Vic Perini

I’ve had a few of you ask about our helicopter ride. Was it a rescue? Was it super expensive? Were you just too lazy to hike out? Well, for the most part, it’s yes to the third question. A day or two before summit day, I told Ryan, “there is a 100% chance I’m leaving here in a heli. 1% chance I’ll be in a stretcher, and 99% chance it’s the fun ride from base camp. The flight is run by a private group that makes multiple runs in a day carrying people, supplies, and waste, in and out of the lower camps. Faced with the choice of paying $900 in total for the two of us, which included the 7 minute ride and the three hour van ride back to Mendoza, and getting back to civilization where we could arrange for our flights home a full day earlier, vs. a seven hour hike through the high desert, we pushed the easy button. Just a different and amazing view of Aconcagua Park. No regrets.