Aconcagua (6959 m/2283 ft.)

The King of America

The Aconcagua is certainly not the most beautiful peak in South America. With over 4000 mountaineers climbing it each season, it is almost more than a mountain can tolerate. In spite of various attempts to prove the opposite, however, it is and will always be the highest mountain in America.

The entire mountain and the normal approach described here are inside Argentine territory, which is also where a personal permit must be obtained. Because of its geographical proximity to the Aconcagua, the international airport in Santiago, Chile, is usually used as the point of arrival. That is why this tour is included on our Trekking Chile web page.

The ascent can either be easily organized on the spot or you might consider the offer of professional organizers. Under normal conditions, the tour can be described as trekking at extreme altitudes. However, depending on the weather conditions, it can quickly turn into an arctic fiasco with violent storms. This constant flux of weather conditions, combined with acute altitude sickness, take their toll in tragedies and amputations every year. Both are constantly and foolishly underestimated.

There are a number of easily organized tours near Santiago that offer good opportunities to become acclimatized to the altitude, such as Cerro Plomo, Marmolejo, or San José. In addition, our recommendation is to make a couple of short ascents and descents on the Aconcagua itself, staying overnight at lower altitudes and including rest days, ideally at the base camp. These trips can be used to transport materials to camps that are located higher up the mountain.

The Swiss mountain guide Matthias Zurbriggen first climbed the Aconcagua in 1897. A group of Polish climbers reached the summit for the first time in 1934, ascending through the Vaca Valley and the Polaco Glacier, now very popular. The greatest challenge was the 3000 m-high (9840 ft.) south face, conquered by a French group in 1954.

A worthy consideration for a 2 to 3-day trek or a long ride on horseback is starting at the natural bridge Puente del Inca and passing the Confluencia camp. This route offers a breathtaking view of the south face.

In this description we have divided the tour in days. They can be combined depending on your degree of acclimatization, physical condition, and interests.

Starting point

Santiago

Permit

Depending on the season, the ascent fee varies from US$ 80 to US$ 200 per person and the trekking fee from US$ 20 to US$ 40. These must be paid personally at the tourist office (Subsecretaría de Turismo, Parque General San Martín, Avenida los Robles and Rotonda Rosedal, Monday to Friday, from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM). You will be asked to fill out a form with your personal data, insurance coverage, and to provide emergency contact information.

How to get there

Several bus companies connect Santiago with Mendoza (7 h, departures several times a day, leaving from Santiago terminal and Los Héroes terminal). When crossing the border in either direction, you are not allowed to carry any perishable or unpackaged foodstuffs. If you cross the border in a rented car, you must have a notarized permission of the car renter.

Once you have gone through all the formalities and bought supplies in Mendoza, you can reach Puente del Inca with the same bus companies or by hiring an organized tour. Puente Del Inca is the starting point of this tour. It is located half way between Santiago and Mendoza and offers different kinds of accommodation and restaurants. An alternative is the Los Penitentes ski resort some 10 km/6 miles) east of the campsite at the park entrance.

Day 1
Puente del Inca - Confluencia (3-4 h, 460 m/1510 ft. , 80 m/260 ft )

Several of the companies offering accommodations and pack animals also organize the transfer from Puente del Inca to the park entrance. As an alternative, you can take the trail that runs northeast of the road to the starting point in 1 to 2 hours covering about 150 m/490 ft. . Here you will find a campsite and the park ranger cabin. The checkpoint is right next to it in a tent where every visitor receives a numbered garbage bag that is registered in your permit. When leaving the park you either have to take the bag with you or the pack transportation team has to confirm in writing (a signature in your permit) that the garbage is taken away on the pack animals. Any violation of this rule will be fined with US$ 100.

The duration of the hikes up to the base camp Plaza de Mulas are based on normal speed and the weight of light daypacks. From the park entrance, the trail leads past Laguna Horcones to the first bridge over the Horcones River, where we arrive after half an hour. At the beginning of the tour, the Acongacua itself can be seen only from the park entrance and then hides behind the steep wall of the valley. We cross the river and follow the well-trodden trail, this time on the east side of the Horcones River. After another 2 or 3 hours, we reach the second bridge that crosses the melted snow coming from the Horcones Inferior Glacier, pushing down from the south face of the Aconcagua. We turn off before reaching the bridge on a trail that goes downstream to the already visible Confluenca campsite at 3370 m/11050 ft. The campsite gets its name from the convergence of the brook with the Horcones River.

It is recommendable to take an extra day to explore what is probably the most beautiful part of the Aconcagua area from here: the south face of the mountain. A clearly marked trail takes us there, starting at the bridge on the east bank of the brook up towards Plaza Francia at 4200 m/13780 ft. (about 3 h). But long before getting that far, the trail offers some magnificent views on the way.

If traveling with pack animals, well-acclimatized climbers can reach the Plaza de Mulas base camp on one long day's hike. However, for this mega tour of about 35 km/22 miles with 1560 m/5120 ft. and 200 m/650 ft. you should calculate at least nine hours when carrying only light backpacks.

Day 2
Confluencia - Plaza de Mulas (4-6 h, 1100 m/3610 ft. , 120 m/400 ft. )

We cross the bridge and continue uphill on the west side of the valley. Soon we arrive at the wide upper Horcones Valley that is covered with rough river boulders and appears to extend eternally, with only a slight ascent towards the northwest. At what looks like the end of the valley we can see the Cerro Dedos mountain with a height of 5018 m/16463 ft. We reach it after 3 to 4 hours.

At the feet of the mountain, at an elevation of 3800 m/12470 ft., we have to cross the brook eastwards which, depending on the season, constitutes the first obstacle for some hikers. We now leave the valley and climb uphill on this side of the brook. The well-trodden path leads us up to the remains of a shelter at about 4000 m/13100 ft., which we reach after 2 to 3 hours.

This is where the final and steepest part of the ascent begins; the trail zigzags uphill to Plaza de Mulas which we reach after 1 to 2 hours at 4260 m/13976 ft. The camp is like a little town, sometimes with hundreds of tents: beer tents, internet tents, toilets and hot showers, first aid, mountain rescue service, park rangers, mountain guides and nearby the huge Refugio Plaza de Mulas lodge. All this is combined with a mixture of languages and mountaineers from all over the world. Those who do not arrive at the base camp with an organized tour or arrieros have to pay US$20 to use the showers and toilets. In spite of the large number of tourists, there is no shortage of space and the same is true for the next camp called Nido Cóndores.

Day 3
Plaza de Mulas - Nido Cóndores (7-9 h, 1120 m/3680 ft. )

We recommend resting one day before moving on. We also recommend doing several day tours for acclimatization. You can use these tours to set up depots at the next camps. Once acclimatized, we continue climbing and set up camp in Nido Cóndores at 5380 m/17650 ft. If the weather is good, the trail is easy to find from here, especially because of the number of minor peaks. From the base camp, the trail zigzags uphill looking on to the Aconcagua summit. To the north in front of us is the strongly glaciated Cerro Cuernos mountain with its height of 5462 m/17920 ft.

After about 3 hours we arrive at the striking Piedras Conway rocks at 4630 m/15190 ft. Further up lies the Canada camp at 4910 m/16110 ft., offering space for a relatively small number of tents. We recommend continuing the climb for another 4 to 6 hours until we reach the much larger Nido Cóndores camp at 5380 m/17650 ft.

At a short distance there is a small water hole in the middle of the snow; even so, you may have to melt snow. For the past few years, well-acclimatized climbers have conquered the summit directly from Nido Cóndores more frequently. The advantage, of course, is that they do not waste energy camping at high altitudes and carrying equipment further uphill. On the other hand, not everybody is fit to cover a difference in altitude of 1600 m/5250 ft. at this already extreme elevation.

Day 4
Nido Cóndores - Refugio Berlín (3-4 h, 400 m/1310 ft. )

The next stage is only for trained mountaineers who are perfectly acclimatized: the ascent up to the Refugio Berlín shelter at 5780 m/18960 ft. From Nido Cóndores, the trail continues to ascend only slightly at the beginning. After about one hour the path starts winding its way uphill over partly loose scree. The Berlin bivouac can be spotted only at the last moment.

A short distance before it, there are two more considerably smaller bivouacs next to a small cross. From here the view of the Ramada mountain range in the north is magnificent. Many climbers immediately go on up to the Piedras Blancas camp at 6030 m/19780 ft. Remember that in bad weather the bivouac offers excellent protection.

Day 5
Conquering the summit (at least 8 h, ascent 1200 m/3940 ft. , 1200 m/3940 ft. )

Some people have climbed this mountain in running shoes and there are famous photos taken of mountaineers in T-shirts posing on the summit; however, every year many people have accidents on the Aconcagua. It does not take more than a sudden change in the weather for the temperature to drop to -30°C (-22°F). Even in summer, the base camp may be covered by snow. However, the greatest risks are fatigue, cold, and the altitude at the summit. If you start off by night, the temperature can be dangerously low because of the strong wind. On the normal route, you will not cross glaciers so it is not necessary to start off that early - especially in summer when daylight lasts until about 9 PM. The only reason for a timely start is the bad weather, which frequently sets in after noon. The best safeguard is to make decisions based on the on-site conditions.

After 250 m/820 ft. we pass Piedras Blancas camp at 6030 m/19780 ft. At 6400 m/21000 ft. we reach the highest camp called Independencia. At this point the ascent often has to be called off because of strong winds. The trail continues south below the summit and leads us to a striking scree gap called Canaleta. A tiring stretch ascending some 250 m/820 ft. takes us to the ridge connecting the north and south summits. We continue north along this ridge, passing a short climb (degree I-II) until finally reaching the summit plateau with the much longed-for cross. We descend following the same route.