I’m used to Joe’s expeditions and, although 28 days is significant, being apart is not an issue for us. We miss each other, but know that an expedition is temporary and for only a finite amount of time. I think sometimes it is harder on Joe, where his days seem longer. For me, I kept [...]
The ascent of an expedition is only half the battle; for as long and high as you go up, there’s just as much to climb back down. In fact, more climbing accidents happen on descents because climbers are exhausted and can more easily lose focus. But there were no complications for Joe’s team on Saturday. [...]
Bill in Colorado posted that he talked to Todd (the lead guide) early Friday, and the group was on the way to the summit. Todd’s weather report said it was a beautiful day with only a few puffy clouds. At the time of that update, the team was on the traverse leading across to the [...]
Climbing over the remnants of an ancient glacier and continuing in a rising traverse through a surreal landscape of multi-colored rock towers, Joe and his teammates made their final carry to high camp at White Rocks. This is an area perched on the north ridge of Aconcagua. At an amazing 20,000 feet, this is a [...]
On Monday, Joe and his teammates carried gear to the next camp at 18,000 ft. – an impressive 3,506 feet higher than the highest point in the continental United States (Mt. Whitney, at 14,494 feet). This portion of the climb took them will past more fields of penitentes. “We are all acclimatizing well and feeling [...]
It’s been a busy few days for our team on Aconcagua. Last Wednesday, Joe, Tom C, Tom H and guides Ali & Todd spent a long, hard day of trekking, and most were experiencing some mild dehydration, but were alleviating that by consuming as many fluids as possible. “We’re all thirsty at the moment, but [...]
Before giving a usual update, I first wanted to take a moment to acknowledge that three climbers died on Aconcagua at approximately 22,000 feet this past weekend, after they became trapped in a blizzard. (More details are available per the AP article at abcnews.go.com, sumimtpost.org and other web avenues.) Our thoughts are certainly with their [...]
Getting this post in just under the midnight wire, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish my husband a very happy birthday! I know that today always brings mixed emotions, since he also shares his birthday with his father. I tried to find statistics on how rare that might be – to share a [...]
Early on New Year’s Day morning, Joe headed to Colorado where he met with friends Bob and Will for a week of final training and warm-up. Colorado has been bombarded with lots (lots!) of snow recently, which provided a great precursor to what he’ll face on Mt. Aconcagua. Additionally, the week in Colorado provided the [...]