Josh is one of our new CWVC Warriors and is attempting his first Challenge.  And it’s a good sized one at that – Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina.  This is the highest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemispheres and is considered one of the more difficult Summits to climb due to the high altitude and severe weather conditions.

Pondering the question of why to climb, here’s what Waisanen had to say.

“I am compelled by the unique opportunity to challenge myself in new ways.  Life should always be filled with “uncomfortable”challenges, so that you can grow through the experience. This hike will be a great way to challenge myself to summit Aconcagua and hopefully pass on some helpful research about traumatic brain injuries.”

Interesting that Josh refers to this Summit climb as a “hike”!

The trek itself requires about 21 days and includes getting to the mountain itself, establishing camps, doing acclimatization climbs, reaching the summit, and descending.  This type of strenuous activity is nothing new to Josh, an Army Green Beret.  He has deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and several other distant lands.  Waisanen will be part of the Traumatic Brain Injury and PTS research study while on the Aconcagua Summit Challenge.