The big question of the rescue: what was inside the backpack that had been in the mountains for 40 years?

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"What I experienced when I opened the backpack was the most emotional experience I have ever experienced in my life. It was like I was reunited with my old man through the objects. And I hugged the backpack as if it were my old man ," Guada told Los Andes hours after returning to Mendoza .

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Last Saturday, February 15 , Guadalupe and Azul Vieiro -along with the expeditionary adventurers- left Mendoza for Chile .

In January 1985 , while descending from the summit of the Tupungato volcano along the south face (the most hostile and dangerous sector), Guillermo Vieiro (44) and his companion Leo Rabal (20) fell for about 300 meters and died on the spot. On that occasion, Ulises Sila Vitale (another experienced mountaineer and friend of Guillermo) was in charge of rescuing the body of this engineer who was from Buenos Aires.

However, given the difficulty of the rescue operation, Vieiro's backpack remained there . And, over the course of these 40 years , snow and ice have covered it more and more . But in recent years, global warming has done its part to gradually uncover the backpack. And this is how guide Gabriela Cavallaro saw it in February of last year .

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From the first moment he knew that this was the backpack of the "great" Guillermo Vieiro , immortalized as "The Tamer of Aconcagua" because he reached the summit of the Colossus of America from all five possible sectors . And that day the expedition that ended a few hours ago began to take shape.

On February 15 , the Vieiro sisters and the expedition members left Mendoza bound for San José del Maipo (Chile) . They agreed that this would be the most recommended way to reach the Tupungato sector that sheltered Guillermo's backpack .

In this Chilean city they met the muleteers Ismael Ortega and Bastian Acevedo , who were part of the adventure . "They helped a lot and knew the area perfectly , from beginning to end. They were in charge of carrying the load and the food for the camp ," Guada reconstructs.

Treasure found in the Andes: backpack of mountaineer who died 40 years ago was recovered

On Sunday , February 16 , the expedition members completed a 15-kilometer walk to their first shelter, a tent that has been set up for this purpose and for those entering from Chile. Although it was a lot of kilometers for the first day, it was in their favor that there was no uneven ground and everything went relatively smoothly .

On Monday, February 17, the route continued for another 7 kilometers uphill, until reaching 3,100 meters above sea level. There they reached a shelter built of sheet metal and more resistant material , assembled with greater stability.

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"There you begin to see the western wall of Tupungato , which you had not seen until then. And from then on you see it all the time, all along the way ," adds Guada .

On Tuesday , February 18 , the rescuers with the backpack reached 3,600 meters above sea level , and there they set up their own tent to spend the night. The path was not taken by the Tupungato volcano itself, but by a combination of the normal route to reach this milestone, although later they deviated to ascend the south face (the site where the mountaineers died in 1985 and where the backpack had been since then).

On Wednesday , February 19 , the 9 adventurers resumed their journey towards the next camp, located at 4,600 meters above sea level .

"The altitude starts to hit you hard there, but luckily the weather was good and there was no wind or cold. And there you also find an incredible place, where you see the entire Andes mountain range, Aconcagua , and at the same time, you get closer to Tupungato ," Guadalupe Vieiro continues.

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Azul Vieiro, Melina Tupa and Ricardo Funes began to show some after-effects from the altitude and fatigue . "It was time to make decisions and to divide ourselves ," recalls Guadalupe.

On Thursday, February 20 , Guadalupe, Javier, Gabriela, Gerardo, Juan Martín and Valentina continued their journey towards 5,400 meters above sea level, while Azul, Meli and Ricardo stayed at 4,600 meters above sea level to recover, and then returned to the refuge at 3,100 meters above sea level. They remained there for the rest of the days, until they met up with their companions when they returned with their backpacks .

"On the way to 5,400 meters above sea level we passed two active volcanoes , which is Tupungatito . There were two lagoons, fumaroles and craters . It was really spectacular," says Guada.

At 5,400 meters above sea level - 700 meters from the place where Guillermo's backpack was - Guada also found herself at a crossroads . They took Friday, February 21 as a day to rest and replenish their energy, because "D-Day" was approaching.

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“I had to make the decision whether to continue or not . The first night I didn’t sleep at all, partly because of the altitude and partly because of nerves. The boys explained to me that this was very common . But I was very clear about whether to continue up to 6,000 meters above sea level ,” says the youngest of the Vieiro sisters.

Saturday , February 22 was the day with the best weather and conditions , something they had already anticipated.

It was "The Day of the Hit" , as it is called in mountaineering and climbing when the goal is achieved. And it was intense .

"We started at 4 in the morning , we climbed 1,300 metres in altitude and reached 6,000 metres above sea level . Once there, I realised I couldn't go on any further and stayed at 6,000 metres above sea level with 'la Tana' (Editor's note: Valentina Ruggiero ). Gabi, Gerardo and Juan went to the backpack , which was 100 metres away, and we were watching them the whole time," describes Guadalupe about the most important moment that brought the spirit of the expedition to life.

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At that moment they rescued her and removed her from the ice - taking all necessary care - and took her with them to begin the descent .

"We wanted to open the backpack with all the equipment , so we started to go down ," adds the youngest of the Vieiro sisters.

On Sunday, February 23 , Guadalupe, Javier, Gabriela, Gerardo, Juan Martín and Valentina returned to the shelter where Azul, Melina and Ricardo had stayed. And there they opened the backpack , which by then was - and still is - the most important backpack in the history of the Mendoza mountains .

On Monday, February 24 , the nine of them had gathered together and the itinerary took them back to San José de Maipo , where they shared a barbecue to celebrate the success of the mission . Along with the expedition members was the backpack that Guillermo Vieiro left behind - along with his life - when he came down from the Tupungato volcano in 1985 .

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On Monday, February 25, the expedition members returned to Mendoza . Rodrigo Vieiro ( Guada and Azul 's older brother) and Ulises Vitale were waiting for them here. They both carried a commemorative plaque of the mission to the Andinista Cemetery in Puente del Inca , where there is a tribute to Guillermo .

Who better than Guadalupe Vieiro to describe what they found inside her father's backpack once they recovered it after four decades sheltered between skies and eternal snows?

"In February of last year , when Gabriela Cavallaro managed to spot it from a distance - but I can't get it down - another guide rescued and brought down a Super 8 camera with the video of the summit inside. Now, in the backpack , we found more rolls of video . Specifically there are two Super 8 video tapes and we have to see the condition they are in. There was also a jacket , a sleeping bag , a thermometer to measure temperature - very old -, two or three ice axes , a rope, water and other small containers ," says Guadalupe Vieiro .

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The story of the rescue of Guillermo Vieiro 's backpack touched people from all over the world. "People we don't even know wrote to us on Instagram and by email to tell us about the story, it was really very emotional ," says Guada, now on Mendoza soil.

"We would like to express our gratitude to Gabriela Cavallaro, Javier Gutiérrez, Gerardo Castillo, Juan Martín Schiappa, Valentina Ruggiero, Ricardo Funes, Melina Tupa, Ismael Ortega and Bastian Acevedo . Without them, this would not have been possible. We are eternally grateful to all of these people for so much love and care ," concludes Guada.

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The participants of this recent mission are among the guides and expedition members who have been working and touring the Andes Long-Distance Trail for several years, the project that seeks to link the entire Mendoza Andes mountain range , from Aconcagua to the Pehuenche Pass, to tourism.