mendoza and aconcagua base camp.
mendoza.
i find the good hostel ‘damajuana’ close to downtown with a garden and swimming-pool and the very helpful raul. spend the day going back and forth to find a good trek to the aconcagua base camp and book an additional rafting trip at ‘campo base’ to fill the day before the departure.
strolling through the city: lively pedestrian area with good cafés and a very yummy looking female population, an upper class area with mansions, and a huge park. mendoza seems to be a pleasant place to live in.
mendoza.
rafting day. i have my first experience of argentine punctuality: 30 minutes late. now i know what to expect in the future. the rafting is not really a thrill as the water is low but the guides do their best to entertain us by hitting as many rocks in the river as possible. the landscape makes it a worthwhile trip despite the lack of suspense though. after an hour i start to shiver from the wind and the cold water. paddling faster to stop freezing isn’t possible. the girl behind me is in the mood for passive resistance: she has no sense of synchronisation and her paddle is always in my way. people who don’t know to row don’t belong into a raft. didn’t she listen when they said ‘follow the rhythm of the man in the front’ – which means she has to follow my rhythm? in the good old times she probably would have been used as shark food on a galley. certainly she never would have been chosen for the ben hur movie.
during a short but violent pacifist’s daydream i think about beating her up to warm up…for sure i could plead for self-defence. good bbq at the hostel and packing for the trek after midnight.
mendoza, aconcagua camp confluencia.
it’s a small world. and the more i travel the smaller it gets. markus, one of the guys who are doing the trip to the base camp with me speaks english with a swabian accent and i have a feeling i know his face so i ask him where he’s from. ‘germany’ is not the answer that surprises me and ‘area around stuttgart’ is also expected. so i find out that he’s from the small town where i grew up. have i ever claimed not to forget faces? but i really wonder what the statistics say about meeting him. i admit as a german the probabilities to meet other germans while you travel are very high but still it’s weird. the bus breaks down on the way. i’m sure the travel agency put the label ‘adventure tour’ on the door of the bus to avoid any law suit. nobody could say they weren’t warned. as they are able too organize a substitute bus quickly i don't have to behave like an always complaining german pain in the neck, lecturing about punctuality, efficiency, organization, risk-reducing techniques, and all the other things that make us so very likable when we’re abroad. we wait next to the highway and get some tan. the group actually shows a good quality: humour and patience.
the ride on the pan americana towards the aconcagua is a very stunning trip by itself: winding roads through vast, dry, deserted, colourful valleys with the snow-capped summits in the background. i’m impressed. if it wasn't so hard to take pictures from the bus...
we ascend to camp confluencia for 3 hours. the landscape is not outstanding but at least we’re not walking in the clouds. as the group is very heterogeneous regarding physical fitness and hiking experience our guide is doing a very reasonable speed. juan from puerto rico is battling in the altitude but not complaining. not fit but tough.the season just started so the camp is not completely set up as planned. water and toilets aren’t available yet so the camp is split into a kitchen and a sleeping area: our tents are in a close valley with a river. but things look well organized nevertheless. as long as the weather is fine i don’t care about minor imperfection anyway. we get the usual mountain camp food of tea, crackers, cookies and pasta for dinner. i’m permanently expecting this typical ‘dinner ready’ call i remember from nepal but i guess the probability of this cook’s helper showing up here are really low. after a short walk through the night we arrive at our tents. it’s quite a view to see all these people sitting around theirs stoves in the cold. oh how much we enjoy being away from the luxuries of modern life.
aconcagua plaza francia.
getting out of the sleeping bag is an ordeal. not that it’s really easy for me to get up for work but this is making matters worse: it’s simply fucking freezing outside. and there is no morning espresso. but the weather is simply perfect or as some would say ‘awesome’. that makes my day and let’s me forget about espresso.
at breakfast we have the first drop out of the group: one brazilian guy has to stay in the camp due to stomach problems. we start the hike to plaza francia along a moderately steep river valley. because of permanent photo stops we don’t really rush ahead but we have time anyway. no altitude problems so far but i’m forced to optimize my talent to find a nice convenient place behind some big rocks to do what i have to do (thank god this is not a flat area)... yes, cold wind doesn't make business easier... as this topic is lacking the entertainment of a description of a wonderful high-altitude jaw infection i simply skip further elaborations.
when we reach the high plateau with its wide flat valley we have the second drop out: another brazilian quits and stays behind with our guide (a very good one actually). the conditions are as perfect as they can be: clear blue sky, no wind and the aconcagua without clouds. a feast for the eyes. we continue to a viewpoint where we spend one hour staring at the stunning landscape and taking pictures of aconcagua in a 360 degree panorama, aconcagua with or without glacier, aconcagua with sitting or standing or jumping people. it has almost the perfection of the viewpoint of gokyo ri in front of the mt. everest. finally we decide to continue to plaza francia, the original goal of the hike at 4500 metres, which is approximately an hour ahead. after 30 minutes we meet a guy returning from plaza francia: ‘another hour to go’. i suggest we return as we’re already late after the long break and some of us are quite tired. 2 vote to continue, one wants to return (yup, me) and 2 are indifferent. again the group shows its qualities: without further discussion we return to our camp. soon we learn that the decision was a good one: when the sun disappears behind the mountains half an hour later the temperature drops significantly and it becomes very windy. juan, the poor hiking greenhorn, has not only to fight the headaches and exhaustion, to make matters more exciting for him his boots are literally falling apart although he tries to keep them together with tape. let’s give him the credit he deserves: he does not quit despite obvious suffering. should i mention that i move like a sissy little girl through a steep moraine field? it’s not a coincidence that no picture was taken. i simply look much better jumping compared to crawling. how come i don't enjoy falling stones or sliding down slopes of loose rocks?
after 3 hours of relaxed hiking we reach the camp. a perfect hike, not more, not less. for dinner we have great pizza. too bad we suffer from a lack of appetite.
aconcagua camp confluencia, mendoza.
again the ordeal of getting up in the morning. the short hike to the kitchen tent is actually harder than yesterday’s hike. i guess we were very lucky with the weather: it’s much windier today.
the descend into the valley seems a lot shorter than the ascend 2 days ago, especially for the brazilian guy with the stomach problems who has to take the helicopter.
in los penitents we enjoy the lunch and the sun before we take the bus back to mendoza on the pan americana. while most of the people sleep in the car i can’t get enough of the landscape. cool stuff. in mendoza we have a rather late steak at midnight. like a lot of other people. strange customs they have here.
mendoza.
the planned wine tour is cancelled as the guys overslept due to some extensive alcohol consumption the night (or morning?) before. i don’t feel like an organised tour and take it easy today. i visit my favourite bakery again: dried ham and roquefort is not really a common recipe for a sandwich according to the looks i earn for my order. well, i’m tired of cooked ham and boring cheese. certainly there’s more espresso and intensive observation of the impressive local gene pool.
markus and i take the bus to bariloche. although it takes 20 hours it’s actually endurable. at least down in the business class, i can’t speak for markus in the tourist class though ;-)
i find the good hostel ‘damajuana’ close to downtown with a garden and swimming-pool and the very helpful raul. spend the day going back and forth to find a good trek to the aconcagua base camp and book an additional rafting trip at ‘campo base’ to fill the day before the departure.
strolling through the city: lively pedestrian area with good cafés and a very yummy looking female population, an upper class area with mansions, and a huge park. mendoza seems to be a pleasant place to live in.
mendoza.
rafting day. i have my first experience of argentine punctuality: 30 minutes late. now i know what to expect in the future. the rafting is not really a thrill as the water is low but the guides do their best to entertain us by hitting as many rocks in the river as possible. the landscape makes it a worthwhile trip despite the lack of suspense though. after an hour i start to shiver from the wind and the cold water. paddling faster to stop freezing isn’t possible. the girl behind me is in the mood for passive resistance: she has no sense of synchronisation and her paddle is always in my way. people who don’t know to row don’t belong into a raft. didn’t she listen when they said ‘follow the rhythm of the man in the front’ – which means she has to follow my rhythm? in the good old times she probably would have been used as shark food on a galley. certainly she never would have been chosen for the ben hur movie.
during a short but violent pacifist’s daydream i think about beating her up to warm up…for sure i could plead for self-defence. good bbq at the hostel and packing for the trek after midnight.
mendoza, aconcagua camp confluencia.
it’s a small world. and the more i travel the smaller it gets. markus, one of the guys who are doing the trip to the base camp with me speaks english with a swabian accent and i have a feeling i know his face so i ask him where he’s from. ‘germany’ is not the answer that surprises me and ‘area around stuttgart’ is also expected. so i find out that he’s from the small town where i grew up. have i ever claimed not to forget faces? but i really wonder what the statistics say about meeting him. i admit as a german the probabilities to meet other germans while you travel are very high but still it’s weird. the bus breaks down on the way. i’m sure the travel agency put the label ‘adventure tour’ on the door of the bus to avoid any law suit. nobody could say they weren’t warned. as they are able too organize a substitute bus quickly i don't have to behave like an always complaining german pain in the neck, lecturing about punctuality, efficiency, organization, risk-reducing techniques, and all the other things that make us so very likable when we’re abroad. we wait next to the highway and get some tan. the group actually shows a good quality: humour and patience.
the ride on the pan americana towards the aconcagua is a very stunning trip by itself: winding roads through vast, dry, deserted, colourful valleys with the snow-capped summits in the background. i’m impressed. if it wasn't so hard to take pictures from the bus...
we ascend to camp confluencia for 3 hours. the landscape is not outstanding but at least we’re not walking in the clouds. as the group is very heterogeneous regarding physical fitness and hiking experience our guide is doing a very reasonable speed. juan from puerto rico is battling in the altitude but not complaining. not fit but tough.the season just started so the camp is not completely set up as planned. water and toilets aren’t available yet so the camp is split into a kitchen and a sleeping area: our tents are in a close valley with a river. but things look well organized nevertheless. as long as the weather is fine i don’t care about minor imperfection anyway. we get the usual mountain camp food of tea, crackers, cookies and pasta for dinner. i’m permanently expecting this typical ‘dinner ready’ call i remember from nepal but i guess the probability of this cook’s helper showing up here are really low. after a short walk through the night we arrive at our tents. it’s quite a view to see all these people sitting around theirs stoves in the cold. oh how much we enjoy being away from the luxuries of modern life.
aconcagua plaza francia.
getting out of the sleeping bag is an ordeal. not that it’s really easy for me to get up for work but this is making matters worse: it’s simply fucking freezing outside. and there is no morning espresso. but the weather is simply perfect or as some would say ‘awesome’. that makes my day and let’s me forget about espresso.
at breakfast we have the first drop out of the group: one brazilian guy has to stay in the camp due to stomach problems. we start the hike to plaza francia along a moderately steep river valley. because of permanent photo stops we don’t really rush ahead but we have time anyway. no altitude problems so far but i’m forced to optimize my talent to find a nice convenient place behind some big rocks to do what i have to do (thank god this is not a flat area)... yes, cold wind doesn't make business easier... as this topic is lacking the entertainment of a description of a wonderful high-altitude jaw infection i simply skip further elaborations.
when we reach the high plateau with its wide flat valley we have the second drop out: another brazilian quits and stays behind with our guide (a very good one actually). the conditions are as perfect as they can be: clear blue sky, no wind and the aconcagua without clouds. a feast for the eyes. we continue to a viewpoint where we spend one hour staring at the stunning landscape and taking pictures of aconcagua in a 360 degree panorama, aconcagua with or without glacier, aconcagua with sitting or standing or jumping people. it has almost the perfection of the viewpoint of gokyo ri in front of the mt. everest. finally we decide to continue to plaza francia, the original goal of the hike at 4500 metres, which is approximately an hour ahead. after 30 minutes we meet a guy returning from plaza francia: ‘another hour to go’. i suggest we return as we’re already late after the long break and some of us are quite tired. 2 vote to continue, one wants to return (yup, me) and 2 are indifferent. again the group shows its qualities: without further discussion we return to our camp. soon we learn that the decision was a good one: when the sun disappears behind the mountains half an hour later the temperature drops significantly and it becomes very windy. juan, the poor hiking greenhorn, has not only to fight the headaches and exhaustion, to make matters more exciting for him his boots are literally falling apart although he tries to keep them together with tape. let’s give him the credit he deserves: he does not quit despite obvious suffering. should i mention that i move like a sissy little girl through a steep moraine field? it’s not a coincidence that no picture was taken. i simply look much better jumping compared to crawling. how come i don't enjoy falling stones or sliding down slopes of loose rocks?
after 3 hours of relaxed hiking we reach the camp. a perfect hike, not more, not less. for dinner we have great pizza. too bad we suffer from a lack of appetite.
aconcagua camp confluencia, mendoza.
again the ordeal of getting up in the morning. the short hike to the kitchen tent is actually harder than yesterday’s hike. i guess we were very lucky with the weather: it’s much windier today.
the descend into the valley seems a lot shorter than the ascend 2 days ago, especially for the brazilian guy with the stomach problems who has to take the helicopter.
in los penitents we enjoy the lunch and the sun before we take the bus back to mendoza on the pan americana. while most of the people sleep in the car i can’t get enough of the landscape. cool stuff. in mendoza we have a rather late steak at midnight. like a lot of other people. strange customs they have here.
mendoza.
the planned wine tour is cancelled as the guys overslept due to some extensive alcohol consumption the night (or morning?) before. i don’t feel like an organised tour and take it easy today. i visit my favourite bakery again: dried ham and roquefort is not really a common recipe for a sandwich according to the looks i earn for my order. well, i’m tired of cooked ham and boring cheese. certainly there’s more espresso and intensive observation of the impressive local gene pool.
markus and i take the bus to bariloche. although it takes 20 hours it’s actually endurable. at least down in the business class, i can’t speak for markus in the tourist class though ;-)