Rest Day in Camp 2 16 Jan

In the morning the winds had begun to die down but Jay and I weren't keen to leave the warmth of our sleeping bags. I eventually needed to visit the toilet tent so I kitted up with my full thermal outfit to bear the cold. Everything in the tent was frozen solid including the wet wipes which was our only means of washing until we get off the mountain. Outside it looked wonderful seeing all the high mountains surrounding us, some covered in snow. There was a plume of snow blowing off the summit of Aconcagua so it didn't look like a good day for being near the summit. I only managed to take a few photos of the camp then the batteries died due to the cold condition. Later I would keep the batteries in my sleeping bag to keep them warm.

Our little water hole had frozen solid too so we needed to collect snow and ice to melt for drinking and also for cooking water. We used our ice axe to break it up and then used our bare hands to collect the large chunks of ice in a large plastic bag. It took us nearly two hours to melt the enough ice for the rest of today and the whole of this climb tomorrow. We need to be drinking a minimum of 3 litres per day at this altitude. This was a good time to sit outdoors and have a chat. The funny thing is that it was very difficult to recognize anyone as every part of them was covered in clothing including ski goggles and motorcycle masks for protection from the cold and sun's rays. Phil commented that he thought that the camp had been taken over by a group of masked robbers.

Later when we had finished with the water Sibo asked us to try out our ice crampons which we needed for summit day (only two days away now!). The crampons have razor sharp spikes so need to be handled carefully. We found it was quite easy clipping the crampons on our ice boots but it might be another story trying to get them on where there is no rock to sit on and if you need to do it with your inner gloves on. Most of the team members took a short walk on the ice and snow around the camp and quickly got the hang of it.

By 6pm it was blowing a storm in camp and everyone except the bravest departed from the warmth of their tents. Weather permitting tomorrow we will move up to final Camp 3. I am quite concerned as the mornings are freezing and we will need to pack up the camp in the cold.