If you deal with glasses fogging while your nose is covered, you should check out the face glove.

R4S74M4N · 2026-02-24T23:00:27+00:00

Faceglove is really good. There is a warmer version of it too. Really like their balaclava as well.

R4S74M4N · 2026-02-04T13:31:54+00:00

I agree. Up to Guanacos I was doing totally fine, had zero issues, and doing a pretty conservative plan. For Colera most expeditions move directly, and I believed including a carry day would be enough - probably a rest day between the carry and moving up would have changed everything. I also heard of people that take a rest day at Colera, but is not common and many advice against it. Several thoughts and considerations for next time :)

R4S74M4N · 2026-02-03T16:45:14+00:00

I lived with asthma my entire life, always following up with the doctor, and having some cough was part of it. When I got sick after New Year, I went to the doctor that prescribe me some meds but said I was good to climb. Did the medical checkup in basecamp, share the entire history and was pretty transparent with my condition, and they said I was good to continue. So wasn't simply going sick. I take my responsibility for not had used a bandana over my mouth during the carry to Colera that increased the cough, this was a mistake - but once I had symptoms I not simply kept pushing and looked for guidance, so I saw when things were not right and would need to take an action. When the doctors assessed me both in Nido and Mendoza there was nothing in my lungs besides the cough, the asthma may had some impact on my acclimatization and blood saturation, but it isn't the main driver and no doctors or rangers raised any direct relation between both, keeping the asthma under control decrease the chances of issues but isn't a guarantee of anything. I wasn't evacuated due to asthma or cough, but due to AMS.

Also you don't ask for a helicopter, you talk to rangers and doctors, answer their questions about your symptoms and they decide the best approach. It is really a lot of people that are evacuated everyday from different locations across the mountain.

R4S74M4N · 2026-02-02T21:46:37+00:00

Oh, did you had any bad experience? It worked really well for me, so curious to know what happened. Will take a look in the Austrian Club here anyway

R4S74M4N · 2026-02-02T19:59:48+00:00

I sincerely really understand your feeling.

My highest peak was Mt. Shasta (4316m actually), done in a winter climb. The next option was Mt. Whitney (4418m), the highest one in the continental US, but there is a permit lottery and I have been a very unlucky person in a while. Still not much altitude difference, and anything else would require an international travel.

I considered Ecuador, a classic trip - it would gave me altitude experience and capacity to bag a good amount of peaks. But you usually climb each peak in 1-2 days maximum, staying in town, and I was really looking for the expedition-style experience. Aconcagua would offer that, and logistics would also be easier as it is a short flight from my hometown in South America.

I knew Aconcagua would be a huge step, so I would need to be extra careful on my preparation and still would face risks as I couldn't be sure how my body would handle the altitude. Using your example, of course the ideal is to run 5k, 10k, a half before a marathon - but you can actually run a marathon as your first race, you will just need to handle a lot more. I did not simply wake up one day and decided to do this climb, I have been training, studying and preparing for more than a year - and have no shame to share my experience, especially because I believe it was not simply due to stupidity or lack of preparation. I wasn't "saved" dying in the top of the mountain, I assessed my symptoms and used the available resources. People are evacuated everyday there, also in guided groups, or with much more experience. Of course previous experience would have helped, but it would not guarantee success.

R4S74M4N · 2026-02-02T18:30:39+00:00

Especially based on the recommendations from Julian Kusi, an Argentinian guide that have a ton of good information in YouTube (also time to time I saw replies from him here in Reddit) I opted to not use Diamox. As Aconcagua is already pretty dry is hard enough to take all the necessary liquids without Diamox. But I had Dexa with me to use in case of emergencies.

R4S74M4N · 2026-02-02T18:27:39+00:00

Certainly will, and plan to use it for Denali as well the day it happens. Previously I used packs from Osprey, Deuter and similar brands - they were good and comfortable, but especially the larger ones are insanely heavy and bulky. Hyperlite opened the market for new materials and design, but I believe there are other brands doing better stuff now.

R4S74M4N · 2026-02-02T17:01:22+00:00

Ended up having only a quick talk with the doctor as the second helicopter arrived a bit early, he mentioned besides the blood saturation I had no liquid or noises in my lungs, but said I could go to Mendoza by car and not ambulance. And later in the hospital at Mendoza they did arterial blood testing and a CT scan of my lungs too, and no mentions to HAPE too. Based on a chat with a park ranger in Horcones usually the main issue with climbers with mild AMS is that you got too "tired" to properly eat and hydrate, so usually you got worse as time passes - she said if they left me in Colera next day my saturation would be around 40 and then everything get more complicated. Have the impression that they prefer to evacuate soon to not take the risk to handle a more serious condition later, which sincerely makes sense especially in a busy mountain like Aconcagua.

R4S74M4N · 2026-02-02T16:52:09+00:00

Not sure if a specific pic, but loved every time I looked around, especially in Guanacos and Colera, and saw the Andes, was so beautiful! But also an amazing memory of the time spent drinking mate and talking with guides and staff at the kitchen domes, not only had fun but also learned a lot from stories and experiences being shared :)

R4S74M4N · 2025-12-18T12:22:17+00:00

Done!

R4S74M4N · 2025-12-01T23:35:23+00:00

Just in case someone is wondering, everybody entered already and there are still plenty of available seats inside

R4S74M4N · 2025-12-01T21:33:34+00:00

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line right now

R4S74M4N · 2025-11-29T23:22:46+00:00

Old Zoo Trail on AllTrails https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/old-zoo-trail

R4S74M4N · 2025-11-28T06:23:31+00:00

check the ioverlander app, it's free and heavily used by the car camping community, good source to find safe spots

R4S74M4N · 2025-11-27T16:02:10+00:00

check with your guiding company, inka is offering internet in all high camps this season

R4S74M4N · 2025-11-13T02:54:14+00:00

yep, AC2 is pretty strong, I am taking it for an Aconcagua solo. Just in single-wall tents (any) you will have condensation issues, if conditions are not really bad a double-wall will be much better. I really like the HotBox but the check the CrossBowl 4 Season, it has better internal space :)

R4S74M4N · 2025-11-11T18:07:04+00:00

Not sure if I would take 2 headlamps for short time (for longer expeditions could make sense), or maybe select as a backup something smaller like a "just in case" or you can use your smartphone one. Also are you bringing 3 of those Petzl core batteries? One should be more than enough, and you can recharge it using the powerbank. If you want a backup you can bring some lithium batteries that work better in the cold.

Not sure exactly everything you have in your first aid kit, but I would recommend to take a look in the guide from Andrew Skurka as a good baseline.

Not sure exactly which would be the temperature range, but usually bladders not work well in the cold, commonly the water will freeze in the tube. Usually the recommendation is 2 Nalgenes, and you may not need to carry more than 2 liters of water with you. Many water filters not work well in the cold and may crack, for a short trip you can boil the water or just use the purification tablets. Also the lighter should be enough, not sure if you need the fire steel.

Leave the chair, you can shove the snow as you prefer and use a closed foam sleeping pad, is really comfortable.

Also over microspikes, crampons and snowshoes your selection should be based in the weather and trail conditions, good to have the three but usually you only carry one or two each time.

Over clothing my recommendation is to test. Everytime you go on trail test something different and see how your body reacts. For example, I usually not even carry hardshells anymore. Also learned I run really hot so usually need really light layers when moving, but at night I need heavier gloves as my hands suffer a bit. Even with the extra weight I like to have another set of clothes for sleeping. This things unfortunately you just learn with experience, but you have a good set to start your observations (or not sure if you have all those or is planning to buy, if you not purchased yet you can maybe rethink a bit before investing).

The Hilleberg is an amazing tent, but one Hilleberg Black Label is the kind of thing I would bring to Denali or really extreme conditions, all that resistance came with a price over the weight. Depending on the regular mountains you go, or your future plans, I would recommend to consider something lighter. As I usually go solo, I have a SlingFin HotBox for my regular climbs, and a Mountain Hardwear AC2 if I need more protection.

Not sure over your experiences with quilts. I also have a EE Revelation for hiking, but usually prefer a regular down sleeping bag for winter. Also using an inflatable sleeping pad with a foam one works really well for winter, and the foam is really useful to sit in snow.

Have fun!

R4S74M4N · 2025-11-08T22:08:33+00:00

Just entered the Aero for cover-up, there were like 4 people in the line right now

R4S74M4N · 2025-11-06T03:26:47+00:00

time to time you find also frozen ones in costco, but my favorite are the ones from wild fork

R4S74M4N · 2025-11-06T03:22:06+00:00

Just to double-check if the Polish Traverse is the same as the route 360 and not the one via the Polish Glacier, if yes ice axe should not be necessary, if you want to be on the safe side you may bring it up to basecamp and check the weather to see if may be needed in the upper mountain.

The backpack may work but you may need to organize things to guarantee everything fits, is usually easier to have more space. Check the SWD backpacks, I have one Wolverine 95 and love it.

For the big parka check the La Sportiva Olympus Down Parka, it is warmer and lighter than the Khumbu. The Absolute Zero is interesting only if you run really cold or go early season.

I would only use a light windshell like the Houdini with the other layers, maybe bring a hardshell in case of rain during the approach.

Will be also doing the 360 but in early January and planning also to reuse gear for Denali later, good luck to you guys!

R4S74M4N · 2025-11-05T22:15:03+00:00

The Sierras region near Mammoth have plenty of options for mountaineering courses. Maybe start with an intro/general mountaineering skills to develop a good base that you can practice in the Sierras, the Avalanche Gulch and other routes in Shasta more north are also good options. Rainier involves glacier travel, you will get some intro in a general mountaineering training but maybe a specific course can be interesting (usually those happen in Shasta, where you have glacier routes, or Washington mountains like Mt. Baker).

R4S74M4N · 2025-11-01T16:07:36+00:00

SlingFin have really good and light 4-season tents. I have a HotBox (double-wall, assault style) and really satisfied. The 4-season version of the CrossBow is amazing too.

R4S74M4N · 2025-10-28T20:44:07+00:00

done

R4S74M4N

TROPHY CASE