Late last night I managed to have a quick chat to Ray - he was sounding positive and optimistic. The wind was howling making it difficult to hear him most of the time and the signal wasn't great but he said the team had a great day yesterday with a couple of minor problems with 2 of the team members. Ray was on his way for a medical check after we chatted.
Everyone will need to have a medical check-up before climbing above base camp to ensure that they are adequately acclimatised to the altitude. One of the important checks is oxygen saturation levels in the blood. At the high camps the air is very thin and it will be like climbing with only one lung so you get out of breath very easily. They will probably need to rest quite often and progress will get slower the higher they climb.
Today is an easy day of hiking to assist with acclimatisation. The route heads up towards the south face of Aconcagua following the banks of the wild and rocky river. They may just reach the crest and see the tell tale signs of the glacier before heading back down to Confluencia camp for lunch.
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