Hello from Mendoza, Argentina! Wow, all we can really say is that it feels good to wash off the 2 weeks of dust and sweat, though that still doesn´t make the image in the mirror any better looking! haha... really though, we´re feeling great. The fact that we were the only three people in our group to summit, and that we did it as a team, is still filtering through our heads. How great is that?! This accomplishment keeps the USAF 7 Summits Challenge´s record at 100% success on all the mountains we´ve done so far. That in itself is a huge testament to the strength, determination, and pride the Air Force members bring to the climbs!! Yesterday we did over 20 miles of hiking to get out of basecamp and reach the highway. I´ll tell you what, that is a LONG hike after using much of your strength on the summit push. It was beautiful though, and we did it in less than 8 hours!
Right now Justin and Heidi are catching up on some Z´s, but I couldn´t pass up the free breakfast and a quick jaunt on the internet. Thanks to all of you that have writen us or made blog comments. All of us have over 100 unanswered e-mails, so please be patient as we try to catch up on all the letters!! Since we summited on our first day, we now have two days in Mendoza before our flight home. We´re going to use the time for some wine tasting (the annual wine festival is this week... all the grapes are being harvested and it´s quite a celebration!), sleep, a few hours to shave, and try to find some stuff to bring home to ya´ll.
As for the pictures, sorry they didn´t show up. The sat link from base camp was very touchy and it seems it didn´t like pictures too much. I´ll grab a camera and put some of the best photos online today or tomorrow. I´ll also add a link to a large online gallery that all our photos will be at (plus some videos!). That´s it for now. We´ve got to get ready for some romping around Mendoza. As you can imagine, we wish all of you were here with us, but we know you´re here in spirit! Thanks again for all your support. We are overjoyed at the amazing success of this expedition and that we were fortunate enough to be some of the few people on the summit of Aconcagua over the last 2 weeks.
Take care and have a great weekend everyone!
Rob, for the slumbering Heidi and Justin
Climb High, Fly Low
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4 comments:
Way to go, team! At the wine tasting, do try malbec. Some excellent malbec is made in and around Mendoza. Rob, don't get so worn out that you may not stay awake driving your old, right-hand drive Land Rover from Dallas to ABQ. West Texas has experienced some periodically bad weather while you have been climbing.
We are most certainly looking forward to your pictures.
You can bet we´ll go for some Malbec. We´re off to Famila Zacarrdi (sp) tomorrow, so that should be nice. We´ll be well rested after that! The weather here is fantastic... perfect for us to limp around in (as most of us have sore joints after the 15,000ft descent and 20 mile hike out!). I´ll try to get pictures soon....
Sebastian won't be in Mendoza until Sunday, so you won't see him. But do give his friends a shout - they'll know all the sights to see in and around Mendoza...
Abrazos,
Idi
Wow Rob!
We having been thinking of you many times a day. On Monday and Tuesday I sent my best energy for good enough weather for you to summit. I figured you already had the summit energy in you.
Congratulations to you all and for your representation of the Air Force!! Can hardly wait to hear your stories and see your pictures.
Love...Mom
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