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I'm sorry to hear about your cousin (and friend). It seems there was bad weather, bad conditions and a lot of chaos on Aconcagua at that time. I hope he is found soon.

One of the local newspapers, Los Andes, reported that the mountain rescue team began searching the mountain Friday afternoon for a French climber but apparently did not consider it an emergency yet because the climber's permit was not beyond it's 20 day expiration. Perhaps your friend has been delayed on the mountain. The storm that led to the tragic lose of the Italian climbers lasted for several days and either prevented many climbers from attempting the summit or forced them to descend.

http://66.196.80.202/babelfish/translat ... 403601.asp

Have you tried contacting the hotel or hostel he may have been staying at or the mule service provider he may have used to transport his gear in to base camp?

Brad Marshall wrote:One of the local newspapers, Los Andes, reported that the mountain rescue team began searching the mountain Friday afternoon for a French climber but apparently did not consider it an emergency yet because the climber's permit was not beyond it's 20 day expiration. Perhaps your friend has been delayed on the mountain. The storm that led to the tragic lose of the Italian climbers lasted for several days and either prevented many climbers from attempting the summit or forced them to descend.

http://66.196.80.202/babelfish/translat ... 403601.asp

Have you tried contacting the hotel or hostel he may have been staying at or the mule service provider he may have used to transport his gear in to base camp?

Do they still require you to check out at 14K camp and the park entrance? If so, then they would know whether or not he descended, unless of course he didn't check out as required.

Good luck with finding him, I will keep him and his family in my prayers for a safe return. Please keep us posted.

Dear pjaffre and Nathalie:

A friend of mine that was in Camp 2 below the Polish Glacier on January 3-4 has some information concerning a French solo climber they met on the mountain. Please contact me at admin@adventureclimbing.ca so I may pass it along to you.

Regards,

Brad

Unfortunately no.

It appears that he went for the summit via the Polish Route on January 3rd leaving Camp 2 at sunrise (between 6-7 AM). His tent was still at Camp 2 until noon the following day when the last two climbers from my group descended back to base camp. Shortly after this I believe bad weather descended on the mountain for many days. So far the rescue team has not been able to locate him.