FOUR members of the Korfes Mountain Climbing Association from Nicosia departed yesterday morning for Latin America aiming to conquer the highest peak of the Andean mountain range, the Aconcagua, which is 6,962 metres high.
If all goes well, the four mountaineers Thanasis Kaishiaris, George Andreou, Panayiotis Amira and Daina Miskouri expect to reach the peak on February 11 or 12.
“This attempt is taking place within the broader objective of the Korfes Mountain Climbing Association to reach the seven summits of each of the continents in the coming years,” Head of Mission Thanasis Kaishiaris said.
“This is the second expedition taking place. Last year we completed a successful mission to Mount Elbrus in Russia, which is the highest mountain in Europe. The four of us will meet with four American mountain climbers to make up the full mission team, which will try to reach the top of Mount Aconcagua around the February 11 or 12.”
Kaishiaris said the mission would take from 16 to 20 days to complete and that there would be a gradual ascent to the high altitudes because the human body cannot be exposed immediately to the lack of oxygen, meaning there was a limit as to how far one could ascend each day.”
He said it was not safe to exceed 300 metres change in altitude in a day.
A gradual process would allow the body to adapt to the thinning oxygen on the way up, he said.
This problem “makes missions such as these, especially on mountains close to 7,000 metres high, long and difficult,” Kaishiaris added.
He said the mission was taking place under the auspices of the Cyprus Federation of Mountain Climbing and was dedicated to the President of the Federation, Michalis Ioannidis, who lost his battle with cancer last December.
Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Americas, and the highest mountain outside Asia. It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the Argentine province of Mendoza, and 15 kilometres from Chilean border. Aconcagua is the highest peak in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres and is one of the Seven Summits. If the team succeeds, they will have checked off two of the seven (or eight, depending on how one defines the continents) missions from their list, leaving Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Vinson Massif in Antarctica, Kosciuszko in Australia, Puncak Jaya in Oceania, Everest in Asia, and Mount McKinley in North America to be conquered.
View photos of the Elbrus expedition and find out more about mountain sports in Cyprus at www.cyprusclimbing.com.
