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Aconcagua
Quechua for "The Sentinel of Stone"
Mountain buffs immediately recognize Aconcagua as the pride of Argentina... Topping out at 6962M it is the tallest mountain outside Asia. Among the seven summits it is second only to Qomolangma (Everest) . I'm not sure why I seem to be going backward on this but thats how its going.
Our crew made it just beyond base camp. The weather was crystal clear and still, the sign of impending doom. Days were burning hot along with the reflection off the snow and ice, but nights plunged well below 0 with wind that cuts through the bone. Off season there is no rescue or support of any kind. Even given the relatively non-technical route on the North Face, it would certainly have been a brutal climb. Our team was 6 Brazilians and an Argentine Guide. Nobody wanted to go ahead, but nobody wanted to be the one to quit. The Brazilians kept nervously repeating the story of a professional climber from Brazil who just died up there. Hours in denial... They weren´t going anywhere and neither was I. The guide spent a lot of time looking up and shaking his head. We could have continued this for days. Being a tropic boy I know when I'm beat so put my gear back on and headed down. The team happily followed and we went to a nice ski resort past the South Face and hit the slopes instead. Clearly the time to do this one is February... The Moai have spoken.
Better luck at Kilimanjaro or Puncak Jaya next time... :)
Jose Seven Summit Mancuso
PS... The last mountain shot I took and sent was of
Chimborazo , the tallest mountain in Ecuador...measured from the center of the earth it is taller than Aconcagua (Thanks to the earth being thicker at the equator) but the competition is from sea level and there is no second place...).
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