Alex left on December 23rd to give Aconcagua a second shot. He isn't climbing solo this year though, he's bringing his 18 year old brother Michael along with!   On January 2nd Michael had to turn back from Camp Canada due to an abcessed tooth infection after helping Alex ferry all of the gear and supplies to 16,000 feet.  At high altitudes the immune system has a difficult time dealing with infections and he needed to get back down to a lower altitude.  He had a 23 mile hike back to the road to catch a bus to Mendoza and arrived in Mendoza the evening of January 3rd. 

Also  on January 3rd Alex reached Camp Nido at 18,000 feet.  He is feeling good and the weather forecast looks good.  On January 4th he will move to Camp Berlin at 19,000 feet.  He is currently planning for a summit attempt on Saturday, January 5th or Sunday January 6th.  There have been a lot of interesting stories with this trip.  Check back over the next few days for updates and more details on the expedition.

Alex has completed Kilimanjaro, Mt. Elbrus, and Denali. His summit attempt on Mount Aconcagua in January 2007 was aborted 30 feet short of the summit when he helped rescue a climber at 22,811 feet. Alex is working on fund raising for his 2008 Everest expedition, come on a trek with him to base camp!

 

  Alex Shockley at home in Minnesota

Alex Shockley, a Minnesotan who is just finished his freshman year at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is in the pursuit of his dream – to be the world’s youngest to climb the seven summits via Carstensz Pyramid. After completing a college semester in Alaska with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) at age 17, where Alex spent 3 months backpacking and mountaineering in remote Alaskan wilderness, Alex has been concentrating his energy on training, planning, and preparing for his quest to conquer the mighty seven. Since the summer of 2006, Alex has been successful in reaching the summit of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Elbrus, and Mt. McKinley (Denali).

Alex returned from Argentina on the 11th of January 2007 with an amazing story of survival from high up on Aconcagua where he was attempting to become the youngest American to solo the mountain. He, along with two other climbers he met from Colorado on summit day, found an extremely hypothermic and frostbitten man thirty feet below the summit at 22,811 feet and spent several hours helping him by giving him dry clothes, hot tea, and food. As a result of the time spent at this altitude, Alex found himself in the beginning stages of HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema), and turned back just 5 minutes from the summit. To read Alex's journal from the mountain, please click go to Adventures.

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     Blog with Alex and his friends:  BLOG

  

Alex at 16,200ft on Denali's West Buttress
June 2007