At 22,841ft, Aconcagua is the highest mountain attempted so far, exceeding the height of Kilimanjaro by 3,500ft.  It is the highest mountain in the world outside Asia and the highest in South America.  Located in Argentina, Aconcagua is known as the Stone Sentinel because most of it is typically free of snow.  This is because the high winds usually blow the mountain clear.  Often the normal route can be climbed (in southern hemisphere summer) without need for crampons.  The 2500m (8200ft) high south face offers extreme routes which are some of the most difficult on Earth.  Aconcagua is often underestimated which has resulted in serious injuries and death, mostly on the normal route.  The mountain is bleak and harsh.  The winds can be unrelenting and the temperatures severe (-20C).  Failure due to the effects of altitude and weather are particularly high.  Often, the mountain is just too tough and most climbers give up long before summit night.  This is my first mountain where I will be climbing for more than a week, in fact the trip is set for 18 days plus transit.  Gear selection will be particularly important here because, once climbing above base camp, you have to survive with whatever gear you decide to carry up the mountain.  Summit night on Aconcagua should begin around 4am, similar to the Elbrus start time which is appealing to me.

 

Training for Aconcagua will mirror the effort made for Elbrus.  My training, which already consists of 5 workouts per week, will be expanded to 7-10 workouts per week of even greater intensity.  Bicycling for 40-50 miles has been added to my workouts to extend my endurance.  Climbing machine with pack and ankle weights will be emphasized.

 

Immediately after Aconcagua, I will travel straight to Ecuador to climb Chimborazo,  20,565ft, the furthest point from the center of the Earth, 2km further than Everest.  It achieves this feat simply because the earth is an oblate spheroid bulging out further at the equator than at the poles.  It is located in Ecuador on the “Avenue of Volcanos”.  It was once believed to be the highest mountain in the world before the Himalaya was surveyed.  This may be the most dangerous mountain that I have attempted thus far.  Severely underestimated, many attempt this mountain with no mountaineering experience at all.  Only 600 people attempt Chimborazo per year and only 100 make the summit.  Many of those that do make it to the “top” fail to make the long trek across the volcano to the true summit.  Summit night on Chimborazo will begin around 11pm the night before, similar to the Kilimanjaro start time.  This is because you must reach the summit by 8am and get back down by around noon when the mountain “wakes up”.  The heat begins to melt the snow and rock and ice break loose, falling down the mountain and creating a dangerous situation.  I am considering taking a climbing helmet to use for the descent.  Since I am arriving pre-acclimatized from Aconcagua, I will only be in Ecuador for 3 days to climb the mountain.  This gives me a single backup day to summit.