No one was in any hurry to get up and out after yesterday’s long summit day. We had breakfast, packed our high-altitude gear for the last time, and began the 4-mile descent to Plaza de Mulas Base Camp. As we headed down the Normal Route, I spotted the Berlin Refuge off to my left —…
Tag: refugio
Aconcagua Day 13: Summit Day!
Camp began to stir around 4am in the cold darkness of early morning. Some of us managed to catch a few zzzz’s, but nothing great. Most of our energy was fueled by anticipation and adrenaline at this point in the trip. The remaining distance to the summit was short—only 2 miles—but it would take us…
Aconcagua Day 2: Shuttle to Puente de Inca
Following breakfast the next day, we were packed up and ready to roll by 10am. Our travels will take us from Mendoza to Puente de Inca, about 3 hours away up into the Andes. Our first stop was in Uspallata for lunch and tiramisu (which turned into a constant craving for several of us during…
Aconcagua Day 1: Meet and Greet
Following Inka’s proposed itinerary, our first “official” day involved meeting the guides and having them check our gear at the hotel. We then visited with the front office staff to pay our balances before heading out to rent whatever we were missing from one of the few mountaineering shops nearby. This expedition was lead by…
From Citlaltépetl to Iztaccíhuatl
DAY 7 – Getting Ready for Izta After a successful summit of Orizaba followed by a day of rest and relaxation, our shuttle driver transported us from Servimont to La Joya in the Parque Nacional Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl. This was a 4.5 hour drive as we looped around from the north and then down through Amecameca. I…