Climbing Mount Aconcagua, 18 days
18-day climbing trip to Mount Aconcagua, the highest mountain in Argentina and America, at 6961 m, together with a certified mountain guide.
Details
Trip Duration
18 days
Mountain Range
Andes
People per Guide
4 people
Trip Level
Hard
Offer Period
Jan, Feb, Dec
Type of Trip
Group
Highlights
- Join the expedition of one of Aconcagua's most experienced guides
- Live a truly unforgettable experience in the Andes mountains
- Climb one of the world's Seven Summits!
Price per person
Price includes
- Guiding fee
- Accommodation
- Transportation from your hotel/airport (if in area) to the start of the trip and back
- Transport during the trip
- Group porters (transport of tents, cooking equipment, etc. for the group)
- Personal porters
- Mules and horses as needed with driver
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- Camping equipment: Tents
Itinerary
- Day 1: Mendoza
Our expedition starts in Mendoza, Argentina.
A representative of INKA Expediciones will be waiting for you at the airport.
We will stay at the hotel in the city. A group meeting will follow and you will meet the team members.
Accommodation: Hotel double or triple room.
- Day 2: Penitentes
We will obtain individual entrance and ascent permits.
You will be personally assisted in this procedure.
After this we’ll travel to Villa de Penitentes, where we’ll stay at a Hotel in the mountain.
There we’ll get the equipment ready for transportation to the base camp, by mule.
Accommodation: Hotel
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner.
- Day 3: Penitentes / Confluencia (3368 m)
We’ll drive you to Horcones Park, where we’ll get our first view of the mountain.
We will get our permits checked at the Ranger station.
Then, we’ll head off to Confluencia by walking 4 or 5 hours.
Accommodation: Tents
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Day 4: Trek to Plaza Francia (4200 m)
We’ve included this day in order to acclimatize better, and give you more chances to summit. We’ll trek for about 5 hours until we arrive to Plaza Francia, base camp of the impressive Aconcagua South Wall. This is one of the nicest points of the expedition.
Accommodation: Tents.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Day 5: Confluencia / Plaza de Mulas (4250 m)
After 8-9 hours hiking across Playa Ancha and climbing up through a very steep path, we’ll reach Plaza de Mulas, the biggest base camp in Aconcagua Park.
By the end of the day, most of us will feel the altitude.
Accommodation: Tents.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Day 6: Rest day at Plaza de Mulas
The first day in Base Camp is always a rest day and a good occasion to take a bath and explore the local terrain.
Accommodation: Tents.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Day 7: Carry equipment to camp 1
This is a challenging day where we’ll gain 1.000 m. with a heavy load on easy terrain.
Then we’ll return to Base Camp. It’s important to take advantage of the comfort and lower altitude at Base Camp.
Accommodation: Tents.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Day 8: Rest day at Plaza de Mulas
This is a day we mainly use to recover energy, to rest, to hydrate ourselves and for abundant meals.
Accommodation: Tents.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Day 9: Ascent to Camp 1 (4900 m)
The following morning we’ll start the ascent to Aconcagua.
We’ll move to Camp 1, called Plaza Canada. Until now, we were working on get an optimal acclimatization. We want everyone to have the best possible chance to do summit.
Accommodation: Tents.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Day 10: Move to Camp 2 (5400 m)
Camp 2, called Nido de Condores (meaning Condor Nest), is located in a high pass at 5.400 m. and provides a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains.
Accommodation: Tents.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Day 11: Carry equipment to Camp 3
This day, we’ll carry equipment to Camp 3 called Camp Colera. After carrying the equipment up, we’ll return to Camp 2 to sleep, to give our bodies more chances to acclimatize.
Accommodation: Tents.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Day 12: Ascent to Camp 3 (6000 m)
We’ll start a 4 hours walk to Camp 3, located on the North Ridge. We will prepare our tents and eat and rest, to be ready to get the summit.
Accommodation: Tents.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Day 13: Summit day (6961 m)
It is the most demanding day of the expedition.
We’ll climb the North Ridge to Independencia Refuge at approximately 6.500 m. We’ll ascend through the Portezuelo del Viento , climb La Canaleta, and the Filo del Guanaco, that leads us to the summit.
The prize is waiting for us, a 360° view and the experience of overcoming, that you only finally understand once you reach it.
At the end of this experience, we’ll descend to Camp 3.
Accommodation: Tents.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Day 14 to 15: Spare days
We have three extra days set aside on our itinerary to attempt summit.
These extra days are built in to provide the best possible conditions for each participant to summit.
Accommodation:Tents Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Day 16: Return to Base Camp
Return from Camp 3 to Base Camp. We’ll enjoy a great dinner to celebrate the experience.
Accommodation: Tents.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
- Day 17: Base Camp / Penitentes / Mendoza
We’ll have breakfast and then start the descent from Plaza de Mulas to Penitentes.
There is a private transport waiting for us to take us to the hotel in Mendoza City.
Accommodation: Hotel, double or triple room.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
- Day 18: Mendoza
We have breakfast at the hotel. Check out and end of services.
Next departures
| Next dates | Info |
|---|---|
| 20/11/2019 to 07/12/2019 | USD 4270 per person |
| 27/11/2019 to 14/12/2019 | USD 4270 per person |
| 04/12/2019 to 21/12/2019 | USD 4270 per person |
| 11/12/2019 to 28/12/2019 | USD 4270 per person |
| 18/12/2019 to 04/01/2020 | USD 4700 per person |
| 25/12/2019 to 11/01/2020 | USD 4270 per person |
| 01/01/2020 to 18/01/2020 | USD 4270 per person |
| 08/01/2020 to 25/01/2020 | USD 4270 per person |
| 15/01/2020 to 01/02/2020 | USD 4700 per person |
| 22/01/2020 to 08/02/2020 | USD 4270 per person |
| 29/01/2020 to 15/02/2020 | USD 4270 per person |
| 05/02/2020 to 22/02/2020 | USD 4270 per person |
| 12/02/2020 to 29/02/2020 | USD 4270 per person |
| 19/02/2020 to 07/03/2020 | USD 4270 per person |
Other details
Intermediate
Extremely Fit
Mendoza.
- Two (2) nights accommodation at a three-star hotel in Mendoza City (prices based on double or triple occupancy), breakfast included.
- One (1) night accommodation at Penitentes, breakfast and dinner included.
- Tents.
About the client-guide ratio:
Up to 3 clients: 1 Guide for the whole expedition
4 clients: 1 Guide for the whole expedition + 1 assistant for Base Camp-Summit-Base Camp
From 5 to 8 clients: 2 Guides for the whole expedition
9 clients: 2 Guides for the whole expedition + 1 assistant for Base Camp-Summit-Base Camp
From 10 to 12 clients: 3 Guides for the whole expedition
Basic equipment required (you can rent it on site)
a) Clothing:
Light Weight Long Underwear. Expedition Weight Long Underwear. Fleece Jacket. Fleece Trousers. Parka. Jacket. Waterproof/breathable. Wind Pants. Waterproof/breathable.
b) Headgear:
Sun hat. Balaclava. Wool or pile ski hat. Head lamp. Glacier glasses.
c) Hands:
Synthetic gloves. Mittens. Gore-Tex over mitts.
d) Footwear:
Light hiking boots or trekking shoes. Climbing double (or triple) plastic or synthetic boots. Gaiters. Wool socks. Liner socks.
e) Climbing Equipment:
Ice axe. Crampons. Ski poles.
f) Camping:
Backpack. -20°C Sleeping bag. Ridge Rest sleeping pad. Therma rest pad. Dish, glass, knife, spoon and fork. Pocketknife. Water bottles. Pee bottle. Pee Funnel (for women). Sunscreen. Lip screen. Personal first aid kit.
g) Traveling:
Large duffel bag with lock. Smaller duffel with lock. Plastic bags. Travel clothes. Toiletry bag. Camera gear.
Should you hire the help of a porter?
If you have never carried a backpack of 20kgs over 5000 or 6000 meters, you have to know that it's a very demanding physical activity. You need to be very well trained. Otherwise, we recommend you hire the services of a personal porter to have a better chance of reaching the top. It is very common to hire a porter (around 1000USD). If you do that, you'll carry a backpack of around 35-60 liters.
Trash and personal waste
It is mandatory to remove everything from the mountain. You can't leave food behind just because you are exhausted from carrying it. So please think about this carefully when organizing your backpack. The same happens with trash and personal waste: nothing can stay on High Camps.
________________________________________________
1) NON-STOP FLIGHT OPTIONS FROM LONDON TO MENDOZA (*)
From London to Buenos Aires:
- Airline: Norwegian Air UK
LGW-EZE (13 h 40 m) US$774 round trip
- Airline: British Airways
LHR-EZE (13 h 50 m) US$1,216 round trip
From Buenos Aires to Mendoza:
- Airline: Aerolineas Argentinas
AEP–MDZ (1 h 55 m) US$115 round trip
- Airline: LATAM Operated by Latam Airlines Argentina
AEP–MDZ (1 h 52 m) US$117 round trip
2) NON-STOP FLIGHT OPTIONS FROM NEW YORK TO MENDOZA (*)
From New York to Buenos Aires:
-Airline: United
EWR–EZE (11 h 5 m) US$1,005 round trip
- Airline: American - LATAM Operated by American Airlines for Latam Airlines Argentina
JFK–EZE (10 h 44 m) US$1,083 round trip
- Airline: Aerolineas Argentinas - Delta
JFK–EZE (10 h 55 m) US$1,270 round trip
From Buenos Aires to Mendoza:
- Airline: Aerolineas Argentinas
AEP–MDZ (1 h 55 m) US$115 round trip
- Airline: LATAM Operated by Latam Airlines Argentina
AEP–MDZ (1 h 52 m) US$117 round trip
(*) Total price includes taxes + fees for 1 adult. Additional bag fees and other fees may apply.
About the Guide
Sebastian is a professional licensed guide and Head guide and general director of INKA Expediciones, the leading company provider of expeditions and treks in Mt. Aconcagua, with the best logistics infrastructure and the highest success rates.
His first ascent of Aconcagua was at age 16, and since then he has summit 25 times. He has also summited Mount Blanc in France, Mount McKinley in Alaska, Mount Elbrus in Russia, Kilimanjaro in Africa and several mountains in Europe and America.
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