Cerro Aconcagua - The Highest Mountain in the Western and Southern Hemispheres

Howard Jones left for the Andes Mountains of South America January 30, 2002 and began climbing to the summit of the highest non-Himalayan mountain in the world.  Cerro Aconcagua towers 22,841 feet skyward along the border of Argentina and Chile.  Seventeen days later, he stood on the summit.

Along with a dozen other climbers, they ascended via the Guanacos Valley of Aconcagua's eastern face.  From their high camp at nearly 20,000 feet, four of them fought the elements for twelve hours before reaching the summit.

For those interested in knowing more about what (if anything) goes through the mind as one climbs a peak as high as Aconcagua, a copy of Howard Jones' personal diary kept throughout the expedition can be downloaded in MS-Word format.  The diary contains many photos and is approximately 8 mb in size.

Here are some pictures from the expedition.  Click on the images for larger views.  Use the "Back" button to return to this page.

Aconcagua stands above all of the other peaks of the Andes as we fly into Mendoza, Argentina.  The massive mountain would be our home for the next three weeks.

Our first view of the mountain came at Camp II along the Vacas River.  The summit is about 25 miles distant.

The mountain grows larger as we get closer.  From 11,000 feet, it still towers 12,000 feet above us.

Looking down on Camp II, the mules are preparing for the carry to Camp III.  Mule support as high as Camp III gave us luxuries we never would have had without them.

The Vacas Valley provided us with our route for the first three days of the climb.  It was warm during the days and cool in the evernings.  The Argentine star-sky was unlike any we've ever seen - so bright as to seem electrified.

The more serious climbing began when leaving the Vacas Valley and heading for Camp IV.  We had to enjoy the weather while we had the chance.  From here on, it would be nothing but snow and ice.

Obviously, warm days were a thing of the past as we approached 16,000 feet.  We had to pass through numerous fields of "penitentes", large, complex ice-sculptures created by the action of the wind as glaciers melted.

Camp V was set at around 16,500 feet.  Night-time temperatures were now approaching zero, but it would warm to a balmy 20 to 25 degrees in the day-time.

By the time we reached 18,000 feet, the views were becoming spectacular as other Andean giants became more visible in the distance.

At 19,000 feet, we were well above the clouds and watched as some of the other mountains came into view.

High camp (Camp VII) was set just below 20,000 feet.  It was from here we were to launch our summit attempt up the 3,000 foot face above us.

As the sun rose on summit morning, the peak of Aconcagua cast its shadow into the sky behind the climbing team as it moved above 21,000 feet.

After a long, hard climb where oxygen levels were far less than half of normal levels, four of us stood on the summit.  Here Mount Everest veteran Pancho Medina and Howard Jones stand on the "Roof of the Americas".

Howard Jones kneels behind the famous "Cross of Aconcagua" which sits at the highest point in the world outside the Himalayas.

Views from the summit were breath-taking (not that there was much breath to take).  This vista shows some of the beauty that gives us reason to climb again.

A successful climb is a round-trip.  A storm started to blow in as we descended from the summit.  You can see three of my climbing partners a few hundred feet below hurrying back to High Camp a couple thousand feet below.

Three days later we had descended into warmer terrain again, but the south-face of the mountain remained a spectacular reminder of our past three weeks.

We were finally getting close to civilization.  We'd picked up our mule support when we got to around 14,000 feet.  Here's Howard Jones and one of the mules.  (Howard's the one on the right).

We weren't the only ones anxious to get back to the comforts of civilization.  Gauchos ran the mules carrying our equipment as if they were race-horses.

As we reached Los Penitentes, Argentina, the climb came to an end. I took a look back at our "home" for the past three weeks.  As I saw it for the last time, a circular cloud came in and capped the summit.  It looked like a halo.