Day 7 - acclimatization up to Camp 1 Plaza Canada at 5050m
We slept in until 8:30am and had breakfast at 9am. We then packed our gear and at about 1:30pm right after lunch we headed up. The hike was about 4 hours long and we moved up slowly. To be honest it wasn’t as bad as I thought. The only problem I kept having all day is stomach issues (yes… diarrhea) and the food we keep eating here / the water / mixed in with the altitude is not a friend of my stomach.
We arrived at C1 at about 5:30pm and it was getting much colder and windier up there. The views however were magnificent! Once I get better reception I will add photos to these blog posts.
The guides made us a snack and then Peter and I went to set up our tent situation. We picked a spot furthest away from everyone because we are quite noisy. In fact many think we are a couple - I find this comical as we are just 2 buddies having a fun time trying to climb Aconcagua but whatever suites you lol! It’s still hilarious to us. Maybe it’s because we constantly quarrel about things and make fun and silly jokes.
We went for a little exploratory hike of C1 and took great photos with Cerro Cuerno / glaciar horcones superior in the background.
After that we had a small dinner and continued to enjoy the sunset views at 5050m. Just priceless!
As the night crept in we finalized our tent situation and it got pretty windy and cold. This mountain is notoriously known for its cold and unpredictable wind gusts. I needed to go to the restroom again so I ventured out into the strong wind to s**t into an orange plastic bag (this is an important rule in the park because above base camp you have to pack your waste). I mean if it wasn’t for the wind it would be fine but certainly an experience to remember. At 4am Peter unfortunately had a different experience that will go untold but maybe one day you will get to read about it ;)
Our tent is built on a snowy ledge and facing down hill so it’s hard to sleep in it without rolling off our mats or for the matter of fact getting quality sleep.
Good night for now!