Aconcagua is the highest peak in South America, at 22,902/6960m. It is an excellent warmup before climbing Everest, testing your fitness at altitude and thoroughly testing your gear in harsh conditions. It’s a cold peak and an excellent cultural experience.
Next week, I wrap up this series with an Everest episode and special guests Adrian Ballinger, founder of Alpenglow and Mike Hammill, founder of Climbing the Seven Summits.
Overview
Aconcagua is the highest peak in South America and one of the Seven Summits. It is located in Argentina, only nine miles from the Chilean border. However, it is only the 189th highest mountain.
Aconcagua is about 70 miles northwest of Mendoza and is surrounded by multiple valleys, including Valle de las Vacas to the north and Valle de los Horcones Inferior to the west. It lies within the Aconcagua Provincial Park and is well managed by the Argentinean authorities.
Mathias Zurbriggen first summited it in 1897. Information from Aconcagua Treks says that during the first open season in 1983, nearly 350 people climbed Aconcagua. By 2009, annual climbers had reached 3700, a tenfold increase.
The vast majority are young males in their 20s or 30s, and over 10% are female. In 2024, it is estimated between 3,000 and 4,000 people will attempt to peak with about a 30% summit rate.
On the Chile- Argentina border, the second highest mountain in South America is Ojas del Salado, at 22,608’/6983 m. It is 370 miles north of Aconcagua in the Andes range.
Logistics and Difficulty
Most climbers fly into Santiago, Chile or Mendoza, Argentina and take a bus to Puente del Inca for the normal route or to Penitentes for the Polish Glacier, Polish Traverse and Vacas routes. There are no central statistics, but about 4,500 climbers make a summit attempt each year with an estimated 50% success rate.
Aconcagua is a relatively “simple” climb in that the approach is short and easy, there are a couple of High Camps, and the summit day should take no more than 12 hours.
Compared to Everest or other extreme altitude peaks, they are, in all honesty, in a different league from Aconcagua. The expeditions are longer by more than twice and, depending on the mountain, are more technically challenging. They require significantly more logistics, gear, food and on-mountain support. Your physical conditioning must be several notches higher than what is needed on Aconcagua. And, probably most importantly, your mental state must be in a different place.
If you are in great aerobic shape, it can be “easy” on a perfect weather day on the normal routes. But as with most extreme altitude climbs, Aconcagua has brutal weather with cruel winds, driving snow and white-out conditions that can create a nightmare scenario. Also, remember that this is almost 7,000 meters or 23,000 feet, so AMS, HAPE, or HACE are always risks.
The normal routes have no real objective danger, such as rockfalls, avalanches or crevasses. On Denali, you climb on snow from day one to the summit. On Aconcagua, it is very dry, and there can be almost no snow down low, but usually some snow near the summit.
The busiest period is from mid-December to mid-January. Since it is only 80 miles from the Pacific Ocean, Aconcagua experiences extremely high winds and storms, similar to Denali in Alaska. The wind chill can drop to 80 degrees below zero F. The weather and altitude make it dangerous. I usually hear of one or two deaths a year. Aconcagua Expeditions has a good chart of the park statistics.
It can also be a physically demanding climb with heavy packs, so being in top physical condition is required. Today, you can hire very expensive porters to carry half your load, making it less physically demanding.
Routes and Dangers
The normal route is the Northwest Ridge, approached from the Horcones River valley. The second most popular route is the Polish Traverse using the Vacas Valley. It is about 20% longer than the normal route. Both routes meet around 1,000m/3,000′ below the summit.
The Polish Glacier is one of the most challenging routes in Aconcagua, and a minority of the teams climb it. It is a 50 to 70-degree snow and ice slope requiring technical ice climbing skills, protection and roped climbing. This route requires significant planning, preparation, gear and skills. Climbers die on this one and all routes. In 2005, I turned back from the Polish Direct in favor of the Traverse when avalanche conditions looked terrible.
Climbing
Some people call Aconcgua’s normal route a Trekking Peak, given the lack of technical equipment, but I think this downplays the required fitness level.
In 2005, four of us intended to take the Polish Direct route, but on our summit morning, as we were standing about 600′ above Camp 2 on the edge of the glacier, putting on our crampons and harnesses and getting ready to rope up, we saw a car-sized block of ice calve off a gap we were targeting. It followed the fall line on the glacier, splitting hundreds of pieces.
We hoped the Polish Glacier was supposed to be stable if any glacier ever is. However, the previous week had been quite warm, with bright sun and warm winds. We determined the risks were unnecessary and abandoned the glacier for the traverse.
Other than climbing from 19,000′ to almost 23,000′, the climbing is not difficult. From Camp 2 at 19,000 feet to Camp Colera at 20,000 feet, the route continuously rises but is not too severe. This continues for several hours until you reach the Canaleta, a 1,000-foot u-shaped couloir of loose rock at a 45-degree angle.
Now at 21,800′, it becomes more difficult to breathe. Most people leave their packs at the base of Canaleta and take only cameras, water bottles and a sat or cell phone to the summit. However, with the altitude and often the lack of proper acclimatization, the Canaleta area can look like a war zone with people lying all over the place in various stages of AMS.
The return can be how you came in or via Plaza de Mules.
Garrett Madison & Ed Vesturs Interview
I managed to nab these two legends to discuss Aconcagua and other mountaineering topics.
Ed guided Ryan, my 19-year-old Summit Coach client, who summited Everest in style this year, up Aconcagua as he prepared for his climb. Obviously, Ed is a wealth of mountaineering knowledge, so we discussed Acocangua, common climbing mistakes, and, of course, Everest, as well as finding Sandy Irvine’s foot in his boot this year.
Garrett is well known as the founder and owner of Maddison Mountaineering. He will be on Everest for his hopefully 15th summit, tying Dave Hahn for the second-most summits by a non-Sherpaa. Kenton Cool has the title at 18. Garrett also recently summited Carystensz after a five-year break when the government closed the peak due to violence in the area. He gives us a quick update on that.
Summary
Aconcagua is a fun climb that will test your patience and strength. Only a third of the people who attempt will stand on top, but as is often the case, it is all about the experience and not the outcome.
If you want to cover all the Seven Summits angles, here is the list of nine climbs:
- Everest, Nepal – 29,035/8850m
- Aconcagua, Argentina – 22,902/6960m
- Denali, Alaska – 20,320/6194m
- Kilimanjaro, Africa – 19,340/5896m
- Elbrus, Russia – 18,513/5642m
- Vinson, Antarctica – 16,067/4897m
- Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya), New Guinea – 16,023/4884m
- Mt. Blanc, France/Italy – 15,771’/4807m
- Mt. Kościuszko, Australia – 7,310/2228m
Episodes will drop each week:
- September 15: Introduction
- September 22: Mt. Kościuszko, Australia – 7,310/2228m
- September 29: Mt. Blanc, France/Italy – 15,771’/4807m
- October 6: Vinson, Antarctica – 16,067/4897m
- October 13: Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya), New Guinea – 16,023/4884m
- October 20: Elbrus, Russia – 18,513/5642m
- October 27: Kilimanjaro, Africa – 19,340/5896m
- November 3: Denali, Alaska – 20,320/6194m
- November 10: Aconcagua, Argentina – 22,902/6960m
- November 17: Everest, Nepal/Tibet – 29,035/8850m
Safe climbing to all.
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
Podcast Series: 7 Summits Episode 9–Aconcagua with Garrett Madison & Ed Viesturs Interview
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