1998 Cordillera Sarmiento

Either Patagonia has some strange irresistible attraction to mountaineers, or those that visit the area have incredibly short memories. This leader made an attempt on La Dama Blanca, 2,225m (the highest peak in the Cordillera Sarmiento range of Chilean Patagonia) in 1995 (MEF Ref 95/05) which failed because 'even for Patagonia, the weather was bad'. With a new team he returned for another go, only to experience even worse conditions, with precipitation on everyone of their 28 days in the field. The longest storm lasted six days, the longest period of 'good' weather six hours. Nevertheless, they reached within 600m of the top and are even contemplating a return!