Second Summit: Aconcagua

by Jon Miller

In January of 1973, an eight-member party went up Aconcagua in the Andes. Sorted by elevation, the mountain is the second of the “Seven Summits” (the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents). By the end of the expedition, two of the members were dead: Janet Johnson, a school teacher and John Cooper, a NASA engineer.

What really happened to Cooper and Johnson remains pure speculation. Were they murdered or are the circumstances far less sinister? The only known fact is that Johnson was obsessed with reaching Aconcagua’s peak. This is a trait she shared with two of Aconcagua’s early explorers: Paul Güssfeldt and Edward FitzGerald.

Paul Güssfeldt was a German geologist and explorer, a serious intellectual who became captivated by Aconcagua, largely because the mountain was so remote and so little was known about it.

Edward FitzGerald was an adventure-seeking American-born English millionaire who spent a fortune planning and executing an expedition to Aconcagua’s peak after hearing stories about the giant mountain and the region over which it looms.

Güssfeldt and FitzGerald shared an unyielding obsession with Aconcagua that took its toll on their physical health, pushed them to the brink of insanity and forever changed their lives.

Both men believed Aconcagua’s peak was their destiny. Both men believed the first ascent belonged to them. Both men had something to prove.

Güssfeldt and FitzGerald were bold in their ambition, courageous in their efforts and unyielding in their desire. Each man lived in fear that someone else would beat them to the summit.

217 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2014

About the author

Librarian Note: There are multiple authors by this name in the Goodreads database.

For the Professor of Philosophy at Queen's University, see Jon Miller.