Aconcagua (6,962m) in the heart of South America is the highest mountain outside the Himalayas, and the second highest of the 7 summits. Its enormous size, extremes of weather and altitude make for a trekking challenge which is a great step up from Kilimanjaro.
Aconcagua is an alien planet. Wildly contorted and coloured rocks stretch out into vast glacial valleys. Towering above the bustling base camp the enormous red coloured west face twists clouds into bizarre shapes as it gets pummelled by passing storms. To acclimatise and to get a condor’s eye view of the route we climb the nearby Bonette Peak then load our rucksacks and begin the challenging work of climbing ‘The Stone Sentinel’. Getting to the summit is never easy but prepare to be overwhelmed when you realise this outstanding achievement. Aconcagua is a great teacher and toughens you up for your next challenge: 8,000 metres.
Stormy and sometimes snow-covered Aconcagua is known for being temperamental but we have overhauled the traditional itinerary and created a programme which gives you the best chance to summit. We alternate rest days between strenuous days of load carrying and have designed a flexible summit time-frame where at least 3 nights can be spent at high camp to wait for good climbing conditions.
Itinerary
Day 1 - Depart UK
Day 2 - Arrive Mendoza
Day 3 - Mendoza
Day 4 - Mendoza - Penitentes - Confluencia (3,400m)
Day 5 - Trek to Plaza Francia (4,100m)
Day 6 - Rest Day at Confluencia
Day 7 - Confluencia – Plaza de Mulas (4,300m)
Day 8 - Rest & acclimatisation at Plaza de Mulas
Day 9 - Pico Bonette (5,000m)
Day 10 - Rest & acclimatisation at Plaza de Mulas
Day 11 - Plaza de Mulas - Camp Canada (C1)
Day 12 - Camp Canada - Camp 2 (Nido de Condoros 5,500m) - Plaza de Mulas
Day 13 - Rest day
Day 14 - Ascend to Camp 1 (5,000m)
Day 15 - Camp Canada - Camp 2 (5,500m)
Day 16 - Rest day
Day 17 - C2 to C3 - this will either be Camp Berlin (5,950m) or Camp Colera (6,000m).
Day 18 - Summit day
Days 19-20 - Contingency days
Day 21 - Descend to Base Camp
Day 22 - Base Camp – Penitentes then transfer back to Mendoza
Day 23 - Rest day in Mendoza
Day 24 - Depart Mendoza for our home country
