One man's personal account of the first alpine-style ascent of the Messner Route on the South Face of Aconcagua.


In early 1980, three men set out to summit the highest peak in the Southern Hemisphere - Argentina's Aconcagua, standing at 22, 838 feet. The trio would ascend via the Messner Route on the South Face, a route that had been climbed before, once, but never alpine style - no oxygen, no fixed ropes, no support team...just three men, carrying all their own gear, equipment and food. Aconcagua is a challenging mountain with unpredictable weather, falling rock and avalanches. The author and his climbing partners experienced all of that and more. In this personal account of his life-changing experience, Michael French brings the reader along into the world of those few weeks on the mountain, complete with highs and lows, loss and bittersweet triumph.