Our Expeditions!
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Aconcagua Expedition #2 Is Ready to Go!!
Posted on December 26th, 2010 1 commentAfter our successful climb of Aconcagua in December we have recovered and are now geared up for our second expedition for this season. SMI guides Kurt Wedberg and April Mayhew from Aconcagua #1 will be joined Chris Werner and Lindsay Fixmer to lead a very special group when we meet up in Mendoza as a group on December 28.
The members of this next expedition are a group of 11 motivated individuals from The Last Well. This Washington DC based organization is dedicated to bringing clean water to the people of Liberia and beyond. Why is this so important?
1.1 BILLION PEOPLE LACK CLEAN WATER (1 IN 6 PEOPLE)
1 CHILD DIES FROM LACK OF CLEAN WATER EVERY FIFTEEN (15) SECONDS
PREVENTABLE, WATER-RELATED DISEASES KILL NEARLY FOURTEEN THOUSAND (14,000) PEOPLE DAILY
Yes you read those statistics correctly. Pastor Todd Phillips of Mclean Bible Church in Washington DC saw those statistics too. He decided to do something about it and The Last Well was formed. The almost 4 million citizens of the country of Liberia have been hard hit by the lack of clean drinking water. The mission of The Last Well is to build water wells throughout Liberia so every citizen has access to clean drinking water so vital for healthy living. They are currently about half way through with this project and they don’t plan on stopping until “The Last Well” is built.
The Last Well first came to SMI in the spring of 2008 with a group of climbers and through a climb of Mt. Whitney (14,508′, 4422m) raised money and awareness for their cause. They have since been to Kilimanjaro and are now ready to tackle the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere to raise more money and awareness for this very worthy cause. These 11 motivated individuals have raised over $100,000 for The Last Well from this climb alone!!
We invite you all to follow our progress through this blog, with your positive energy, and prayers of support. Feel free to explore the links above to learn more about this worthy cause and the people behind it. If you feel led to get involved with The Last Well there is information on their web page about how to do so.
The climbing team with SMI guide Kurt Wedberg at a gala fundraiser in Washington DC for The Last Well in October.
Pastor Todd Phillips speaking at the October gala fundraiser for The Last Well.
Kurt Wedberg inspecting the expedition's dining/kitchen tent.
This Mountain Hardwear 18' dome tent will serve as a comfortable place for the team to eat meals and enjoy team fellowship on our way into Base Camp.
SMI guide April Mayhew just stood on the summit of Aconcagua on December 15 and is psyched and ready to go again.
SMI guide Chris Werner at 15,000' on Aconcagua January 2010.
SMI guides Kurt Wedberg and April Mayhew at 19,300' on Aconcagua Dec 14, 2010.
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Aconcagua December 2010 Wrap Up
Posted on December 24th, 2010 No commentsOur first of two Aconcagua expeditions is now successfully in the books.
We want to give a big congratulations to team members Ralph Drollinger, Fred Simmons, and Bill Simon for a job well done on this expedition. Congratulations to Bill and Fred to reaching the highest point in the Western Hemisphere and to SMI guide April Mayhew for her first summit of Aconcagua!! Well done everybody!!
Thanks to everybody for following along with us. All your prayers and positive energy could be felt from high on Aconcagua located deep in the Andes.
The photo album is now completed with 1627 photo for your viewing pleasure. You can view it here: Aconcagua December 2010
Below are some photos from this memorable journey. The entire photo album can be viewed at the link above.
The team at the trailhead psyched and ready to begin. From left to right: Bill, April, Ralph, Fred, Kurt
Fred, Ralph, and April enjoying the hiking on day 1.
Ralph, Bill, Fred, and April pause for a photo. Pleasant temperatures made for an enjoyable walk up the Vacas Valley.
Fred and Bill in the kitchen tent enjoying a laugh during breakfast of day 2.
Bill on the crossing of the Vacas River on day 2.
April on the bridge crossing the Vacas River.
April has all the team's attention for some instruction on day 2.
Mules with our loads passing us by on day 2. Mules hauled all our gear into Base Camp.
The team gets their first look at Aconcagua near camp on day 2.
Bill psyched up for the icy glacial fed river crossing at 7:30 AM on day 3.
Fred, Bill, and April ascending the Relinchos Valley on day 3.
Ralph crossing the Relinchos River on day 3.
The team celebrating getting to 13,000' on the way to Base Camp.
April and Kurt at 13,000 feet approaching Base Camp.
Kurt, April, Ralph, and Bill arriving at Base Camp at 13,747', 4200m
April serving up bacon cheeseburgers at Base Camp. Yum!!
First acclimatization hike above Base Camp.
April straddling a crack on the glacial moraine.
Icy lakes on the glacial moraine
Bill, Ralph, and Fred next to an icy lake on the glacial moraine at 15,000'.
Fred and Ralph at a rest break on the glacial moraine near 15,000 feet. Aconcagua looms high above.
The team on the glacial moraine with Aconcagua behind.
Bill and Ralph psyching each other up for the climb to Camp 1.
Bill looking strong and happy at 16,000 feet on the way to Camp 1
Ralph, Fred, and April at 16,000' heading towards Camp 1.
Ralph, Bill, and Fred near Camp 1.
Bill flanked by Fred, Ralph, and April at 16,400' cresting the hill to Camp 1.
Team photo at Camp 1 at 16,700'.
April cooking dinner at Camp 1.
The team at a rest break at 17,500' on the route to Camp 2.
April setting the pace for Fred and Bill at 18,300' en route to Camp 2.
April feeling great at 18,500' en route to Camp 2.
Bill and Fred happily settled in to Camp 2.
April at Camp 2 getting ready for our summit bid the following day.
Bill and Fred sporting their alma mater at Camp 2, 19127' on Aconcagua.
April, Bill, Fred, and Kurt enjoying the prep day for the summit bid tomorrow.
The team on a short "tune up" walk to test equipment in preparation for our summit bid.
Bill and Fred at "The Edge of the World" near Camp 2.
Kurt and April at "The Edge of the World" near Camp 2.
Summit day has arrived!! Bill and Fred gearing up at camp.
Bill on summit day 6:30 AM.
The sun rising over the Andes provided a breathtaking backdrop to our climb.
Bill at 20,500' on summit day!!
Fred, Bill, and April at 21,000+ feet on summit day. A slight dusting of new snow fell the night before and added a beautiful decoration to the landscape during our climb.
Fred at 21,500'.
Looking up at our route from 21,600'
Bill at 22,400'. With only 481' to go the air was so thin we were taking 4-6 deep breaths for each step we took up hill.
22,770'... less that 100' to go to the summit!!
Fred taking the final stops onto the summit of Aconcagua with Bill close behind!!
Bill topping out on the summit of Aconcagua!!
A picture's worth a thousand words. April's smile as she reached the summit says it all!!
Team summit photo. Well done everybody!!
Kurt and April celebrating an elated and emotional moment on the summit.
Merry Christmas to all from the top of Aconcagua (22,841', 6962m)!!
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First Aconcagua Summit Photos!!
Posted on December 19th, 2010 1 commentGreetings everybody!!
We reached the summit of Aconcagua (22,841′, 6962m) on December 15, 2010. We were blessed with wonderful weather for climbing. Winds were light and the sun remained uninhibited by clouds above. As the afternoon progressed clouds gathered below giving us a feeling of being on top of the world. We were in fact on the summit of highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere!!
Pictures are currently being uploaded to the SMI photo gallery web site. We should have all of them organized within a couple days. Below is a sneak preview of the photo gallery featuring a few summit photos of the team. We will post a note when all the photos are ready to be viewed. You are welcome to follow progress here: Aconcagua December 2010
A big congratulations on a job well done are in order to Fred Simmons, Bill Simon, and April Mayhew.
Way to go!!!
Fred Simmons taking the final steps to the summit of Aconcagua. Bill Simon is shortly behind.
Bill Simon stepping on to the summit of Aconcagua.
SMI guide April Mayhew is all smiles upon reaching the summit of Aconcagua.
Team summit photo. Front row left to right Bill Simon and Fred Simmons. Back row SMI guides Kurt Wedberg and April Mayhew.