Our friend Alan Arnette has checked in from Aconcagua a couple of times over the weekend in the form of audio dispatches. You can listen to the first one here and the second here.
From his reports, it sounds like the climb is going well so far. The team is currently in Camp 1 with plans of going up to Camp 2 tomorrow as they ferry supplies up the mountain, and acclimatize to the altitude. He does report, however, that a weather front is moving in over the next few days that will bring cold weather and high winds to the summit, so the team is going take any opportunity they can get to move higher on the mountain before moving back down the mountain for a few days of rest.
This is Alan’s second trip to Aconcagua. He successfully summitted back in 2005, but his dispatches indicate that there is quite a bit more snow on the mountain this year than there was back then. This is of course the latest in his training climbs that will eventually lead him back to Everest in the Spring as he continues to raise money for the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund as part of the Road Back To Everest: Memories Are Everything climb.
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Man, I sure hope he’s able to make the summit. Alan really deserves to stand on top of one of these mountains. In the past, weather, illness and Murphey’s Law have conspired against him.
He’s such a great person, I just really hope he’s able to summit Aconcagua…it will provide a burst of confidence and inspiration that will help to lift him up to the summit of Everest in May.
Jon
http://www.therestofeverest.com
I completely agree! Alan’s worked so hard this past six or eight months, but has no summits, at least on his big expeditions, to show for it, through no fault of his own. Bad weather and illness have struck at the wrong times, and there were only a couple of summits total on Shisha Pangma this year. Hopefully he’ll stand on top this time out, although it does sound as if the weather is getting dicey again.
BTW, I had the opportunity to chat with Alan by phone over the holiday break, just a few days before he left for Argentina. You’re right, he really is a great person. He’s always so positive and thoughtful, and it was very cool to finally get to talk to him.