Next Obstacle: Mount Tronador
Organizers Give Green Light after Storm
Bariloche, Argentina — Dec. 5, 1999

	Mount Tronador

Over the last four days, competitors have endured some of the toughest conditions of any Eco Challenge event. But the best, it seems, has been saved for last.

Mount Tronador, one of the tallest peaks in Patagonia at 3,554 meters, towers in the distance above Pampa Linda(PC16). Whether it will be safe for competitors to reach the summit has been a matter of debate, but after a thorough check of the snow conditions they have been given the green light to proceed.

The storm has cleared, replaced with a brilliant blue sky and the peaks are a sight to behold. The competitors must traverse through extremely dangerous crevasse country and are being warned to rope up and have their self-rescue equipment at hand. Fixed hand lines are in place to secure travel across the icy and steep snow slopes. This section is very exposed and the progress will be painstaking. Competitors are told to always keep one point of attachment to these lines...just in case!

"Mount Tronador, one of the tallest peaks in Patagonia at 3,554 meters, towers in the distance above Pampa Linda(PC16). Whether it will be safe for competitors to reach the summit has been a matter of debate, but after a thorough check of the snow conditions they have been given the green light to proceed...."

No PC exists at the summit of the mountain but, in order to verify their summits, but once they reach PC12, competitors must identify a specific placeholder put there by organizers. This item, it turns out, is a plaque commemorating the first two climbers to reach this peak.

The next stop is the alpine hut at PC23, Otto Meiling. Team Greenpeace arrived here at 5:20pm today, complaining how hard the mountain leg was in the wintery conditions. In sections they were forced to cut steps in the ice and struggle through waist-deep snow drifts. Captain John Howard commented, "I hate this because we are in the front. It only makes the going easier for the teams behind us."

The team slept for 30 minutes in the hut and ate a hot meal of pasta prepared by the hut staff. Just as they left the hut, Team Halti, having followed Greenpeace's footprints all over Mt Tronador. One of the Halti team members joked, "Please do us a favor and try to take smaller strides out there!"

"We are just walking along not trying to go too fast, it's basically just survival. Everything hurts but our team has suffered no injuries or sickness to date," said Greenpeace's Howard.

The pace of these teams is astounding event organizers who are now racing to the finish line themselves to prepare for a finish some time tomorrow.

Meanwhile, sleep deprivation, dehydration and exhaustion are taking a toll on the middle and tail end of the field. Many teams are beginning to congregate at PC11, the beginning of the arduous whitewater kayaking and mountaineering section. For most of those teams, just organizing and packing gear has become a difficult mental challenge. The transition time for these teams have slowed considerably as the leaders race to the finish line.

— Chris Vile, MountainZone.com Correspondent