Aconcagua--January 30--Move to Camp III

I was surprised at how calm it was last night until...

In the middle of the night, the wind started howling, and it hasn't stopped since. It's probably only gusting to 30 mph, but the constant rumble sounds like a low jet overhead. Getting everything packed up in the wind, after an early AM bout of liquid diarrhea, was taxing. It took at least 4 people to take down a tent so it wouldn't fly away in the wind. The trip up to III was harder today--the wind, the fact that it was our 4th climbing day in a row without a rest day, or a tenuous stomach???

Lhakpa had already set up a couple of tents by the time we arrived--he truly is Super Sherpa (13 ascents of Everest, along with the speed record). We crawled into our tent, and I pulled out my iPod for the first time. What a gift to hear some music! I listened for hours, with the iPod perched on my stomach to keep it warm and functional.

Because of the unrelenting wind, the guides delivered soup and dinner to each tent. Stuart unzipped our tent fly and just said, "Damn. The girls' tent smells worse than any of the others." I told him I had just exhumed my sweaty socks from my toasty boots. And I retorted, "Our tent may stink, but who is always ready to go before anyone else in the morning?" He didn't disagree. Liz and I are highly organized and timely.

It's spectacular outside, but the wind is furious. I don't expect to sleep much tonight. Hard to believe that we have to pack up again in the morning for our move to Camp IV. It's all the little things that take so much energy. Attempting to stuff the Plover in a compression sack that is clearly too small almost put me over the edge this morning. Now that we're at 19,200', just getting out of the tent to go to the bathroom takes a supreme amount of energy.

There is talk of leaving for the summit in the late afternoon tomorrow and descending in the dark. That would only appeal to me if the wind completely dissipated. Otherwise, it's just too damn cold when the sun isn't shining. We've been very lucky to have sun every day, but my lips and the bottom of my nose are completely crusty and burned. I think we're all ready to give the summit a shot and then get the hell off this mountain.

This is night 12 in a tent. How I yearn for a nice soft bed and pillow!