Blogs from Aconcagua, Mendoza, Argentina, South America - page 2

Aconcagua Tales - Feb 2010 The climbing season for Aconcagua is short. The only potential window to reach the top of this mountain is between the months of December and February. During this time the snows retreat, the winds subside a little, the temperatures at the summit become bearable, and visibility during night and day are clear. Though the sun may scorch down from a cloudless dark blue sky, the high UV in the thin air requiring full protective sunglasses, this is the brief space when mountain climbers from across the world make their way to Mendoza in Argentina to make their attempt on scaling the summit. I was fortunate to be part of an entirely international expedition. As I read the correspondence sent to me in the Mendoza internet cafe, I realised that no two ... read more

Road to Aconcagua National Park Ruta 40 heads south out of the winegrowing region of Mendoza towards Bariloche. This is the main Andean carriageway of Argentina, stretching from the Bolivian border in the north, 5100km down to the southern most part of Patagonia in the south. It forms part of the Pan American, a road which, apart from a few miles between Colombia and Panama, forms a continuous highway into northern Alaska. 20km or so beyond Mendoza, Ruta 7 turns west, towards to Chilean border, Aconcagua National Park, and the route across the Andes. The skyline is marked also by the metal towers and gas burning flame of a petrochemical station, and a steady flow of tankers heads to and from the plant. As this is the region close to the border, police checkpoints are common ... read more

Getting a bit citied out so we escape into the Andes for two days of trekking. Meet up with a couple of doctors from London, our guide Roderick and his trusty dog Mork (named after our alien friend, yep it seems Mork & Mindy made it as far as South America). Day 1 we summit to what must be the windiest place on earth, only about 1km vertical rise but enough to get the heart pumping when you start at 2500m. Then retire to a refuge in the mountains for red wine by the fire and poker by candlelight. Waking on day 2 we´re in for a surprise as they´ve had about 6 inches of snow overnight (from a base of zero). Today´s trek is a bit more of an endurance test given the continuing snowfall ... read more

Parque Provincial Aconcagua - ... ueber gewonnene Erfahrungen beim (Hoehen)Bergsteigen am Cerro Aconcagua Tag 1 - Heute ist Samstag, der 21.02.2009 Ich befinde mich auf dem Weg zum Busbahnhof. Mit der Fahrt von Mendoza nach Puente del Inca beginnt das bisher groesste Abenteuer dieser Reise und meiner noch nahezu jungfraeulichen Bergsteigerlaufbahn. Ohne bisher selbst die 4.000er Grenze ueberschritten zu haben, liegt vor mir nun, zumindest theoretisch, die Besteigung des 6.962 m hohen Cerro Aconcagua. Ca. 180 km westlich von Mendoza liegt unweit der chilenischen Grenze an der Ruta Nacional 7 mit dem Cerro Aconcagua nicht nur der hoechste Berg beider Amerikas, sondern gleichzeitig der hoechste Berg ausserhalb Asiens. Dessen Erstbesteigung ueber die heutige sogenannte Normalroute vom 14.01.1897 geht auf ein Team von Kletterern unter der Leitung von E.FitzGerald und den Schweizer M.... read more

I got picked up around about 7.30 am and we picked some more people from another hostel. We began out journey on the Ruta 40 (nothing special, just the suburbs of Mendoza) then we joined the Ruta 7 towards Chile. Our first stop, for a comfort break, was Uspallata, a village famed for Seven Years in Tibet movie and this was the village and the surrounding areas where the movie was made. We drove further into Alta Montaña stopping at some lakes after Uspallata then onto Fortin Puchueta. This colonial bridge has some significant history as the bridge was crossed by the San Martin forces during the campaign for independence from Spain in the 18th Century. We then began riding up to some amazing scenery until we reached Parque Provincial Aconcagua. We stopped at the entrance ... read more