27 : 2 : 7 - International Adventure Day
Thank you for taking the time to join us on this adventure forum. To start with, let me explain what I am doing. Then I will tell you how you can join me, in whatever way you choose, in my adventure on 27th February 2007.
On 12th February I leave the UK as a part of a small group of adventurers on route to Buenos Aires in Argentina. Our goal is to climb Mount Acongagua, the highest mountain in the world outside of Asia. In doing so we will raise a total in excess of £100,000 for SCOPE (www.scope.org.uk)
About Mount Aconcagua:
At 6962 metres, Aconcagua is the second highest of the summits of the seven continents. Climbing Aconcagua is a serious undertaking and one that I am not taking lightly. At 22,840 feet, it is not only the highest peak in South America, it is also the highest peak outside of the Himalaya. Apparently some people think that, because of the lack of technical difficulty involved (compared to Everest and K2) Acongagua is a natural progression after climbing Kilimanjaro which I achieved in June 2004. Aconcagua presents a different kind of challenge though...
- Aconcagua is more than 1000 metres higher than Kilimanjaro with greater risk of altitude sickness.
- The weather is notoriously extreme with severely high winds.
- The terrain is more difficult with extensive 'scree' (rock debris) and Penitentes (giant icicles formed by the wind and sun).
- Climbers are expected to carry their own loads (in excess of 20k) above base camp.
- Acongagua requires an expedition of 2-3 weeks unlike Kilimanjaro that can be climbed in a matter of days.
- Summit success ratios on Aconcagua (about 4000 attempts a year) are much lower than those on Kilimanjaro (about 15,000 attempts a year.)
- Aconcagua has recorded as many as 10-20 deaths a year from those who attempt the summit.
So you see, I am tackling something here that is way out of my comfort zone and that offers me what I believe is my greatest challenge to date. Although I have extensive experience in endurance athletics I have never attempted anything as extreme as this (and that is the answer to the "why?" question, by the way!)