Dispatch#31 January 22nd, 2002.  Aconcagua Base Camp, Argentina. Team IV Once again hello, from Aconcagua Base Camp this is Willi Prittie reporting for Eric Remza and the Alpine Ascents Team IV on the mountain.  We're actually hoping we've turned the corner on the weather, we had an excellent day yesterday with sunny skies, no clouds and very little or no wind for our carry to Camp I.  Had a couple of pretty tired climbers at the end of the day but 9 out of 10 completed the carry just fine.  I'd also like to make a special mention of Stuart's performance, at 61 he's the oldest member, but also one of the strongest.  Now that we are without our mule support, we are carrying everything on our backs.

Today we had a rest day here at Base Camp, at least most people had a rest day, it was also excellent weather, and was celebrated by washing laundry, bodies, lounging around a bit, organizing gear, and we finished the day with a great tossed salad and fried hamburgers for dinner.  On a side note, the guide staff is once again being humiliated by climbing members in Hearts.  We do have a bit of a sad note today, Nick spent the last two days trying to get over some kind of bug that he picked up, but was still feeling very poorly, so he actually descended with Ellie and is riding a horse out for some low elevation recovery time.  Also, we're very sad that Colin has decided to leave the expedition due to personal reasons, his strength and sense of humor will definitely be sadly missed by all.  It's important to note that they are in good shape and are doing just fine and on the way out.

We definitely look forward towards tomorrow with anticipation for our planned move to Camp I.  And we definitely wish for good weather not only for us, but also for Allen Carbert and Matt Szundy and team who will be attempting the summit tomorrow.  So that's all for now from Aconcagua Base Camp.