Aconcagua
6959m
ascent 2020
Polish Traverse route
for ascent, descending the Normal
Route
Climbing
Skill
Fitness
& Stamina
Course
overview
Aconcagua
is the “Seventh Summit” of South
America. At nearly 7000m high, it is the second
tallest of the 7 Summits, the only taller
one being Mount Everest. Its name comes from
the native Inca's who used to call the mountain
Ancocahuac, the 'White Sentinal'.
We
follow the 360° route, which ascends via
the Vacas valley to Base Camp in Plaza Argentina,
then you climb the mountain via the Polish
Traverse, befroe descending the Normal Route
to Base Camp at Plaza de Mulas. On the climb
from Base Camp, the middle of the mountain
is covered by the Relinchos glacier, famed
for its Neive Penitentes (ice spikes on the
glacier).
From
the high camp on the Polish Traverse route,
you follow the Falso de los Polacos across
to join the Normal Route just beneath the
Canaletta, the rock scramble to the summit,
then descends the Normal Route to its base
camp, so making a 360° circuit and ascent
of the peak.
The
obvious primary aim of the expedition is to
summit Aconcagua 6959m, but this expedition
is much more than that. You will learn how
to adapt your climbing rate to your acclimatisation
level, which is an essential skill at altitude.
The guide carries a pulse oximeter to monitor
your acclimatisation.
A
key factor in the success of any expedition
is its how well rested and fed the team is,
and as the quote goes "an army runs on
its stomach"! We have taken this point
on board and have ensured that the base camp
is as comfortable as possible, and that it
provides good food. We use a local logistics
team to provide full time base camps on both
sides of the mountain with these services:
Kitchen
& Mess Tents with electric lights, tables,
chairs
Food:
3 meals a day (inc packed lunch) & hot
drinks
Portaloo
/ Toilet Tent, Showers, & Equipment Store
Room
Staff:
trained cook, camp manager, and porters
Safety:
radios (HF & VHF 2m), Gammow bag, oxygen
Skills
& fitness:
no previous mountaineering experience is required,
but many have climbed an Alpine 4000m peak,
such as Mont Blanc before. Very good aerobic
fitness is required and upon
booking you will be sent an expedition dossier
with training training schedules. View
it here, and look at training plan
4.
Dates:
these
are listed in the column on the right, and
they show the live availability from our secure
online booking system. When you book online,
you receive immediate confirmation, your full
trip dossier, course specific kit list and
invoice.
Expedition
notes
Our
formula is to restrict the group sizes, so that
there is normally a maximum of 12 clients. The small
group sizes enable us to run specialist ascents,
where the group can bond well, and each expedition
member has great access to the local guides.
Whilst
every effort will be made to adhere to the planned
itinerary, it must be realised that in this type
of adventurous travel, changes to the itinerary
may occur. Your final itinerary may differ in respect
of the places where you stay overnight. Please bear
this in mind, especially in the mountains!
On
the ascent of Aconcagua, you are guided by local
guides who have detailed local knowledge. Local
guides are not ‘guiding’ or qualified
in the same stringent way as IFMGA International
Mountain Guides, but work in a far more traditional
sense as route finders and assistants to our expedition
members, so a higher degree of adventure and autonomy
is required than on our Alpine trips.
Our
trips are not 'resold packages' from Argentinian
operators, but are privately run trips exclusively
for our clients where there are six or more on a
trip. All dates are guaranteed, and if there are
five or less of our clients on a trip, you are matched
with other clients from our partners. We use local
logistics agents for visa invitations, guides, transport
and accommodation. You are guided by an English
speaking local guide on these trips.
With
adventure travel, the unexpected is the norm in
these areas and, despite painstaking planning and
organisation, our adventure holidays can never be
taken for granted like regular holidays. Many of
the
places that we visit do not have the same quality
of emergency health and safety services that we
are used to in the developed world. Internal flights
can be cancelled, road transport is generally uncomfortable
and unreliable, and hotels and any star ratings
often do not approach the equivalent standards of
the West. If you are not prepared for this, you
should not book on this style of trip. We see these
factors as a selling point, and it really defines
for us what adventure travel is all about.
Outline
expedition itinerary
Day
1
Arrival
in Mendoza (760 m / 2,493 ft). Our driver will pick
you up at the airport, and take you to your hotel.
After checking in, you can relax or explore the
many sidewalk cafes of the city. The trip guide
will contact you to review the schedule for the
next day. Evening meal not included in the trip
price.
Day
2
Mendoza.
Team meeting, gear check, gear rental, climbing
permit procedures. Your guide will help you getting
through the bureaucracy. Checking the gear is important!
Meals in Mendoza not included, but you can eat out
very cheaply, and the local steaks and wine are
very good.
Day
3
Transfer
in private vehicles from Mendoza to Los Penitentes,
where the group will spend the night in a lodge
(2,580 m/8,465 ft). In this small mountain village
there is the logictics warehouse for preparation
of the loads of the mules. / 3 hs drive. The evening
meal in Penitentes is included.
Day
4
Penitentes-Punta
de Vacas (trailhead) - Pampa de Lenas camp (2,950
m/ 9,678 ft). After breakfast, we ride the van for
a few minutes to Punta de Vacas where we get our
climbing permits stamped at the Park Rangers checkpoint
and begin the approach to base camp. After a 4-hour
hike along Rio de las Vacas, we arrive at our first
camp, Pampa de Lenas, where we enjoy a genuine asado
criollo (gaucho bbq). For the entire hike to base
camp, all you will need to carry is a day pack with
some essentials; the mules will carry the rest.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided.
Day
5
Pampa
de Len~as – Casa de Piedra (3,240 m/10,630
ft). Hike to Casa de Piedra, our second trekking
camp. Great view of the Polish Glacier, and the
Eastern Face of Aconcagua from the trail. / 6 hs.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided.
Day
6
Casa
de Piedra – Plaza Argentina base camp (4,190
m/13,746 ft.). We follow the trail up the Relinchos
Valley to Plaza Argentina. Our base camp chef greets
us with a good dinner at a comfy dining tent: the
perfect reward after the hardest day of the approach.
/ 6-7 hs. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided.
Day
7
Plaza
Argentina. Resting day at base camp. Sleep, read
in the dining tent, or try the yoga mats in our
heated domo: whatever you do, get hydrated! Breakfast,
lunch and dinner are provided.
Day
8
Plaza
Argentina – Camp 1 – Plaza Argentina (4,800
m/ 15,748 ft). With the trek to base camp, and the
first stage of acclimatization completed, the climb
itself begins carrying gear to Camp 1. After getting
equipment, food, and gas, we return to base camp.
/ 5 hs. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided.
Day
9
Plaza
Argentina. Rest day at Base Camp. Breakfast, lunch
and dinner are provided.
Day
10
Plaza
Argentina – Camp 1 (4.800m/ 15,748 ft). The
team leaves BC behind and moves to Camp 1 with the
remaining gear. Our porters will carry the tents
an other common gear, the climbers carry their own
gear and their share of the common gear if needed
(expect to carry a 15-20 kg backpack). / 4-5 hs.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided.
Day
11
Camp
1 – Camp 2 – Camp 1 (5350m/ 18,143 ft).
Gear carry to Camp 2, called the Chopper Camp, towards
the Guanacos Valley side (North). Ashtonishing view
of Mt. Mercedario and other peaks of the Ramada
massif. Return to C1. / 4-5 hs. Breakfast, lunch
and dinner are provided.
Day
12
Rest
day at Camp 1 (4.800m/ 15,748 ft). Breakfast, lunch
and dinner are provided.
Day
13
Camp
1 – Camp 2 (5.486m / 18,000 ft). Move to camp
2. / 5 hs. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided.
Day
14
Camp
2 – Co´lera (high camp) (5.970 m / 19,586
ft). We move to our high camp, from where we will
attempt the summit. / 4-5 hs. Breakfast, lunch and
dinner are provided.
Day
15
Summit
day! (6.962m – 22,841 ft). We leave early to
get the most of the (long) day. You will be carrying
a very light backpack (water, snacks, some clothing,
camera). / 8-12 hs. Breakfast, lunch and dinner
are provided.
Day
16
Extra
weather day. To secure the success of the expedition
we have added two additional summit days in case
of bad weather. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are
provided on the mountain.
Day
17
Extra
weather day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided
on the mountain.
Day
18
Camp
3 – Plaza de Mulas Base Camp (4.350 m / 14,271
ft). We complete the Aconcagua traverse by descending
the Northwestern face of Aconcagua (Normal Route),
towards the lively BC of the Normal Route. Celebration
dinner in dining tents with tables and chairs. Breakfast,
lunch and dinner are provided on the mountain.
Day
19
Plaza
de Mulas – Horcones – Penitentes. The
hike out takes approximately 6-7 hours. Most of
the gear goes in the mules, so you walk light. From
the trailhead at Horcones our van drives us to Mendoza,
after picking up the gear at Penitentes. Hotel check-in
(not included), end of the program. / 6-7 hs + 3-4
hs.
Notes
ITINERARY
NOTES -
Where
possible we follow the itineraries, but as mountaineering
is always weather and conditions dependant, we are
sometimes forced to alter the plans. If this is
the case, a suitable different route will be attempted,
and you will be informed at the first suitable opportunity.
Please use this outline course itinerary as a guide
to the style of expedition, with good conditions,
as it will not necessarily be an exact blueprint
for the exact routes and schedule that you will
follow on the expedition.
Course
Prices
Standard
course
Up
to 16 days guiding on Aconcagua
19 days holiday in total, in Argentina
£3499
Live
availability
Click
on the planner logo to the right to
see the real time live course availability
Inclusions:
1) Hotel accommodation in Mendoza as indicated in the
itinerary, based on double occupancy. Note that climbers
descending early will incur extra hotel fees, 2) One night
of lodging in Penitentes (dinner and breakfast included),
3) Full board during the expedition (all the meals while
in the Park, meals in Mendoza not included), 4) Fully
certified, English speaking guides, 5) All shared gear
for the expedition (sleeping tents, stoves and cooking
gear, radio, etc), 6) Complete base camp services (dining
tents, bathrooms, meals, storage), 7) All the transfers
in licensed, private shuttles, 8) Pack mules for common
and personal loads, to and from BC, 9) Permanent VHF radio
communication, 10) Guides are equipped with professional
first aids kits and pulse oximeters for daily updates
of acclimatization progress, 11) High altitude porters
for common gear carries, 12) Assistance with climbing
permit procedure, 13) Sat coverage and tracking during
the trip, through an InReach device. Tracking of the expedition
available online.
Exclusions:
1) Travel to and from Mendoza in Argentina, and any visa
fees, 2) Personal laundry, telephone calls, lunches and
evening meals on nights in hotels, 3) Any purchases in
base camps / hotels / restaurants, 4)
Activities insurance, & excess baggage charges, 5)
Any extra nights in Mendoza or off the mountain, due to
summiting early or retreating early from the mountain,
6) Mt. Aconcagua State Park climbing permit (link)
paid in cash (c. $980), 7) Personal porters, 8) Any cost
incurred by the climber if he / she leaves the trip early
(such as mules, transfers, guide, etc), 9) Meals in Mendoza,
10) Drinks in Mendoza and Penitentes.
Note:
This expedition is guaranteed to go ahead, and there are
no minimum numbers, even if just 1 person books. If you
have a group of 6 or more, we can offer a private expedition
just for your team.
What
attracted me most to your trip was that
is was actually led by a qualified mountain
guide. This made me far more confident
in the leaders experience and focus
on safety. As it proved, this local
knowledge and experience was crucial
in deciding which day we went for the
summit, to avoid the strong winds that
had beaten other teams on the days before Peter
T , Aconcagua
Well
organised with a great local team. The
food at base camp was amazing, so a
big thanks to Martha and her team at
Plaza Argentina Simon
A , Aconcagua
View
full course equipment list,
with examples of kit, click
here
Why
choose our trips?
See
our trip blog, by clicking on the Word-press logo
to the right.
Itinerary
flexibility to allow you to take full advantage
of the weather windows on any day, to maximise your
summit chances.
Our
prices are fixed in £ Sterling, to protect
you from $USD fluctuations, so you can budget accurately.
There
is a choice of routes to opt for, depending on the
weather, conditions, and your experience.
Any
further questions?
A
key part of choosing a company is being able to come and
talk about your plans with an experienced course advisor
face to face. In an increasingly virtual world, we know
our clients value speaking to real people, getting open
and honest advice. The vast majority of our clients are
British, and our office and outdoor store is based in
Windermere in the English Lake District.
Get
in contact to arrange a meeting, and come in for a coffee
to discuss your course in person with a trip
advisor.
