In 1973, eight Americans attempted to summit Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the western and southern hemispheres. Only six returned. Sounds like the notoriously deadly mountain collected two more victims. Or maybe that’s just what the killer wants you to think. Conspiracy Theories is on Instagram @theconspiracypod and TikTok @conspiracy.pod! Follow us to keep up with the show and get behind-the-scenes updates from Carter and the team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Full Episode
Due to the nature of today's episode, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of graphic body horror and death. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. It's 1973, a hotel in Mendoza, Argentina. energy is high. Eight Americans are staying there, but just for the night.
In the morning, they'll start a trek all the way to the summit of Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere. That's the plan, anyway. A local reporter, Rafael Moran, is there documenting the group alongside a photographer. When the New York Times interviewed Moran 50 years later, he told them he didn't cover every bunch of foreigners that showed up to conquer the mountain.
But at the time, this one feels special. There's a NASA engineer, a police officer, a doctor, a lawyer, and even a woman, which is remarkable for the time period. plus the parties attempting the difficult Polish route, which requires them to scale 2,000 nearly vertical feet up a massive glacier to reach the summit. Only four other groups have managed it since 1934.
As Moran interviews everyone, something feels off. These people should feel like a team. They're about to embark on a difficult, dangerous journey, but there's no sense of solidarity. In fact, many of them hardly know each other. They're from different cities and some are just meeting for the first time. Moran pulls the photographer aside and instructs him to get individual shots of everyone.
It'll be convenient to have current photos on file. If anyone doesn't make it off the mountain. Welcome to Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify podcast. I'm Carter Roy. You can find us here every Wednesday. Today, we're covering two mysterious deaths near the summit of Aconcagua. Officially, they were accidents.
But ever since the bodies were recovered, theories have flown about murder on the mountaintop. Be sure to check us out on Instagram, at The Conspiracy Pod, and we would love to hear from you. So if you're listening on the Spotify app, swipe up and give us your thoughts. Stay with us.
Hi there, this is Steve Fishman from Orbit Media. Our new series, Season 4 in the Burden Feed, is Get the Money and Run. You'll love it.
Here's the trailer. I'm standing here with Joe Loya. Over 14 months, Joe robbed so many banks, he lost count.
Just terrify these people and get them so scared that not only would they give me the cash, they would give me their terror. It made me feel strong. All I know is we're f***ing helpless. All I know is anarchy. All I know is chaos. I just leaned into that.
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