Page 16 - 2007/08 AMA Winter
P. 16
During January 2007 a 16 other fully we were already
strong team of mainly
novice mountaineers
from a tri-service medicoanlthehillstocome. background ventured to
Argentina to attempt to suTmhe eventual team that left for mit Aconcagua (6959m) - tAhregentina was made up of; highest mountain outside tAhedrian Mellor (Expedition Himalayas residing in thLeader), Stevan Jackson High Andes on t(hLeeader), Dave Murphy Argentinean - Chilean bord(eLr.eader), Stuart Jackson
(Leader), Rob Wakeford This expedition was the brain (Food), Baz Lawrence
c
navy mountaineer - who had (Medical), Nick Vincent been planning such an expe (Equipment), Tom Beckett (PR dition for many years but due & Equipment), Tim Hooper to operational commitments
had been unable to fulfil his
dream. However on a usual
wet and windy weekend in
February 2006 a group of like-
minded individuals arrived at
JSMTC Indefatigable (the
adventurous training estab
lishment in Anglesey, N
Wales) for the selection week
end. with the hope we may be
selected for the expedition.
After a few months delibera tion we eventually found out our fate - a good proportion of the final team had been on the weekend - which was great as we had all got on like a house on fire!
Over 2006 the team had 2 training weekends in the Snowdon area with 6 mem-
hild of Adrian Mellor - a keen (Photography), Jemma Austin
14 ARMY MOUNTAINEER
On route with heavy packs.
MEDICS ON A MOUNTAIN
By Tim Hooper (Royal Army Medical Corps)
bers achieving the Mountain Leader Training Certificate. Although this wasn’t much time to get to know each
we shared with the rest of the hotel and all came to love over the next few weeks!
Inka Expeditions provided our host nation support - a well run, friendly and efficient company that would help us achieve our 2 goals - climb Cerro Vallecitos (5500m) our acclimatization peak and Aconcagua itself.
So after just 1 night in the country we were off to start our acclimatization phase. This would consist of 6 days trekking with the aim to sum mit Cerro Vallecitos. Mules carried the majority of our kit and we used guides for this phase so we could concen trate on acclimatizing.
This was the first chance for the whole team to trek togeth er and our first real chance to see the mountains and get a feel for what we had let our selves in for. And what a sight it was - beautiful scenery and with the increasing altitude a clarity you don’t normally see at lower levels; interesting wildlife, mountain foxes and condors; and things you don’t ever expect to see, like one team member returning from a shovel recce with the human waste bag so full of air it looked more like a pink nov elty balloon!
The 6 days trekking provided invaluable experience for the whole team. The days were hard, climbing high, sleeping low and got the team used to
new kit and their plastic boots.
Moral remained high and so on the morning of 13th January under the shroud of darkness and in subzero tem peratures we made our sum mit attempt of Cerro Vallecitos. 15 members attempted the summit (one having returned to lower alti tude a few days earlier with AMS). After many hard hours following the persons boots in front we all eventually made the summit - a personal best for many. The last 300m were by far the hardest part of the whole expedition for me and if it hadn’t been for the tight knit team we had formed I don’t think I would have made it - I remember sitting down with 100m to go and about to jack it in when Rob walked past and said ‘get up you t*@t’ and with that I got up and made it to the top. The jubilation of reaching the top with spec tacular views of the route we had taken was soon overtak en with the realisation that we still had to descend to our 4200m camp. This was a rela
tively undignified descent - more a stumble than a trek, but we all made it down safe ly and after a good nights sleep made it to the road head the next day.
The road move to the Aconcagua road head was great with awesome views of the mountains to come, one of the largest and tastiest steaks ever and a chance to
starting to make a strong team that would certainly help
(Research), Jason Taylor, Cheryl Lindup. Anil Cherian, Steve Swindells. Hatty Wells and Chrissy Shorrocks.
And so it came to pass that on a very early, incredibly wet, morning on 6th January 2007 the team with nervous antici pation (too much for some as they made numerous toilet stops) gathered at Heathrow. After a mere 2 days travel we eventually arrived clean, sweet smelling and all smiling (?) at our salubrious hotel in Mendoza - with 2 rooms the size of a portaloo to house the 16 of us and our kit. After a few beers we all drifted to sleep, dreaming of mountains and what was to come with the help of Steve Jackson’s Snoring Symphony - a treat
