeditions and have summited Mount Elbrus (5,650m) in Russia, Kilimanjaro (5,895m) in Tanzania, several Alpine peaks including Mont Blanc (4,808m) and Chuckung Ri (5,400m) in Nepal. I have also trekked extensively in the Atlas mountains and to Everest Base Camp in Tibet.

Arriving in Mendoza in early February, I joined the team for a guided three-week expedition with local company Aymara. The group included nine Europeans and four Argentinians and they were all experienced high altitude mountaineers.

Aconcagua is not classified as a technical climb but the high altitude and weather makes for a formidable challenge resulting in an average summit success rate of only 40 per cent. The first two weeks of the trip would include a long 40km trek to base camp followed by acclimatisation on nearby peaks over 5,000m. A 200km bus ride from the comfortable hotel in Mendoza to the tiny village of Puenta del Inca (2850m) near the Chilean border was the start of this acclimatisation process.

A traditional visit to the Cementeiro Andanista at the entrance to the park to see the graves and memorials to the climbers who have perished on the mountain was a sobering experience and testament to the significant challenge ahead. A three-day hike up the Horcones valley into the bustling base camp at Plaza de Mulas (4,350m) included a detour to Plaza Francia at the foot of the awesome south face of the mountain.

The local muleteers (arreiros) went ahead with the mule train, each animal carrying 60kg of equipment, food and supplies. Acclimatisation is vital to improving the chances of success on Aconcagua and adhering to the mantra “climb high, sleep low” allows the body adjust to the reduced oxygen levels. We climbed to the summit of neighbouring peaks Cerro Bonete (5,100m) and Cerro Catedral (5,400m) which overlook base camp and this provided an opportunity for the professional guides to see how the group performed.

Three people experienced altitude-related problems and did not progress to the climb on Aconcagua itself, one suffering from a pulmonary oedema and two from blood pressure related problems. They were evacuated by helicopter to Puenta del Inca and went back to Mendoza for medical treatment.

At base camp, the start of the assault on the summit was delayed by a day due to a severe storm and two climbers from other groups had in fact perished close to the summit. Australian Bob Huggins suffered from a cerebral oedema and died of hypothermia before he could be rescued and German climber Karl Heinz Bar died following a fall above Camp Berlin. News of the tragedy filtered down to base camp and our group gingerly set off when the weather had cleared.

A half day climb to Camp Canada (4,900m) with an overnight in our two-man tents was followed by a quick ascent to Camp Nido de Condores (5,350m) next day. The weather was perfect for climbing with cloudless blue skies and strong glaring sunshine. The going was slow and we used crampons to trudge through the 40cm of fresh snow but the calm conditions allowed for an uneventful climb to the final Camp Berlin (5,900m) the following day.

I set off with the group for the summit of Aconcagua at 5am in the pre-dawn darkness and we progressed steadily up to the abandoned Independencia shelter at 6,400m. The bodies of the two climbers were still at the shelter waiting to be brought down by a rescue team and, as we set off from this tragic scene, we noticed the infamous lens-shaped cloud, El Hongo, forming over the summit ridges, a sign that another severe storm was imminent.

Despite being only five hours from the summit, the guides made the decision to return to Camp Berlin, a difficult but correct judgement call as two more climbers perished on the upper slopes. Polish climber Liezec Bomark went missing from his group in the white-out and Czech climber Thomas Fedelec died from a pulmonary oedema in his tent next day. Bomark’s body was eventually found over two weeks later on March 1st.

The air temperature back at Berlin was -20 degrees but the wind resulted in a chill factor of -40 degrees and after waiting for several hours, it was decided to head back to the safety of base camp. The extreme weather during the 2011 season was due to La Niña, a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon which is the counterpart of the better known El Niño. This occurrence had been responsible for the severe flooding in Queensland, landslides near Rio de Janeiro, category five tropical cyclones in the previous months and was playing havoc with mountain weather patterns in the Andes. The two other fatalities that had occurred earlier in the season were Spanish climber Ana Guerra and US climber John Watcher who both perished on the mountain.

IN AN ATTEMPT to reduce the number of fatalities in recent years the Aconcagua National Park authorities have provided a full-time helicopter to evacuate sick climbers, compulsory medical checks at base camp and an increased park permit entrance fee of $700 (€504) to provide for better emergency huts on the main climbing routes.

The full-time doctors at base camp measure saturated oxygen levels in the blood, pulse rate and blood pressure. If any of these key measurements are outside certain limits, the climbers are instructed to return to the park entrance, a 36km eight-minute ride to safety by helicopter. On average three people are evacuated every day during the three-month climbing season and this free service has saved countless lives since it was introduced in 2002.

We left base camp next day as the storm raged overhead and after the long trek out returned to our hotel in Mendoza, lucky to be safe and well.

We were disappointed not to make the summit but on reflection, realised the extent of the severe weather and the toll on fellow climbers lives over the previous week. The average success rate on Aconcagua for the 2011 season was an abnormally low at 25 per cent.

Mendoza is a charming, leafy city in the centre of Argentina’s wine producing region and the warm summer temperature of 28 degrees was a far cry from the freezing conditions high in the Aconcagua Principal Cordillera range.

It bustles with tourists and is surrounded by many bodegas offering wine tasting tours featuring the now famous malbec grape. It is in a desert location, but is irrigated by the melting snow from the Andes to the west.

Mendoza was destroyed by an earthquake in 1861 and the region is prone to seismic events with recent major quakes in Valparaiso and Santiago in neighbouring Chile.

The wilderness and savage beauty of Aconcagua National Park was a fantastic experience and the severe weather over the three weeks resulted in frequent close sightings of the majestic condors as they took shelter from the storms, a rare treat as there is no vegetation or animal life above base camp.

I have now returned safely to my family in Co Kildare but plan to return to Aconcagua as the “Stone Sentinel” has yet to be conquered, weather permitting.