Aconcagua 6th January 2007 Expedition News

26th January – Summit success! Throughout the last two days 15 members of our team have reached the summit of Aconcagua.

31st January – Everyone except Aine & Stuart Smith have now arrived back in the UK. Aine is stopping over in Argentina for a few more days and Stuart has returned to Canada.

29th January – Everyone is now safely back in Mendoza enjoying real beds, showers, steak & red wine!

26th January – Summit success! Throughout the last two days 15 members of our team have reached the summit of Aconcagua. Peter, Kane, Mark, John, Gary, Stuart, Aine, Ernie, Steve Marin, Fraser, Steve Marrs & Duncan alongside our 3 leaders, Stu, Wil & Dafydd all battled against some fairly extreme conditions and were successful in reaching the highest point in South America. Jan, Jeff & Steve T all made it above Camp 2 but turned back under their own steam. The last members of our second summit party are just returning to Camp 1 while everyone from the first team is safely back at base camp. Everyone’s well but looking forward to getting back to civilization. The 20th January expedition has also just arrived at Base Camp a day ahead of schedule. The weather on Aconcagua this year has been severe with high winds and a lot of snow. We’re getting reports that a lot of teams are retreating without attempting the summit so well done to everyone for a top effort. In the past few days they’ve experienced winds of 110mph at Camps 1 & 2. Tomorrow should see everyone safely back to base camp and on their way back to Punta de Inca. It’s a 2 day walk out and a 4 hour bus ride until they can experience the comforts of Mendoza.

19th January – Well everything’s going well on the mountain. The whole expedition team are acclimatising well and everything is now in place for a summit bid. All but two of the team have now carried to the top camp (5900m) and these two both reached 5700m before turning back due to the affects of altitude.  Everyone has now returned to base camp for a rest before making their final preparations. The weather has been interesting with a significant amount of snow falling each afternoon and a couple of big storms. Winds on the summit are still predicted to be around 80 kph over the weekend.  The plan is to head back up to camp 1 this afternoon with a summit attempt pencilled in for Monday (22nd) or more likely Tuesday (23rd) as the wind speed is forecast to drop. We wish them a successful climb and a safe return.

13th January – Stu’s just called from Base Camp where they’re having a rest day. The whole team arrived safely yesterday after a pleasant three day walk in. Everyone’s doing fine and looking forward to the load carry to Camp 1 which is planned for tomorrow.

8th January – They’ve just met up with the members of our successful Christmas expedition who are relaxing in Mendoza before starting their homeward journey.  Conditions on the mountain are improving from earlier in the season and a number of teams have now summitted.

7th January – The team have all safely arrived in Mendoza and are making themselves comfortable in the hotel. There’s a few items of fresh food to buy before they leave behind the comforts of Mendoza (steaks & red wine!) and drive up into the Andes.

The Team Leaders : Stu Peacock, Wil Payne, Dafydd Morris

Jan Hannaford

Peter White

Kane Szuman

Mark Cooper

Fire & Ice Team

John Robson

Gary Bankhead

Stuart Smith

Aine Graham

Jeff Crawford

Ernie Clark

Steve Marin

Steve Toher

Fraser Paul

Steve Marrs

Duncan Hale