Civilization rocks. Seriously, it deserves more appreciation than it gets. I slept well last night, for over ten hours. I probably would have slept even longer, but I had a lot to do today. My parents graciously re-booked my flight for the afternoon while I was hiking out last night so that I could fly home earlier. We had three contingency days in case we were unable to summit due to weather – since we never used them all of us had three days to burn until our flights back. I think most others changed their flights as well and in fact Craig was on the same flight so we ended up riding the same cab to the airport.

I wanted to get some souvenirs so I went out with Huey and Alison to some of the local shops. The weather had cooled off so it was very pleasant to be out and about in town. Mendoza is well known for its wines, though unfortunately I’m not a wine drinker. There are many vineyards around and plenty of opportunity for wine tasting. There were a surprising number of gear stores as well. Looks like supplying mountaineers for Aconcagua is a big industry here. Mendoza is a bustling city with a lot of character. I will have to return to Argentina some time to be a tourist.

Unfortunately leaving early meant I’d miss the team dinner that night, but I’m hopeful that we’ll all meet again on future climbs. All the best to Luke and Omar on Everest this year. I’m sure you  guys will do great. You’ll have to let us know what standing on top of the world feels like!

This was the longest I’ve been outdoors and the hardest mountain I have ever climbed. Hats off to the incredible IMG team – Luke, Kevin & Martin for orchestrating a flawless climb, as well as to the climbers. This was a team effort and no one person could have pulled it off by themselves. I hope to have the privilege of climbing with everyone again some day.

What’s next? Well, let’s just say that Antarctica calls!