Aconcagua - Aconcagua

Aconcagua, National Park entrance

The Aconcagua in Argentina is the highest mountain in America and the highest mountain outside of Asia.

location
Location map of Argentina
Aconcagua
Aconcagua

background

Aconcagua from the south

The mountain is located directly on the Chilean-Argentine border on the Argentine side in the Argentine national park of the same name, which was founded in 1983.

The description comes from the Quechua language of the indigenous Incas and means "white guardian" or "stone guardian".

The official First ascent succeeded the Swiss in the fifth attempt on January 14, 1897 Matthias Zurbriggen as the mountain guide of the rich English adventurer Edward Fitzgerald, who did not reach the summit due to health problems.

In 1947 the skeleton of a guanaco was found on the connecting ridge between the main and south summits, and in 1985 a well-preserved mummy was found on the south-west ridge at 5200 m. These finds support the assumption that the summit (like other Andean peaks as well) was climbed by the Incas before the appearance of the Europeans.

Of the Statisticians the mountain is listed as the second highest in the world in the "topographical prominence" rating, that is the measured notch height of 6,962 m, only surpassed by Mount Everest with a notch height of 8,848 m. The value for the "topographical dominance" , that is the distance to the next highest mountain, is an unsurpassed world record with 16,520 km.

The area around the Aconcagua can be described in a very simplified way as an altitude desert with little water and vegetation. Interesting are the layers of rock, which are freely visible due to the lack of vegetation, with different colors depending on the mineral stored (green for copper, red for iron).

places

Puente del Las Incas
  • Puente del Inca, (2720 m, "Bridge of the Incas"), world-famous natural bridge (47 m) and sulphurous thermal baths (destroyed by landslide), starting point in the Horcones Valley;
  • Punta de Vacas, Starting point in the east-facing base camp Plaza Argentina, hamlet and ski resort on Tupungato (6550 m), there isn't much going on here in the South American summer;
Info on the Spanish Wikipedia;

getting there

The next accessible place is Puente del Inca on the connecting road from Mendoza in Argentina to Los Andes in Chile.

  • Arriving by bus from Mendoza to Puente del Inca with the Uspallata company;
Mountaineers cemetery

Tourist Attractions

  • Penitent snow. In the ice regions from the base camp. The meter-high, row-shaped ice peaks on the ground owe their emergence to the strong solar radiation in high mountain regions near the equator.
  • Mountaineers cemetery, in Puente del Inca. This is where the victims of the mountain rest.

activities

Horcones valley
Base camp "Plaza de Mulas"
High camp

The best season to visit Aconcagua is summer in the southern hemisphere from mid-December to late March.

To visit the national park and climb the summit, you have to go to the tourist office in Mendoza, "Dirección de Recursos Naturales Renovables" in "Parque San Martín 1143" a permit (climbing permit), depending on the season and length of stay, (trekking: approx. 10 - 50 US $, ascent: approx. 80 - 200 US $. The permit last season cost 5,100 Argentine pesos for the high season, that is around € 680), the redemption is on site Not possible.

Opening times of the “Subsecretaria de Turismo”: Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am - 6:00 pm and Sat / Sun 9:00 am - 1:00 pm;

The base camp

Who the base camp "Plaza de Mulas" (4300 m, "Maultierplatz") should have tested its altitude suitability beforehand at comparable heights. The base camp can be reached by healthy mountain hikers in two day trekking stages with an overnight stay in Camp Confluencia (water in a stream).

The starting point is Los Penitentes or Puente del Inca. From here it goes north in about an hour's walk (alternatively: Jeep) to the park entrance (control by the park ranger) and then on foot through the Horcones Valley to the Plaza de Mulas base camp. The total route is 35 km in length with 1,560 meters of altitude and should be estimated at at least ten hours of total running time (even for those with a good physical condition). The division into two daily stages (approx. Four and five to eight hours of walking) promotes altitude adjustment.

The west-east crossing of the glacier creek on the second day should not be done too late, as the gradient of the creek and thus the current increases as you approach the base camp.

Luggage is transported to the base camp by mules that can be rented in Puente del Inca.

There is water in the base camp at the glacier stream (15 min.) Or through melting snow. A means to combat diarrhea should therefore be kept available.

The Hotel de Plaza de Mulas can be reached in a 15-minute walk from the base camp and offers basic medical care if necessary; There is also medical care and checks for altitude sickness in the base camp.

During the climbing season there are around 200 to 400 trekking and mountain tourists in the base camp every day, and up to 4000 people throughout the season.

The ascent to the summit

Summit region and Canaleta

Because of the absolute height (the mountain is just under seven thousand meters), only fit climbers with proven fitness for the height are considered for the ascent. A medium “five-thousand-meter peak” as an acclimatization tour in advance is definitely recommended. Only 20% of those who aspire to the summit are successful, the number of people who have had an accident on the mountain is far above the average of Mount Everest!

  • The rise on the Normal way is mostly ice-free during the high season and leads quite monotonously from Plaza de Mulas via Nido de Cóndores, Camp Berlin, through the arduous Canaleta rubble channel (33 degrees incline, approx. 400 m length) to the saddle between the south and north peaks and from there to Summit. The path is usually mastered with two or three high camps. The terrain up to the saddle can be seen in large parts from the base camp.
  • The wrong Poland route starts from the east-facing base camp Plaza Argentina (4200 m, ascent in three days from Punta de Vacas through the valley of the Rio de las Vacas), leads back to the normal route at 6200 m and thus bypasses the ascent of the glacier Poland route (see below).

For these two above-mentioned easier routes to the summit, tours with a mountain guide with an expedition-like character are offered by the various relevant organizers, e.g. in Germany DAV Summit Club and Hauser excursions, in Austria www.bergnews.com and Lasers and in South Tyrol GLOBO ALPINE. Suppliers from Switzerland are BERIE and Aktivferien AG. These operators usually also organize the necessary transfers and the permit.

  • The Poland route was first committed by a Polish rope team in 1935. This ascent leads through an 800 m high wall on the east side, slopes up to 55 ° and is considered the second most difficult ascent to the summit.
  • The Pared Sur in the south face (corresponds to the north face facing away from the sun in the northern hemisphere) is considered the most difficult ascent route with 3050 m of ice and brittle rock. It was first climbed by a French team in eight days in 1954 and was considered one of the toughest routes in the world.

shop

  • Mountaineering shop in Mendoza: "Casa Orviz":
Address: Tel 54-261-4251281, www.orviz.com;

kitchen

The last restaurant before the tour (and the first one afterwards) is in Puente del Inca or Punta de Vacas (exception: the expensive hotel at the base camp), otherwise there are no shopping opportunities in the national park.

During the tour there is only the usual mountaineering food, that is what you bring, cooked on petrol or gas. Since the material is transported to the base camp by mules, no special weight restrictions are required.

accommodation

  • Guest house Puente del Inca. Mountaineering accommodation.

security

The word of the Mountaineering companionship is an idealism that is unfortunately interpreted in a very flexible way in reality. In the relevant media and forums, there are increasing reports of looted food and material depots in the high camps of the mountains that are much visited around the world. There are no official statistics. For small groups it can therefore make sense to take precautionary measures for unattended tents during the transport tours; the best thing to do here is to coordinate and consult with other teams on the mountain.

climate

Thunderstorm deduction

Large temperature fluctuations between day and night and frequent weather changes are the rule.

Because of the constant strong and gusty wind, it can make sense to practice setting up the tent beforehand and somehow lashing and fixing everything that is exposed to the wind in order to secure it from flying away. Sufficient cord is helpful.

The near Pacific exerts a strong influence of weather, the storms of which with sudden sudden changes in weather can very quickly assume extreme character. The so-called "Viento Blanco" is notorious for its sudden weather, which can transform calm, sunny mountain weather into extreme weather conditions with thunderstorms, heavy snowfall and gusts of up to 180 km / h within a few hours.

Weather forecast for the Aconcagua: Snow-Forecast.com

health

The Drinking water can only be obtained from the streams and from melted glacier ice / snow and should always be boiled. Because the boiling point of the water decreases with altitude (in the base camp at around 86 ° C), it is advisable to use disinfection tablets (e.g. MICROPUR FORTE) as an alternative.

However, hygienic problems are not known (as of January 2009) and in practice it is more important to know that the water in the brooks, especially at Confluencia, has a high magnesium content and thus has a laxative effect. The local doctors (from the park administration) recommend anti-diarrhea remedies. The high content of Mg salts can be recognized by the salt bloom, which is clearly visible on the way to Confluencia and which can also be found in the Nido de Condores high camp Since the organizers take the water for the drinks as well as for the meals from the local brooks, the problem can practically only be avoided by buying mineral water.

The national park administration writes a return to the visitors all Waste, including the solid metabolic products of the body, in specially given plastic bags at the park entrance, and also tries to monitor it. The monitoring of this environmental protection regulation is only possible to a limited extent, especially above the base camp, and the mules do not adhere to it anyway. The wild toilets in the suitable terrain to the left and right of the main routes can be clearly recognized by their smell.

Notes on height adjustment can be found in the article on the topic Rockclimbing;

literature

  • Adventure Aconcagua (paperback), Verlag Rockstuhl; € 9.80; ISBN 3929000733 ; ISBN 9783929000733 ;
  • R. J. Secor: Aconcagua - A Climbing Guide, Mountaineers Books; € 12.99; ISBN 0-89886-669-3 ;
  • Eckehard Radehose: America's Dream Mountains, From Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, Rother 26.90; ISBN 3-7633-3006-2 ;

cards

Web links

Webcams

  • Webcam at the base camp: Aconcaguanow.com (with further on-site weather information);
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