Schedule change...
Posted on 21 February 2007 by Clive Gott
The guide has made some very serious decisions for us - serious but at the same time exciting. The weather has been diabolical over here since we got here. Apparently, this is the WORST February for years. However, there is a predicted window in the weather on SUNDAY so he has decided that we will leave here on Thursday morning and cover the last 2700 metres with no acclimatisation days in between. Its going to be very hard - but what an adventure!
So the next few days look like this:
Thursday: climb 700 mtrs to Canada...sleep
Friday: 500 metres to Nido...sleep
Saturday: 500 metres to Berlin...sleep
Sunday: climb 1000 metres to the sumit...back to Berlin...sleep
The summit usually takes between 12 and 18 hours but I dont care how long it takes - I just want to get there! He says that after 5000 metres acclimatisation is not quite so important. We will see...
We lost another of our party yesterday. Rich failed his blood pressure test - he was 200 over 140! This morning, Guy dropped out - he isn't sleeping well and just doesn't want to face it. That leaves just 7 of the original party left. The good news, though, is we now have porters to carry tents and cooking gear as 7 of us would not be able to manage. I suspect one more will drop out on Friday. Of course this means that I will summit on 25-2-7 not 27-2-7...but I will be with you all in spirit as you experience your adventures on the 27th!
I'm off to check out sky sports now to see if the Rhinos won last week!
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Comments
Clive,
I had a great day yesterday, lots of fun and definitely worth repeating. Especially washing our friend's car without her knowledge and her complete amazement at how it was sat gleaming in the car park, when only a few hours before it was filthy !
I look forward to hearing about your adventure.
JJ
Hi Chris and JJ
Thanks for letting us know how you went on with your challenges on 27th. I am taking the challenge of horse riding tomorrow (2nd March) in Argentina and as I said JJ I intend to do 11 randome acts of kindness on my birthday 11th August.
For the record myself and just 3 others in our party reached the summit of Aconcagua at 7.30 pm GMT on Sunday 25th February. We were 3 of less than 200 who reached the top this season. The accent took 11 hrs 20 minutes with the decent taking another 5 hours. Johnny snapped a tendon near the end of the decent and is now in plaster. Other than that we are all safe and well and re-hydrated.
The trip wasn´t without it´s dramas. The biggest for me being when I had my sleeping bag STOLEN by one of the porters. it took the police and mountain rangers some time to find it. I had to sleep in everything I had with me until they rturned it to me at 2.15 in the morning of 23rd. I cannot start to tell you just how cold it was, I actually lost all feeling in my right arm for more than an hour. It was all part of the adventure though.
I am now enjoying a few days relaxing in Mendoza before coming home to start work again. I have had an amazing adventure over here which I can´t wait to tell you all about.
I have a few more mountains to climb when I get home but I am now equiped to deal with anything. And yes....it is now official....I AM invincinble.
See you all soon
Clive
Congratulations Clive for another fantastic achievement!
You obviously had some stuff to overcome in reaching your goal, as we all do, but re-evaluation and a different approach sees the goal achieved so well done mate!
Much like my 27th adventure!...
The ice climbing that Emma and I were scheduled to do couldn't be completed due to some unforeseen cashflow problems I've experienced in the last couple of weeks but I as determined to get out of my comfort zone on the 27th to support you, so out of it I got! (my comfort zone that is!)
I'm working on building a property portfolio and had a potential deal kind of hanging round, the only thing holding it back was me - so I got out of my comfort zome, bit the bullet and went for it - doing something I've never done before and felt uncomfortable doing, but you know what?
It's opened the whole deal up - I am now on the brink of pulling off the biggest and best property deal I've ever done and when it comes off, it will be a massive step in the right direction for my major definite purpose of financial freedom!
Onwards and upwards now my mountain climbing buddy!
Take care, look forward to hearing your stories (as ever!)
Dave
Hi Clive
I succeeded in climbing my mountain on 27.2.7 well at least the horse felt like the size of a mountain when i was sat on top of it!Thank you for enabling me to share in your adventure and face my own fear,p.s, pictures to follow.
by Chris Wright : 28/02/07 08:16