Climbing Aconcagua

Greetings from Mendoza, Argentina!

In the last 20 hours I have already shopped, eaten some excellent food and wine, and enjoyed the warmth of the sun here in Mendoza. Thus I am accutely aware of how one can become delusional, while engaging in cozy comfort, about the imminent diffculty of living on a mountain in harsh conditions for 2 weeks.

I am, of course, capping on this comfort factor by doing my usual overindulgence of all things yummy before I undertake the unknown. This comfort seeking has always seemed to be a coping mechanism of sorts for me prior to undertaking the stress of a grand adventure. Engage in severe comfort in life and somehow the contrast of the extremes seems easier to swallow when taken in large doses. Even if that doesn´t retrospectively ease the suffering on the mountain, its fun, so what the hell...

We head to the base of Aconcagua, and the initiation to those stark life contrasts, tomorrow, to start our ascent of the highest mountain outside of Asia. If I am successful at reaching its peak at 22,841 feet, Aconcagua will be the highest I've been to date. Being someone who is fascinated thinking about the unknown of what is to come, I am quite giddy at present. I´ve always thrived in any new test of body and mind and this one will definitely open some new doors for self learning. I can´t wait.

But at this stepping off point in any climb, the summit is a distant light in my thoughts. Energy is focused on preparation, rest, enjoying my new climbing teammates, and celebrating lifes daily comforts, like lounging in bed those few extra minutes under clean sheets, relishing in a hot shower, and celebrating over good wine the fact that all our luggage arrived in tact. Ah the exquisite pleasures of basic existence! Mendoza, with its homey, inviting feel, is a perfect place to indulge in such mundane luxury.

Aconcagua, or the ¨Stone Sentinel¨ is a mountain of ice, snow and even more rock and scree, and it stands solo among many peaks almost at its height. We will be living on the mountain at various, increasingly higher altitudes, as we aclimate to the rarified air for 14 days. The unpredictable force of weather and the famous ¨viento blanco¨or white winds on this mountain will play a strong hand in our progress and potential summit success.

If the concept of luck likens chance, or a good gamble, then the weather on mountains is often a game of luck. Wish me some solid luck. We´ll need it here.

We will be on the Polish Glacier Traverse route, which initiates on the Polish Glacier then traverses to the Normal Route for our summit push. With our route choice we are hoping for less people and greater asthetic. In any case it will be a grand adventure indeed, highlighted by having barely caught my breath after returning from Africa and my Kilimanjaro climb. A severe amount of travel in a very short time frame, but then I´ve never been one to do life in small doses, why start now.

I'll be sending daily, live dispatches from the mountain via satellite phone to this website blog. www.terrischneider.net Check in with my blog daily to see how we are faring.

Wish me luck,

Terri