Post by account_disabled on Feb 19, 2024 19:50:44 GMT -8
Atop Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere, the shrinking Poles Glacier spits out what it once devoured: in this case, a 50-year-old Nikomat 35mm camera. Two porters, preparing for an upcoming expedition, had secured ropes in the thin, arid air of a clear February day. It was midsummer in South America. The camera shined in the sun, daring to attract attention. The target was destroyed. A dial at the top indicated that 24 photographs had been taken. The bottom half of the camera was saddled in a worn leather case with a thick strap. On the sleeve, embossed with blue tape, was an American name and a Colorado address.
In the mountains' seasonal cycles of ice and snow Mexico Mobile Number List abandoned and lost equipment is discovered every summer: tattered tents, fallen ice axes, lost mittens. Occasionally, a corpse. It wasn't just another camera, although the porters didn't know it yet. One of them took her to the camp. There, a veteran guide named Ulises Corvalán was preparing lunch. Corvalan looked up. He casually asked for the name listed at the bottom of the chamber. Janet Johnson," was the reply. In a photograph by Janet Johnson of a roll of film that was found undeveloped inside her camera on Mount Aconcagua. Photo: Janet Johnson via The New York Times Corvalan sighed and cursed. "Janet Johnson?" he shouted.
The excitement increased instantly. Do you know anything about Janet Johnson, the schoolteacher? About John Cooper, the NASA engineer? About the deadly American expedition of 1973? It had been passed down for decades, bordering on myth, whispered like a ghost story. Here's the thing: A Denver woman, perhaps the most accomplished climber of the group, had last been seen alive on the glacier. A Texas man, part of the recent Apollo missions to the moon, lay frozen nearby. There were conflicting statements from survivors and a hasty departure. There was a judge who demanded an investigation into possible foul play.