2 Mainers reach Aconcagua summit Response to thin air can derail attempts

Scott Fisher left his home in Ellsworth this past January for Argentina with one thing in mind. He wanted to climb as close as he could to the summit of Aconcagua, 22,841 feet, the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas.

His ultimate goal was to stand on the top, but in the realm of high altitude mountaineering, that outcome is never certain. The hazards on Aconcagua include bad weather, the long trek to base camp, wind, heavy loads, cold temperatures, and several long days at altitude. Then, you have to get back.

Predicting how individuals are affected by the thin air above 20,000 feet is difficult. You can take a reading of oxygen saturation levels in your blood once you’re there, but you won’t know until you go. So, when Scott and his frequent climbing partner, Steve Vose of Augusta, left Maine Jan. 2 for Argentina, they knew they might not make it. Scott wrote in his journal on the plane from Miami, “It’s starting to sink in what lies ahead. The country. The mountain. A month-long vacation. What will the outcome be? ”

Months before, they booked a guide company, Aventuras Patagonicas for $3,700 each. The price included guides for 15-20 days on the mountain, lodging in Mendoza, Argentina, and on the approach, meals, except snacks and personal food, and mules for the long trek to base camp.

The service also provided the itinerary, radios, and route finding on the mountain to assist their clients in getting to the summit. Once on the mountain, they monitored the clients’ oxygen saturation levels with pulse oximeters.

The guide service had several routes from which to choose. Scott and Steve chose a route that took them up the Guanacos Valley, approaching the summit from the east. The route was nontechnical, meaning no ropes, ice axes, or glacier travel would be required. Then, after the summit they would traverse the mountain to the north side, where they planned to descend.

They met their guides and the other clients on the team in Mendoza, had their equipment checked, then left by van to an abandoned ski resort named Los Penitentes, 100 miles west, elevation, 8,500 feet. There were 11 members of the team including Scott and Steve, plus three guides. The other clients came from Britain, Korea, and the United States.

They spent the night acclimating at Los Penitentes, then loaded the mules with group equipment and trekked for three days, covering 35 miles up the Guanacos Valley to Plaza Guanacos Base Camp at 13,000 feet. Scott described the approach to base camp in an interview recently.

“It’s strange. The sun’s hot, but you’re wearing long sleeves, hat, and gloves both for warmth and protection from the sun,” he said. The landscape is high desert. There are no trees, the air is cold, but the sun is intense, because it’s summer in January in South America.

Once they got to base camp, it was time to reduce the loads by sending unneeded items back by mule. The menus changed, too.

Commenting on the difference between the menu on the trek to base camp and after, Scott said, “On the trek we had mostly beef, soup, and wine. When I say beef, I mean the cooks cut off some meat from a slab of beef and cooked it. After base camp we had mostly soup, mainly flavored broth with maybe some tortillas in it or potatoes. No wine, no beef. No more luxury of base camp.”

The real work of climbing the mountain and acclimating to the altitude began after a rest day at base camp. The next day Scott, Steve, and the rest of the team carried 50-pound loads up to Camp 1 at about 15,200 feet. They left most of the load there and descended to sleep at Base Camp.

The terrain was unique and difficult. They passed through ice formations called Nieve Penitentes. The ice melts from the direct sun and leaves towers of ice, some over your head, some only knee high.

“The penitentes weren’t ankle twisters, more like a maze of daggers. You didn’t want to stumble and fall on them,” Scott said

Establishing ever higher and higher camps by ferrying part of the load one day, descending to sleep at the previous camp, then moving the rest of their supplies the next day is the norm for expedition climbing. As Scott put it, “As we worked our way up to High Camp, through Camps 2 and 3, the process was simple. Carry one day, descend to the previous camp, sleep, move the rest of the gear the next day, then repeat the whole thing the day after.”

At Camp 3, elevation 17,800 feet, the lack of oxygen was affecting Scott. The team spent an extra forced weather day because of a snowstorm. “After leaving a load at High Camp, I descended to Camp 3, where I started to feel lousy. Had hard night last night. Fitful sleep. Nose plugged up. Hard to breathe. It was difficult for me to do anything physically, like stand up,” he wrote in his journal

The next day, after taking Diamox, he felt well enough to move to High Camp, the fourth. The day after would be summit day. The High Camp was at 19,200 feet. His journal entry from that camp, dated Jan. 19, describes the challenge of just getting to that altitude. “Expedition type climbing on big mountains is very difficult work. I’m mentally and physically exhausted. I’m looking forward to getting off this mountain,” he wrote.

At High Camp he still was uncertain as to whether he would make the summit. Again from his journal, he wrote, “A two-day storm is predicted as approaching. We will try for the summit tomorrow, if possible. If not successful, we’ll try the day after. If we do not succeed in that attempt, then we go down. No more food and no more time.”

The views of the Central Andes, until summit day, were outstanding. Huge snow-covered peaks cut by deep valleys were in every direction, he said. But, on summit day the clouds rolled in partway up, obscuring the views from the top in snow. After a 5 a.m. start, by 2:45 p.m., he stood on the top of the highest point in the Western Hemisphere. It had taken 12 days after leaving Base Camp.

On the summit he took some pictures of the others in the team and after a half-hour, descended to spend another night at High Camp. They had one more hard day of work to get down. The next morning they climbed up to around 20,000 feet, traversed the mountain on an exposed route, then descended the Normal Route to Plaza Del Mulas on the north side. After a long, 18-mile trek, they were back at the road, where the trucks were waiting to transport them back to civilization.

I asked Scott if getting to the summit was worth it. His response was clear.

“Oh yeah, it was the icing on the cake. The trek in, the acclimatization process of establishing camps was the cake. You had to enjoy that, because you never knew if that might be all there was to enjoy. It was all an excellent experience, even if we hadn’t made the top.” Then he paused, “But, getting to the top was the icing.”

Brad Viles is an avid hiker who has logged some 8,000 lifetime miles, including the Appalachian Trail. A trail maintainer for the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, he has climbed Mount Katahdin more than 75 times. He can be reached at sball1@ prexar. com