Yes, OSAT went to South America! This was the fourth major international climb organized by OSAT. In 1992, three members organized climbs of the three Mexican volcanoes. In 1995, sixteen members participated in a successful climb of Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya in Africa. Last year, OSAT suffered the tragic loss of three members of its Denali (Mt. McKinley) Expedition, including OSAT founder Jimmy Hinkhouse, when they were caught in a horrific storm at Windy Corner. (Yes, we know Alaska isn't exactly "international", but it is certainly international-class!)
"OSAT CASE '97: Aconcagua" involved 5 OSAT members who demonstrated the experience, skill and physical capability necessary to attain Aconcagua's 22,834 foot summit. We planned on climbing Aconcagua's Polish Glacier route, on the mountain's northeast side. This route, while described as not technically demanding, is somewhat more of a challenge than the normal northwest ridge route, we we used for our descent. One objective: the highest 12-step meeting in history!
This site includes information about our trip plan, descriptions of how many people helped the team attain their goal, introductions to members of the expedition, and links to many other Aconcagua resources on the Internet.
In addition to our full report on the trip we've included a page for pictures from our expedition (No, that's not a Mussorgsky/Ravel composition!) which now contains a virtual climb! We also want to add to the collective Internet knowledge about climbing Aconcagua, so we brought home a set of GPS waypoints for the Vacas/Relinchos route up the mountain, and have provided acritique of the Secor guide and description of current climbing conditions on the mountain. We've also added an extensive bibliography of printed material about climbing Aconcagua which we consulted before our trip.
(since April 8, 1997)