Marks is in Argentina attempting an independant, solo ascent of Aconcagua, America's highest mountain (6,962m). His planned route is the "normal route" taking the following camps (descriptions taken from Wikipedia - altitudes are approximate )
Day 1: Puente del Inca, 2,740m (8,990 ft): A small village on the main road, with facilities including a lodge.
Day 2: Confluencia, 3,380m (11,090 ft): A camp site a few hours into the national park.
Day 3: Plaza Francia
Day 4: Plaza de Mulas, 4,370m (14,340 ft): Base camp, claimed to be the second largest in the world (after Everest). There are several meal tents, showers and internet access. There is a lodge approx. 1 km from the main campsite across the glacier.
Day 5: Plaza de Mulas 4,370 m - rest day
Day 6: Camp Canadá, 5,050 metres (16,570 ft): A large ledge overlooking Plaza de Mulas. This will be an acclimatisation day.
Day 7: Day 5: Plaza de Mulas 4,370 m - going back down after sleeping high the previous night allows the body to acclimatise to the altitude.
Day 6: Camp Canadá, 5,050 metres
Day 8: Nido de Cóndores, 5,570 metres (18,270 ft): A large plateau with beautiful views. There is usually a park ranger camped here.
Day 9: Camp Berlín, 5,940 metres (19,490 ft): The classic high camp, offering reasonable wind protection.
Day 10 to Day 15: SUMMIT BID! The bid for the summit will depend on weather forecasts and how Mark is acclimatising. The summit attempt will take place on any one of these days.
Day 16: Plaza de Mulas 4,370 m
Day 17: Walk out of valley to Puente del Inca, and back to Mendoza
I will be tracking Mark's progress through a mixture of SPOT messages and emails. Internet access is available at Plaza de Mulas. Mark uses a SPOT satellite GPS messenger. Every day he pushes a button which sents me a message to my email to let me know everything is okay and his location. As this uses satellite technology it works in the remotest of locations.
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