Back to the sources

On Friday 19th December, at 14.20 hs I was back to the sources.

Twelve years have passed since I first step in Aconcagua summit. I was there again with a clear blue sky above us. ‘Us’ is me and a group of five wonderful friends with whom I spent twelve days in this mountain.

Aconcagua has been my source of inspiration to start high altitude climbing. As a kid travelling with my family to Chile, I often saw this mountain from the car windows. As a teenager I wondered what it felt to be up there. Shortly after, I climbed it.

Aconcagua is a truly gigantic mountain when compared to those other ones around it. Aconcagua is a truly enigmatic mountain when known that the Incas used it to sacrifice and offer their kids to the Gods. At last, Aconcagua is a truly beautiful mountain that offers breathtaking views.

Thanks to www.aconcagua2008.nl team members for the unforgettable days we spent together. Congratulations for the strength you kept all the way to the summit.

Finally, this summit is dedicated to my friend German Gonzales Mena, cameraman of ‘No Bike’s Land’. As a professional mountain photographer and cameraman, he loved working in Aconcagua. German passed away three days ago, after fighting bravely for a year against leukemia. He was only 43 years old. May his soul rest in peace over a mountain that was a source of inspiration for both of us.

Getting ready for Aconcagua

In a few more days I am off to Aconcagua.

Mt. Plata (5960 mt) and Mt. Rincon (5380mt) offer the perfect training setting. They are placed only within one hour by car from the western city of Mendoza. I was born here, I grew up here, and every time I come back to Argentina I fall in love again with the Andes I shared seven days with Juan in these two mountains. My friend has made it nineteen times to the top of Aconcagua working as a guide. During those days, we both agreed that climbing on our own to the summits was a retrospective experience. Nobody else but foxes, guanacos and condors were hour daily companions.

The only competition going on between Juan and me was to check which Suunto will give us the most accurate reading when we reached the summit. I had the X10, he had the Vector. He got the exact reading, I got to connect the X10 GPS and was only 2 meters below the suggested altitude. The view from the top was so magnificent, that we didn’t dare to discuss who the winner was.

Aconcagua is the next higher step. But I will certainly miss Juan, the solitude and the guanacos.