Aconcagua Expeditions
- Aconcagua
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Aconcagua
At 6,962m (22,835 ft) Mt Aconcagua is the highest mountain on the American continent and the highest outside of Asia. Aptly called ‘the Stone Sentinel’ by indigenous peoples, this impressive pyramidal mountain with its dramatic rock and ice faces is a magnet for mountaineers from around the world. Situated in the Andes Mountain Range entirely within Argentina, it lies 15 km from the international boundary with Chile. Aconcagua is the second highest of the famed Seven Summits and the highest peak in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres.
Considered by some companies as a high altitude trekking mountain, Aconcagua must never be underestimated. Although not technically difficult, extremely cold temperatures, high winds, and all the challenges implicit in climbing at considerable altitude make Aconcagua a formidable ascent.
The five standard climbing routes on Aconcagua are:
The Ameghino & Upper Guanacos route follows the Vacas Valley in three days of superb trekking to the Plaza Argentina base camp, located at 4,200m (13,944 ft). After reaching High Camp 1 (4,900m-16,076 ft), climbers pass through the Ameghino saddle to High Camp 2 (High Camp 3 of the old Guanacos route, 5.500m-18.044ft) and on to High Camp 3 (Piedras Blancas), the point from which the summit bid is made. This route is relatively uncrowded, permits climbers an optimal acclimatization, is the most gradual and safe, and offers the most beautiful views.
The Polish Glacier Traverse approaches the mountain by way of the Vacas valley. Following three days of beautifully scenic trekking, climbers reach Plaza Argentina base camp, located at 4,200m (13,944 ft). From this point climbers move on to continue to Camp I (4,900m-16,076 ft), and then make the demanding ascent to Camp 2 (5.850m-19188ft) located at the base of the Polish Glacier. At this point a traverse follows the lower edge of the glacier to the Piedras Blancas camp or, alternatively, to the Piedras Negras camp. From this point climbers make the final push to the summit.
The Classic or Normal route follows the Horcones Valley in a two-day trek from Puente Del Inca to the Plaza de Mulas base camp, located at 4,265m (14,000ft). After leaving this very populated base camp, the route passes through three high camps--Canada Camp, Nido de Condores, Berlín or Piedras Blancas--from which summit bids are made.
The Polish Glacier route is accessed through the Vacas Valley. Following three outstanding trekking days, climbers reach Plaza Argentina base camp, located at 4,200m (13,944 ft), continue on to Camp I (4,900m-16,076 ft), and then make the strenuous ascent to Camp 2 (5.850m-19188ft), located at the base of the Polish Glacier. From this point climbers ascend the glacier by way of two main climbing lines, the Piedra Bandera or direct glacier route, a decision to be made by the guide depending on the group, weather, and condition of the glacier. This is a technical, very demanding, and compromising route for climbers with experience on glaciers.
* The Guanacos route, also knows as Quebrada Vieja or Fondo Del Valle, while the least frequented is both the easiest and safest Aconcagua climbing route, with a very gentle increase in elevation between high camps. It is accessed by way of the Vacas valley, with three days of trekking required to reach Plaza Guanacos, at 3,600m (11,808 ft) the lowest base camp on the mountain. Afterwards, climbers make a steady ascent through three high camps, arriving to Piedras Blancas Camp, from which the summit bid is made. The descent follows the Normal route, through Plaza de Mulas.
* The Guanacos route has been closed by the Park authorities since 2006.
Other Aconcagua expeditions with acclimatization program :
Aconcagua Maps
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Satellital Maps:
My Father in 1954, a Family Snapshot...
Since my earliest days, while the rest of the family were having tea on Sunday evenings, I remember my father coming home from the mountains. His face was burned dark brown from the sun and he carried his old back pack, ice axe, crampons, and rope, which my brothers and I immediately start to play with. Later, we’d helped him wash his small yellow tipi-style tent and clean his benzine stove. When I was a little older, I learned that those trips into the mountains around Valparaiso were excursions to prepare him for what was back then an enormous challenge for local mountaineers—climbing the Aconcagua. In March of 1954 he made a successful ascent, a triumph for climbers of his day from the Pacific side of the Andes. He also climbed successfully Juncal, Yaguas Heladas, and Tolosa, all high peaks near the Aconcagua massif. My family home had lots of books about the mountains, with stories and pictures of famous expeditions in the Andes, the Himalayas, the Karakorums, the Alps, and the other great ranges of the world. I too developed early on a close connection with the highest points close to our family’s backyard, and I loved to hear my father’s stories about the mountains, many wonderful but also some very bad ones—debilitating bouts with altitude sickness, and the death of a companion and close friend during a high-altitude expedition. Since then, with the mountains in my blood, I’ve continued to climb and work in the Andes. As it was for my father, this staggeringly beautiful and challenging range is my second home.
Aconcagua's History
The first attempt on Aconcagua by a European was made in 1883 by a party led by the German geologist and explorer Paul Güssfeldt. Bribing porters with the story that there was Inca treasure on the mountain, he made his approach by way of the Rio Volcán, making two summit attempts by way of the north-west ridge, and reaching an altitude of 6,500 meters (21,300 ft). The route that he pioneered is known as the Normal route.
Aconcagua was first successfully climbed in 1897 by a British expedition led by Edward Fitzgerald. Swiss guide Matthias Zurbriggen reached the summit on January 14, followed by two other expedition members several days later.
To date, the youngest person to successfully climb Aconcagua was Jordan Romero of Big Bear Lake, California. He reached to top on December 30, 2007, at the age of eleven.
