A great day up to Camp 1

The team carried loads of food, fuel, and a bit of equipment up to Camp 1 today. This was their first trip above base camp, and everyone did great. They made it up to Camp 1 in about 3 hours, and were back to base camp by early afternoon.

The route climbs up and into a fairly narrow valley, which opens up as they get higher. Highlights of the day include climbing up through a steep field of "penitentes," bizarre snow pinnacles which are formed by the dry air and high winds. They can be four meters tall at times!

They'll spend one more day at base camp tomorrow, and then begin moving on up the mountain. This second acclimatization day makes a big difference in how the climbers will feel when they begin climbing into the thin air of this giant mountain. On Aconcagua, it is all too easy to rush up to the upper camps, feeling good and then fall ill with altitude sickness, due to too rapid an ascent. We plan on taking some extra days along the route in order to give our team the best chance possible at feeling good on summit day.