We set up the tents, I walk around the place that is quite populated, in relation to when I came with my friend José Luis, last year. I take some photos and we have dinner in the dining tent of Confluencia: soup, lasagna and chocolate flan.
Wednesday 04/02/04 Aconcagua Guided Climb
Confluencia is a spectacular place, I take some photos, we have breakfast and we go to Plaza de Mulas, a place I don’t know.
At the exit you have to cross a rudimentary bridge, where Esteban’s solidarity and great physical condition are evident. I have already gone out with him other times and his great physical display is a constant, he knows that he is the strongest and he permanently shows it, but with good vibes.
We leave Plaza de Mulas at 10 am, after a slight climb we enter the valley of the Horcones river, surrounded by imposing hills, and then we enter Playa Ancha, a large plain 10 km long, with small, clear stones. and little slope. At 2:00 p.m. we arrive, eat and begin the ascent to Plaza de Mulas, around 4:00 p.m.
Photo of the whole group: back from left to right: Esteban Zalazar Eduardo Sibulosky, Mario Mónaco, Eric Cruzuar, Leandro Gitelman, Eduardo Morales, forward crouched: Constanza D´Angelo, Graciela Zakalik, Gladys Quiroga Jorge Arroyo and Belem Saua, missing Fernando Santa Maria. Aconcagua Mountain Guides
It is practically a very steep ascent of 1000 meters, which is why it is called the Cuesta Brava. There I realized how well trained I am, I remembered my 10 km jogs with Jack 3 times a week, my faithful and dear companion, the times I went out to train reluctantly and in bad weather, in short, everything What do you do when you want to make a big dream come true?
I arrived first at Plaza de Mulas, taking 5 minutes from the second, Eric, and 30 minutes from the rest of the group. I am happy with how good and strong I feel, considering that the rest of the group is between 15 and 20 years younger than me.
We had an early dinner of pea soup, 4-cheese noodles, me with half a liter of beer, one of the luxuries I give myself. At 10 pm we are sleeping in the dining tent that Tato lent us, a macanudo dentist, who from November to March leaves his office and dedicates himself to providing accommodation and food to groups of climbers for very reasonable prices. He punctured my mat and I couldn’t put the pillow together, so I didn’t get the best sleep. Outside 10 degrees below zero. I took some photos of the beautiful west wall of Aconcagua at sunset.
Thursday 05/02/04 Aconcagua Ascents
I am aware that I am already on Aconcagua at 4,200 meters, more than halfway to the summit. We had spring rice for lunch with a lot of cheese, before lunch I went to the Plaza de Mulas Hotel, it is 2 km from the camp, it is very nice, it costs 60 U$D per person with food per day, obviously built for foreigners. There is the booth, I contacted Lili, mom, Pablo and Debra, telling them how beautiful this is and how good I feel physically and mentally.