Up One Side and Down the Other: the story of a climb of Aconcagua

Jeff Arle, MD, PhD is a neurosurgeon and sometime hiker who has also climbed Mt. Rainier, Mt. Elbrus, Denali, Kilimanjaro, and occasionally goes for a day hike in the white mountains of New Hampshire. While taking on some of the higher mountains in the world, including several of the so-called ’seven summits’, he has little time to train and is happily married with three small children at home. Despite these potential limitations, he tells the story of one such experience climbing Aconcagua showing that, while not easy, these expeditions are both accessible and rewarding.