The Aconcagua 2005 Expedition

Aconcagua (6.962m)

How did I get to this point? Well, one evening, I happened to strike up a conversation with an intrepid guy from New Zealand in London’s ‘Boulder bar’. The talk centred around the exhilaration of climbing, crazy mountain bike descents, and the majesty of the mountains – I was immediately hooked, so much so in fact that we started on the training wall together the next day! Quite by chance, I had simply met a like-minded mountaineer who was shortly planning to conquer Aconcagua (6.962m) - and he had invited me along. “The highest mountain in South America?! - How could I forgo such an opportunity!”

We arrived in Argentina in the middle of January 2005, equipped with ice-axes and ropes. We originally planned to climb via the glacier, however the mountaineers at base camp warned us of recently-arrived, waist-deep snow which would make this route impossible. We therefore simply jettisoned the glacial equipment and set off for the summit via a more conventional climbing plan. The weather was clement, acclimatization proceeded well, and just two weeks later, I reached the summit of Aconcagua, although unfortunately without my friend, who took ill and had to turn back on the summit day.

In the slope

All up together

In his absence, I joined three guys from Poland, who shared the same goal and evidently needed a “peach” in their team! (They were not even averse to having a summit photo taken against the backdrop of the Czech flag!) My friend followed news of the ascent from base camp but unfortunately has subsequently been diagnosed with a pulmonary edema. Whilst this has since restricted our capacity to undertake joint climbing expeditions, happily we are still able to meet up on the training wall and discuss the lure of the mountains!